NO. 96 ASK.COM FORD FUSION AND LABONTE FINISH BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT 19th AFTER ACCIDENT

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Feb. 8, 2008 – Bobby Labonte's introduction to the 2009 season showed a great deal of promise, but left the driver of the No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion disappointed. Labonte finished the Budweiser Shootout 19th at Daytona International Speedway after being involved in an accident at lap 63 with teammate Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Labonte proved his car was solid in the early laps of the exhibition event, running in third-place for seven consecutive laps (4-10).

After drawing the eight-place starting position at the Budweiser Draw Party on Wednesday, Labonte had a strong start in his debut as the driver of the No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion. Posting lap times among the fastest of the field – Labonte raced near the front until the No. 96 became loose and fell to 14th at lap 11.

Labonte pitted early for four tires and a track-bar adjustment after reporting the car to be loose on entry, tight in the middle and loose upon exit. “I need to ride this one out,” Labonte said, after saving the car from colliding with the field earlier in the race. Labonte's veteran-like save was highlighted on live television coverage of the race.

NASCAR's mandatory pit stop at lap 25 rewarded the team with 10 minutes to make adjustments to the No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion. Pit crew members made adjustments to the spring rubber and added a wedge adjustment to the left rear. Labonte started the second segment of the Budweiser Shootout 23rd.

The third caution of the night (lap 36) gave the No. 96 team an opportunity to pit for four tires. Crew members hustled to get Labonte back on track in 16th position. The No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion ran in 18th for several laps posting lap times of 47.188 seconds – and running a mere 1.952 seconds behind the race leader at the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

A fourth caution at lap 54 allowed the team to pit for four tires and fuel. After extensive on-track clean up, Labonte took the green flag on lap 58 and restarted 13th.

Lap 63 posed a race-changing hazard to Labonte when teammate Paul Menard became loose and tapped the No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion. The No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion spun into Dale Earnhardt Jr. After nearly missing getting caught up in the crash, Earnhardt Jr.'s damaged car collected Labonte, causing enough damage to take the Ask.com team out of the Budweiser Shootout for good.

“The 98 car was loose and I think somebody checked up in front of him and he was turning,” Labonte said. “I think I just barely touched him as he was going around and he must have hit the 88 because the 88 came back and hit me.”

Kevin Harvick went on to pass Roush Fenway Racing driver Jamie McMurray for the win on the final lap of the event. The finish culminated an intense opening to the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Labonte completed 63 laps of 78 possible laps and earned $30,000 in race earnings.

The No. 96 Ask.com team will again test their ability in the Daytona 500 qualifying Gatorade Duels on Thursday, Feb. 12. Both 60-lap, 150 mile races will air live on SPEED beginning at 2 p.m.