Bobby Labonte
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 12 of 35—Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
RICHMOND (VA.) INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY RACE RECAP:
Kevin Harvick was behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet for the second time in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season. Racing under the lights at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Harvick started the Dollar General stores Chevrolet 13th on the grid and raced to a fourth-place finish.
DARLINGTON (S.C.) RACEWAY FACTS & STATS:
Bobby Labonte will return to the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on May 11th. Labonte has racked up a pretty stout record at the track ‘too tough to tame,’ earning one victory (1998), six top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
Victory Lane: Prior to celebrating in Victory Lane at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway after winning the NASCAR Busch Series race, Labonte hadn’t won in a Busch Series car since 1998 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Egg-Shape Design: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway was started in the fall of 1949, 58 years ago, and was built on land that once produced peanuts and cotton. The track builder, Harold Brasington, called for a 1.25-mile ‘true’ oval track. However, the racetrack’s design had to be changed in order to satisfy the landowner, who didn’t want his nearby minnow pond disturbed. So as a result, the west end of the track (turns 3 and 4) were narrowed to accommodate the fishing hole, creating Darlington’s distinctive egg-shaped design.
Driving through the field: The furthest back in the field that a race winner has started at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway was 43rd in the inaugural Southern 500 in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. Since 1955, only Bobby Labonte and Ward Burton have won at Darlington from a starting position further back than 15th in a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event. Labonte started 37th in the fall NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 2000 race at ‘The Lady in Black.’
CREW CHIEF CORNER WITH WALLY ROGERS:
THOUGHTS ON DARLINGTON: “I freaking love Darlington, it’s one of my favorite tracks to race at. You are out there slipping and sliding and trying to find grip. As a crew chief, I actually get to work on the car to find more grip for the driver.
“Last year [2006] I worked on the No. 33 with [Tony] Stewart behind the wheel. After leading some laps our finish didn’t show the car that we raced that night.”
MEMORIES OF DARLINGTON: “I won an IROC [International Race of Champions] race there with Davey Allison in 1993.”
A LITTLE CONSISTENCY WILL GO A LONG WAY: Take a look back on the schedule to April 14, following the NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, co-owned by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, finished 22nd and was ranked 26th in the Busch Series Owner Points Standings. The following week at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway, team co-owner Kevin Harvick was behind the wheel and raced the No. 77 to a ninth-place finish. On April 28, Bobby Labonte returned to the Dollar General stores Chevrolet and raced the No. 77 to victory lane. The No. 77 jumped from 22nd in Busch Series Owner Points to 14th. Last weekend at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway team co-owner Kevin Harvick finished fourth, which moved the No. 77 to 10th in the Busch Series Owner Points Standings. In less than a month, the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet has moved 16-positions in the NASCAR Busch Series Owner Points Standings.
DOLLAR GENERAL IN VICTORY LANE: Dollar General and Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) visited Victory Lane at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway following the NASCAR Busch Series race. Bobby Labonte, driving the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, pushed teammate Tony Stewart to the lead during the green-white-checkered sprint to the end and then passed Stewart by a car length to win the Aaron’s 312 Busch Series race. Tony Stewart finished second, 0.052 seconds behind Labonte, giving Kevin Harvick Inc., its second one-two finish in a NASCAR Busch Series race. The victory at Talladega was the first time for the Dollar General stores company.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info
Date: May 11, 2007
Track: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
Event Name: Diamond Hill Plywood 200
Race length: 147 laps / 200.8 miles
Banking/Turns:
25-degrees Turns 1 and 2
23-degrees Turns 3 and 4
Track layout: 1.366-mile
Shape: Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Practice—Thursday from 4:20 –
5:20 p.m., ET
Final Practice—Thursday from 6:30 –
7:30 p.m., ET
Qualifying—Friday at 5:05 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 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 on ESPN2 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Radio – The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at 8:00 p.m. ET.
No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 024
Car History: Raced in 2007 at California Speedway, Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Engine: RCR
