Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 - Bobby Labonte Notes

BOBBY LABONTE CAROLINA DODGE DEALERS 400 NOTES AND QUOTES

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., Tuesday, March 16, 2004 – The following are Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 pre-race notes and quotes for Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing.

CAROLINA DODGE DEALERS 400 PRE-RACE NOTES:

•Labonte will attempt to start his 23rd race at Darlington Raceway. He has one win at Darlington, in the Southern 500 in the fall of 2000.

•Labonte has four top-five finishes at Darlington and won the Bud pole for the Southern 500 in the fall of 1997.

•In 2003 at Darlington, Labonte started 20th and finished 37th in the spring race and started fifth and finished seventh in the fall race.

•Labonte is 10th in points, coming off an 18th-place finish at Atlanta.

CAROLINA DODGE DEALERS 400 PRE-RACE QUOTE:

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet; 2000 NASCAR Champion): “Obviously, it will be interesting to see how the SAFER Barrier affects the racing line at Darlington. However, I don’t think any of us will really know anything until practice starts. Regardless of the SAFER Barrier, the track is still going to be the way it always has been: challenging to drive. It’s a place where you really have to think behind the wheel throughout the entire race, not just hold the throttle wide-open. We had a tough day at Atlanta last week, but still managed to move into the top 10 in points, which is important. Hopefully, we can have a good run at Darlington and keep moving up.”