Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Winn-Dixie 250 - Bobby Labonte Notes

Bobby Labonte
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 19 of 35 -- Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway

NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY RACE RECAP:
BROKEN PART TAKES STRONG FINISH FROM LABONTE: The No. 77 Dollar General stores team unloaded in Loudon, New Hampshire on Thursday in preparation for the Camping World 200 Busch Series race event. Bobby Labonte and the crew completed two practice sessions on Friday, and by the end of final practice, the Dollar General stores Chevrolet was in the top-10 on the speed charts. Both the driver and crew chief felt good about the 77 car and about the team’s chances for a solid run at New Hampshire International Speedway. Bobby Labonte took the flag with the 43-car field and immediately started moving forward. By lap 10 the Dollar General stores car had moved up five positions to 12th-place and was continuing to take positions away from the front pack. On lap 155, Labonte brought the Dollar General stores Chevrolet down pit road for an unscheduled pit stop because he thought the right rear tire was flat. The Dollar General stores crew changed the right side tires and concluded the tire was fully inflated. Wally Rogers brought Labonte and the car down pit road again for further inspections. Unfortunately his concern was confirmed. A bolt had “sheered” causing the sway bar to brake, which is not a common mechanical failure. After replacing the broken bolt, the No. 77 Dollar General stores team brought the Dollar General stores car home in 29th position.

DAYTONA (FLA.) INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY FACTS & STATS:

NUMBER SEVEN: Bobby Labonte will make his seventh NASCAR Busch Series start at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, returning to the seat of the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet. Labonte has made nine previous starts for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) in the 2007 Busch Series season, earning one victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April.

JASON MEEKS – OCALA, FLA. TO KEVIN HARVICK INC.: Car chief on the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, Jason Meeks, grew up just over an hour away from Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Meeks remembers his first trip to Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in the summer of 1986. Meeks was seven years old and he went to watch the Firecracker 400. “I remember my favorite drivers of that time were Tim Richmond, Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt,” said Meeks. That day, Meeks got to see Tim Richmond, go to victory lane after leading 31 of the scheduled 160 laps. “It was the only NASCAR sanctioned track that I visited until I was 15 years old. I can remember going to the track before the Winston Tower was built and there weren’t all the modern upgrades that it has now. We primarily visited the track during the summers, but I can remember my family letting me skip school on Thursday in 1991 to go to the Twin-125 races,” he continued. When Meeks was 13, his father bought him a go-kart. “I raced for a while but I got a late start because I helped my dad with his car that he raced at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway,” said Meeks. “Eventually I gave up on driving and started working during the summers for Wayne Anderson on his All-Pro car. One thing led to another and I moved to Ohio to help Wayne [Anderson] go NASCAR Truck Series racing and eventually I landed at KHI [Kevin Harvick Inc.].”

A LITTLE DAYTONA (FLA.) HISTORY: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway will host the 32nd NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) event at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. The inaugural NASCAR Busch Series event was held on February 13, 1982 with Dale Earnhardt declared as the winner. Over 25 years later, Kevin Harvick Inc. co-owner Kevin Harvick found himself in victory lane for the first time at the famed superspeedway. Harvick celebrated in victory lane after winning the 2007 Busch Series event in February and added one more check mark to the list of accomplishments that Sunday as well. Harvick again found himself in victory lane, winning the Daytona 500 for the first time in his NASCAR career, sweeping both season-opening events at Daytona (Fla.).

FINAL RESTRICTOR-PLATE RACE: A restrictor-plate is a metal plate with four holes installed between the carburetor and the intake manifold. The plate is installed to reduce the airflow between the carburetor and intake manifold, resulting in less horsepower. The NASCAR Busch Series schedule consists of three restrictor-plate events. The season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) kicks off the 35-race season with a restrictor-plate race. Busch Series teams travel to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the second restrictor-plate event and then return to Daytona (Fla.) for the third and final plate event of the season.

BOBBY LABONTE QUOTES:

“Daytona [Fla., International Speedway] is all about the aero package,” commented Bobby Labonte. “So far this season I’ve had two experiences in the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) cars and the Dollar General stores crew has definitely hit on their speedway package. Wally Rogers [crew chief on the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet] brought a great car for me to Daytona earlier this season. Unfortunately, the boss man and I made contact during practice and we were forced to pull out the back-up No. 77 for the race. We worked on a tight-handling race car and ended the day 18th. My second restrictor-plate race with KHI was at Talladega [Ala., Superspeedway] and both KHI cars were strong. I’m really looking forward to racing at Daytona [Fla., International Speedway] with the Dollar General stores team for a second time this season.”

QUICK NOTES:
Race Info
Date: July 6, 2007
Track: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
Event Name: Winn-Dixie 250

Race length: 100 laps / 250 miles
Banking/Turns: 31-degrees
Track layout: 2.5-mile
Shape: Tri-Oval

Pre-Race Schedule:
Thursday:
Practice: 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., ET
Final Practice: 5:30 – 6:25 p.m., ET
Friday:
Qualifying: 1:05 p.m., ET

Broadcast Times:
TV: NASCAR Countdown pre-race coverage can be seen live on ESPN2 at
7:30 p.m., ET. Followed by the Winn-Dixie 250 on ESPN2 at 8:00 p.m., ET.

Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at
7:30 p.m., ET.

No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 030
Car History: Previously raced in 2007 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Has since been rebuilt.
Engine: RCR