Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Bobby Labonte Notes

Bobby Labonte
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 13 of 35—Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway

LOWE’S (N.C.) MOTOR SPEEDWAY FACTS & STATS:

Bobby Labonte will make his 21st NASCAR Busch Series start at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway (LMS) on May 26th for the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300. Under the lights on the 1.5-mile track, Labonte will climb behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet.

Labonte has earned four top-five and 10 top-10 Busch Series finishes at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway (LMS).

Bobby Labonte holds the race record at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway (LMS) in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Labonte won the 600-mile event on May 28, 1995 and holds the record for 151.952 mph (miles per hour). Bobby has won twice at LMS in a Nextel Cup car, in 1995 and 2000.

A LADY AMONG THE MEN: The No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet team owner, DeLana Harvick, is 13th in Owner points, 30 points back from 10th-place and 699 points behind the leader. Thus far this season, the No. 77 Dollar General stores car has been driven by the ‘triple threat’ driver line-up. Kertus Davis has raced three races, Kevin Harvick has raced two races and Bobby Labonte has raced seven races to-date. DeLana Harvick is also ranked seventh in the Owner points for the No. 33 NASCAR Busch Series entry.

IN MEMORY OF JOHN PAUL LINVILLE: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) is a tournament sponsor for the second-annual John Paul Linville Memorial Golf Tournament in memory of KHI team co-owner DeLana Harvick’s father. Approximately 20 teams of four golfers will take to the course on Wednesday, May 23. Lunch will be served courtesy of Chic-Fil-A. All proceeds and donations will go to the Mills Home in Thomasville, N.C., and Victory Junction Gang Camp. Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) has entered four teams in the tournament. A few of the players that will attempt to hit the little white ball for KHI include Kevin Harvick, Kyle Petty, Rick Carelli, Matt Yocum and Wally Rogers.

DOLLAR GENERAL STORES CREW MEMBERS PIT A CAR IN IOWA ON WEEKEND OFF: Kevin Harvick competed in NASCAR’s inaugural event at Iowa Speedway for the Grand National Division East-West race on Sunday, May 20. Harvick drove a West car for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI). KHI has entered a car in a West Series race previously in five events, and walked away with two victories. Harvick rallied a pit crew combined of the No. 33 and No. 77 Busch Series teams to pit the car. The race was between Harvick and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Joey Logano. The two swapped the lead 15 times and Logano moved into the lead for the final six-lap sprint to the end. After dominating the majority of the 200-lap event, Harvick, due to engine problems, finished second.

CREW CHIEF CORNER WITH WALLY ROGERS:
THOUGHTS ON LOWE’S: “It’s going to be a typical night at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway, especially after watching the Truck and Cup cars race on the track this weekend. I feel pretty confident, even with the track surface and the tires, that the Dollar General stores team will unload a pretty good car. I opted not to test last week with the other Busch Series teams, it’s just another chance to wrinkle up our cars. I know going into the race this weekend, what the track surface is like and GoodYear didn’t change the tire we are racing. I finished in the top-10 with Harvick last year in the No. 33 and there is no doubt in my mind that with Bobby [Labonte] in the car that we can’t set our goal even higher.”

QUICK NOTES:
Race Info Date: May 26, 2007
Track: Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway
Event Name: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300

Race length: 200 laps / 300 miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degrees
Track layout: 1.5-miles Shape: Quad-oval

Pre-Race Schedule:
Practice—Thursday from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m., ET
Final Practice—Thursday from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m., ET
Qualifying—Saturday at 4:05 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 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 on ESPN2 at 8:00 p.m., ET.
Radio – The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at 7:15 p.m. ET.

No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 027
Car History: Bobby Labonte previously raced to an eighth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2007
Engine: RCR