Southern 500 - Bobby Labonte Notes

LABONTE SAYS DARLINGTON'S HISTORY AND TRACK SURFACE CAN'T BE DUPLICATED

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (August 26, 2003) - Bobby Labonte and the rest of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers will head to Darlington Raceway this weekend for the 54th annual running of the Mountain Dew Southern 500. As NASCAR's oldest superspeedway, Darlington and more specifically the Southern 500 hold a lot of prestige among all of the competitors on the circuit. For Labonte though, knowing he was part of his brother Terry's winning pit crew back in 1980, made winning the Southern 500 himself in 2000 even that much sweeter.

"Yea, knowing I was here when Terry had won it was pretty cool," explained Labonte. "Now to think we have both won NASCAR's oldest and most prestigious races is a great feeling. This track has so much history and I know it may not be as old as Indianapolis is, but to have a win at Darlington on your résumé is something any driver would be proud to have. I know I am."

Labonte, like most other drivers knows that he must race the racetrack and not worry so much about the competition in order to try and have a successful day.

"Darlington is such a tough place to figure out," said Labonte. "The surface is so coarse that it just eats the tires up. It and Rockingham are tracks where the car has to be good of course, but the driver can make such a huge difference. Depending on the line they run and how hard you dive it off into the corner, will determine how well your tires wear. You are having to concentrate so hard every lap at this place because on any given lap, Darlington will remind you who's still in charge."

The way Bobby Labonte sees it, the rougher the surface of the racetrack, the better he seems to do. As a driver that loves to get up on the wheel and work his tail off under long green-flag runs, Labonte sees Darlington Raceway as an ideal place to work some magic. And while the track surface may not be as old as the facility itself, Labonte says there are times it sure can feel like it.

"Darlington is awesome when it comes to racing," admitted Labonte. "It may not be one of the newest facilities on circuit, but the history that place has and the type of racing you see is just great. Some of these younger drivers may not like it too much as the surface is very worn out, but I like it when the tires wear out and we're sliding all over the place."

"I feel like I have more input in terms of how well we run when the conditions are like that," continued Labonte. "There is nothing mechanical or that an engineer can do for us to smooth out the surface of the track, so it's up to me to drive it as hard as I can and find a line that will work around there. The thing about Darlington is that you can try and drive every lap perfect, but sooner or later you're going to touch the wall and get a one of those stripes on the car. Its just part of racing there."

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