Pepsi 400 - Bobby Labonte Notes

LABONTE HOPES TO SURVIVE DAYTONA

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (July 1, 2003) - In the midst of somewhat of a slump at the Daytona International Speedway, Bobby Labonte hopes to return to Daytona 's 2.5-mile oval this weekend and not only survive, but get back to running up front in an event he knows he is capable of winning.

"We have had great cars the last couple of years there, but we never seem to get a chance to utilize them as we always seem to be getting caught up in someone else's mess," explained Labonte. "In four of the last five events we have been involved in an accident not of our own doing and that gets tiring. These guys on the teams and in the shops work so hard on these superspeedway cars and it ends up being for nothing in the end. No matter though, we will head down there this weekend with the thought process that we are very capable of winning the race."

Though Labonte has not finished better than 32nd in his last three outings in Daytona, his hopes for a change of luck there could also be linked to the fact that his 2003 season has been a far better season overall than his 2002 campaign. And with the resurgence, most people feel that he and Interstate Batteries Racing Team are back in the middle of the championship chase as the season hits the midpoint.

"We have had a great season up to this point, but Daytona and Talladega were terrible," said Labonte. "We finished 41st in Daytona after getting hit on pit road trying to avoid Ryan Newman's flip and then we got hit trying to avoid the big wreck in Talladega. It was just something that was a freak deal. In both instances we thought we had avoided the carnage, only to get hit at the last minute by a car that was out of control. Those two finishes really hurt us in terms of points, but we can't look over our shoulder. We have to look forward and right now I am looking forward to Saturday night racing under the lights.

If there is a silver lining for Labonte in any of this, it's the fact that the majority of his good finishes at Daytona have come in the mid-season July classic. In 10 starts, Labonte has recorded three top-five and four top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish in 1998.

"We really seemed to have our stuff together down at Daytona in 1998, 1999 and 2000," recalled Labonte. "For a while, it seemed we were right there in the running every time, but lately we haven't had the chance to get to the finish and see if we had anything for them. I guess it all cycles through for all the teams out here."

"We all know that DEI is the team to beat down there lately," continued Labonte. "I can remember though when Sterling Marlin was driving for Morgan-McClure and their cars were unbeatable down there. Seems someone always finds a little advantage they can hold on to for a year or two and then the other teams catch on to what they are doing. Hopefully, we have caught up with everyone and hopefully passed a lot of them and it will show Saturday night."

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