Bobby Labonte
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 10 of 35—Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
PHOENIX (ARIZ.) INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY RACE RECAP:
For the first time in his NASCAR Busch Series career, Kevin Harvick raced in the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet. Harvick made his 10th start at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway after qualifying the Dollar General stores Chevrolet in the 18th row on the starting grid. From the drop of the green flag, Harvick was on the move toward the front of the field, passing over 25 cars throughout the night to finish in ninth place.
TALLADEGA (ALA.) SUPERSPEEDWAY FACTS & STATS:
LABONTE’S NBS CAREER AT TALLADEGA: Bobby Labonte will make his fourth NASCAR Busch Series start at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It’s been over a decade since Labonte has raced in the Busch Series at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
BUSCHWHACKERS: Bobby Labonte along with at least 20 other NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers are scheduled to race in the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Busch Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Labonte’s teammate in the No. 33 Old Spice Chevrolet will be NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Tony Stewart.
BUSCH CARS WILL EXPERIENCE THE NEW FACELIFT: The NASCAR Busch Series cars will make their first laps on the repaved 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway for the first time since the renovation. NASCAR Nextel Cup and Truck Series teams have raced on the repaved surface because the two series raced at Talladega late in the 2006 season. Following the Busch and Cup Series races in the spring of 2006, the track was ripped up and repaved.
TECH INSPECTION 101: NASCAR Busch Series teams will enter the garage area on Thursday and get in line for NASCAR tech inspection. At a ‘normal’ track the process is seamless, comparable to taking a test in eighth-grade history. The teams will enter in line and can make it through with only making minor adjustments to the car to meet NASCAR’s regulations. Tech inspection at a superspeedway is comparable to taking the SAT’s to be accepted into college. Every entity of the car is scrutinized especially the motor and the body of the car. Racing at Talladega, or any superspeedway, is all about low drag and how ‘slippery’ the car is through the air. NASCAR officials pay special attention to all the little edges and corners on the car, to make sure the car fits precisely to the NASCAR templates.
QUICK NOTES:
Race Info
Date: April 28, 2007
Track: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
Event Name: Aaron’s 312
Race length: 117 laps / 311.2 miles
Banking/Turns: 33-degrees
Track layout: 2.66-mile
Shape: Tri-Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Practice—Thursday at 4:00 – 5:20 p.m. ET
Final Practice—Thursday at 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 ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET. Followed by the Aaron’s 312 on ABC at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Radio – The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at 2:30 p.m. ET.
No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 008
Car History: Brand New
Engine: RCR
BOBBY LABONTE QUOTES:
ON TALLADEGA (ALA.) SUPERSPEEDWAY PAVEMENT: “It’s super smooth, and the handling of the car has never really played that big of a factor. The new pavement, it just takes the handling right out of it, you’ll just see a bigger pack of cars. There is a lot of grip there that stays on the track the whole time, drivers won’t lose any grip throughout the race.”
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NASCAR NEXTEL CUP CAR AND BUSCH SERIES CAR: “Just the aero package is different between a Nextel Cup Series car and a Busch car. I assume the cars will be bunched up compared to Daytona (Fla.), handling plays into the race. Qualifying in either series isn’t that big of a deal, you want to be a pro at it, but it’s not that big of a deal.”
CREW CHIEF CORNER WITH WALLY ROGERS:
THOUGHTS ON TALLADEGA (ALA.) SUPERSPEEDWAY: “Honestly, Talladega hasn’t been very good to me in my career. Last year with [Tony] Stewart, we were running decent and the day ended early after the No. 33 was flipped over and back on four tires. It’s all about the horse-power and aerodynamics when it comes to racing at Talladega. I feel confident with the car we are taking for Bobby [Labonte] to race. The Dollar General stores team has loaded chassis No. 008 on the hauler. This season the Dollar General stores team has hung a new body on the chassis and we’ll see how it does at Talladega.”
