Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

O'Reilly Challenge - Bobby Labonte Notes

Bobby Labonte
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 33 of 35 – Texas Motor Speedway

MEMPHIS (TENN.) MOTORSPORTS PARK RACE RECAP: NASCAR Busch Series teams suffered through 25 caution periods in the Sam’s Town 250 at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park on Saturday. Brandon Miller debuted in the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, starting 28th and finishing 37th.

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FACTS & STATS:

SIXTH CAREER START: Bobby Labonte will make his sixth NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) career start at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. The Texas-native has completed 99.5 percent of the scheduled laps in five NBS events.

400 MILES FROM HOME: Growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, Labonte’s hometown is only a six hour car ride to the Texas Motor Speedway. During the NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday, Labonte will drive the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet 300 miles, just 100 miles short of the trip.

SPRING NBS RACE AT TEXAS: Bobby Labonte piloted the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet in the spring NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Labonte qualified the No. 77 in the 17th row on the starting grid. Throughout the 200-lap event, Labonte wheeled the No. 77 toward the front of the pack. While running sixth, Labonte was caught in a scoring hiccup that caused the No. 77 to be scored two laps down with a fifty-lap sprint to the end of the event. Labonte brought the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet home in one piece for a 22nd-place finish.

LOOKING BACK: The last time the NASCAR Busch Series teams visited Texas Motor Speedway was on April 14, eight races into the 35-race season. It was the fifth time in the 2007 season that Bobby Labonte piloted the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. Team co-owner DeLana Harvick then sat 26th in the NASCAR Busch Series Owner’s Point Standings. Fast forward to the present day, team co-owner Mrs. Harvick has moved from 26th in the points to 12th with three races remaining.

WIN A FAST MILLION SWEEPSTAKES WINNER CHOSEN: Dollar General recently surprised Fairhope, Ala. resident Mary McNair with the good news that she is the grand prize winner of the Dollar General Win a Fast Million sweepstakes. McNair won $10,000 cash and an all-expenses paid trip for two to Miami, Fla. to attend the NASCAR Busch and Nextel Cup Series races. And, if the No. 77 Dollar General stores car is declared the official winner of the NASCAR Busch Series race on November 17, McNair wins $1 million. “I thought you were joking!” exclaimed McNair when she found out she was the grand prize winner. McNair is looking forward to traveling to Miami, Fla. to attend the races, which will be her first time to attend a NASCAR race. If McNair wins the million dollar prize, she already has plans for the money. “It will go towards our business, the Montrose Hideaway Bed-and-Breakfast retreat,” concluded McNair. To find out if McNair “Wins a Fast Million,” tune in to ESPN2 on Saturday, November 17 to watch the NASCAR Busch Series race.

CREW CHIEF CORNER WITH WALLY ROGERS:
CAR SPECS: “The handling of the car is important at Texas Motor Speedway because it’s so fast and smooth. Turning in the middle (of the corner), but not being too loose driving in the corner is the key to racing well. The low line is definitely the way to get around the 1.5-mile speedway, because it has the most grip.”

QUICK NOTES:
Race Info
Date: November 3, 2007
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Event Name: O’Reilly Challenge
Race length: 200 laps / 300 miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degrees
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-Oval

Pre-Race Schedule:
Friday:
Practice: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., ET
Final Practice: 11:55 a.m. – 12:55 p.m., ET
Qualifying: 6:35 p.m., ET

Broadcast Times:
TV: NASCAR Countdown pre-race coverage can be seen live on ESPN2 at 3:00 p.m., ET, followed by the O’Reilly Challenge on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at 3:00 p.m., ET.

No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 027
Car History: Chassis No. 027 was previously raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, California Speedway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway in 2007.
Engine: RCR