Dodge/Save Mart 350 - Bobby Labonte Notes

LABONTE EXCITED ABOUT CHALLENGE OF ROAD COURSES

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (June 17, 2003) - Last year's Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Speedway (Sears Point) was the tail of two races for Bobby Labonte and crew chief Michael McSwain. While Labonte suffered a late-race spin with less than 10 laps remaining and dropped from 10th position to finish 13th in the event, McSwain was headed to victory lane with driver Ricky Rudd.

Fast forward one year and the duo of Labonte and McSwain have put together a very impressive run as of late. With six top-three finishes in the last seven races, Labonte has climbed from 15th to 4th in the point standings in that same time span as well and is looking forward to the challenge of the first road-course race of the season.

"Michael's (McSwain) built a brand new car for this weekend," said Labonte. "We were able to shake it down a couple of weeks ago and it felt great. I am really looking forward to this weekend's trip out to Sears Point. I think I am pretty decent on the road courses and have gotten better over the years, but I think Michael is really going to take it to another level for us. His thought process is so detail oriented that he leaves no stones unturned when it comes to trying to make the car go faster."

Labonte realizes though that no matter how good a driver or his equipment is, if you can't keep the car on the track then you end up fighting a tough uphill battle.

"I was just trying too hard at the end of the race last year when I spun the car around," explained Labonte. "We had been having such a dismal season and I was trying to get as many positions as I could and I wanted to try and redeem our entire season in one race. That thought process cost us in the long run when I got off the track. It killed all of our momentum."

"You need to be patient and very strategic when planning a pass there," added Labonte. "There is no chance for your brain to get a break like you might get at some tracks going down a backstretch or something. With all the turns and the elevation changes and such, you can never stop concentrating on anything. It happens too fast and you'll end up getting in trouble if you do lose focus."

For McSwain, he couldn't be any more excited than he is currently about arriving at Infineon. With the streak of top-three finishes and knowing he helped Rudd reach victory lane there last season, McSwain sees no reason why Labonte can't capture his first road-course pole position and victory all in the same weekend.

"Bobby is underrated as a driver in this garage," said McSwain. "Everyone has their niche and maybe his is the mile and a half tracks, but I think he has proven, especially this season, that he is as capable as anyone else out there on any given track. We've got a brand new car for this weekend and I am really excited to see how well it unloads Friday morning and what we are able to accomplish over the weekend. Let's just say I wouldn't be at all surprised to be meeting him in the winner's circle after the race is over."

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