Bobby Labonte
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 8 of 35—Texas Motor Speedway
NASHVILLE (TENN.) SUPERSPEEDWAY RACE RECAP:
Kertus Davis was behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet for the seventh race of a 35 race NASCAR Busch Series season while at the Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. Davis qualified the No. 77 on the 13th row of the starting grid. Racing within the top-20 for the majority of the first 90 laps of the 225 laps of the event, Davis and another competitor made contact and the No. 77 was turned into the wall.
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FACTS & STATS:
Bobby Labonte will make his fifth NASCAR Busch Series start at the Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). Labonte piloted the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet in the November 2006 Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway to a ninth-place finish. After competing at TMS in four Busch Series events, Labonte has an average finish of 15th.
Returning to the seat of the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, Labonte has made four previous starts for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season, competing at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
HOME SWEET HOME: Bobby Labonte will return to his home state this weekend to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series events. Labonte’s hometown is Corpus Christi, Texas which is a six hour trip from the Texas Motor Speedway. Labonte began racing quarter-midgets in 1969 and by 1970 had won his first national quarter-midget race. By 1978, Labonte had moved up to compete in go-karts and eventually moved from Corpus Christi, Texas to North Carolina in 1979.
BOBBY LABONTE QUOTES:
What is the secret to getting around Texas Motor Speedway? High line, low line, in the middle? “The low line is definitely the way to get around Texas Motor Speedway. But since the track has been ‘pumped up’ in turns one and two that could change some driving styles. The low line is faster around the track and has the most grip.”
Since the track has been ‘pumped up’ in turns one and two, will that change the racing line around the track? “If the bump is completely gone, it will change the racing. The car will handle better for the drivers. It will help by reducing the chance of the cars bottoming out and will result in faster laps.”
CREW CHIEF CORNER WITH WALLY ROGERS:
CAR SPECS: “Turning in the middle (of the corner), but not being too loose driving in the corner is the key to racing well at the Texas Motor Speedway. The handling of the car is important because Texas Motor Speedway is fast and smooth.”
CREW CHIEF CAREER RECORD AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “I like going to Texas Motor Speedway because it has always been good to me on finishes. I don’t think we’ve finished outside of the top-10 in a NASCAR Truck Series or Busch Series race since I’ve been at KHI (Kevin Harvick Inc.)”
PIT STRATEGY: “Pit strategy is pretty standard at Texas Motor Speedway. Tires make a difference when considering your game plan for pit strategy, because the track has aged enough that it’s a little abrasive on tires.”
IMPORTANCE OF READING: For the start of the 2007 race season, Bobby Labonte and his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series sponsor, Cheerios® announced a season-long Race For Books program. There seems to be a common understanding about the importance of literacy between driver Bobby Labonte and his Busch Series sponsor, Dollar General, as well. Since 1993 the Dollar General Corp. has tried to do its part in increasing functional literacy through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The Foundation has increased functional literacy of adults by providing grants to non-profit organizations dedicated to the advancement of literacy.
Labonte understands the importance of putting books into the hands of young children. Labonte’s primary sponsor, Cheerios, and a vendor partner of Dollar General Corp., has teamed up with First Book® to donate 43 books for every lap that Labonte and the No. 43 NASCAR Nextel Cup team complete during the entire 2007 season. Thus far, Labonte has completed 1808 laps and 77,744 books that have been donated to children in need.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info
Date: April 14, 2007
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Event Name: O’Reilly 300
Race length: 200 laps / 300 miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degrees
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Tri- Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Practice—Thursday at 12:00 – 1:10 p.m. ET
Final Practice—Thursday at 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
Qualifying—Thursday at 7:05 p.m. ET
Broadcast Times:
TV – NASCAR Countdown pre-race coverage can be seen live on ESPN2 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Followed by the O’Reilly 300 on ESPN2 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Radio – The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at 2:30 p.m. ET.
No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 024
Car History: Raced in 2007 at California Speedway and Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
Engine: RCR
