UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - Bobby Labonte Notes

LABONTE'S BETTING THAT VEGAS RACE WILL BE DIFFERENT

Bobby Labonte

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (February 25, 2003) - Though he has nothing to be ashamed of, Bobby Labonte is neither happy with his performance or that of the Interstate Batteries Racing Team the last couple of years at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After recording back-to-back fifth-place finishes in 1999 and 2000, Labonte suffered a 29th-place finish in 2001 and a 12th-place result last season. Results he is not happy with, nor satisfied with.

"We're a better team than that, but we sure didn't prove it the last couple of years out there," said Labonte. "I am excited about returning though. If the test we had is any indication, then we should be in the ballpark when we unload Friday morning. Both Tony (Stewart) and I tested out there at the end of January and the test went really well. I got a lot of laps in the new Chevrolet and was just trying to shake it down since it was a new chassis and everything."

"And given how we ran Sunday in Rockingham, I'm ready to see what we can do when we get back out there to Vegas," added Labonte. "We had some bad luck with a tire that prevented a better finish Sunday, but we knew how good the car was and feel as though we can duplicate the results this weekend."

Labonte realizes he is going to have to be somewhat aggressive this weekend. Having finished 41st and 16th in the season's first two events, the 2000 champion is sitting in 28th-place in the points. Not a position he was hoping to have started the season out in.

"We have to race smart, but we also have to be aggressive enough to pull ourselves up out of this hole," explained Labonte. "I told 'Fatback' (Michael McSwain) that we are going to leave Vegas no worse than 15th in points and then after Atlanta, we will be close to the top-five. I believe we can do that, but it all starts this weekend in Vegas."

In the two races so far this season, there have been largely different results. Following Daytona there was a lot of talk among teams that the Chevrolets had an advantage, but following Sunday's Subway 400, the Ford's and Dodge's looked to be the class of the field. No matter who is at the top though, Labonte knows what he has to do and is not worrying about all the rumors floating out there.

"We think we've got a good car in the Monte Carlo," admitted Labonte. "We worked real hard to get the car as balanced as possible. I think John Darby and NASCAR have done a good job and getting the cars as close as they have. Just look at how long it is taking the teams to get through inspection now. They are not overlooking anything it seems, which is welcome by all of us in the garage."

This weekend's race in Las Vegas will mark the sixth trip the NASCAR Winston Cup Series has ventured out west. For Labonte, he enjoys the trip out West and the track itself.

"I think it's a great city and a great place to race," Labonte said. It's a wide track and there's potential for some good side-by-side racing. Every time we have come out here, the track has gotten a little bit better and matured, which to me, makes for better racing. Hopefully, we'll have that this weekend and we can be in the mix like we were in Rockingham."

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