Race 2 Win: GFS Marketplace 400 - Bobby Labonte Notes

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GFS Marketplace 400 - Bobby Labonte Notes

BOBBY LABONTE GFS MARKETPLACE 400 NOTES

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 – The following are GFS Marketplace 400 pre-race notes and quotes for Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing.

GFS MARKETPLACE 400 PRE-RACE NOTES:

Labonte will attempt to start his 27th NEXTEL Cup race at historic Michigan International Speedway. He won both races at the legendary track in 1995 and won the 1999 fall race.

In 26 NEXTEL Cup starts at Michigan, Labonte has nine top-five finishes and has won the Bud Pole, four times, including capturing both poles in 2003.

Labonte has 15 top-10 finishes at MIS in 26 Cup starts (58 percent). Between the 1993 fall race and the 2000 fall race, Labonte finished in the top 10 in 13 of 15 races, including nine consecutive races from the fall race in 1996 through the fall race of 2000.

In June 2005, Labonte started sixth and finished 15th in the NEXTEL Cup race at MIS. He also competed in the Craftsman Truck Series event that weekend. He qualified 17th, but finished 32nd after crashing on Lap 93 of 100 while in the top 10.

Last week, at Watkins Glen, Labonte started 23rd and finished 36th after a mechanical problem ended his day on Lap 86 of 90.

Bad luck has plagued Labonte throughout the 2005 season. He has failed to finish in nine of the 22 races due to accidents or engine problems.

Labonte is 24th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He has 2,094 points and trails 23rd-place Casey Mears by two points. Labonte is 1,019 points behind Tony Stewart, who leads the points, 619 points from the 400-point cutoff for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup and 499 behind 10th-place Carl Edwards.

The primary car for the GFS Marketplace 400 is chassis No. 91 which Labonte used at Chicago when he started 26th and finished 13th. The car was involved in an accident in May during practice for the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.

The back-up car is chassis No. 99 the car Labonte finished second with in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29. Labonte started sixth and finished 14th with the car in June at MIS and also drove the car at Atlanta where he started 19th and finished 37th after being involved in an accident on Lap 1 and suffering engine problems late in the race.

GFS MARKETPLACE 400 PRE-RACE QUOTE:
BOBBY LABONTE (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet; 2000 NASCAR Champion, 1991 Busch Series Champion): “Michigan has always been my favorite track. It just has everything going for it. All tracks have things someone might like more than another track, but to me, as a whole, Michigan has just got everything as far as placement, location, the track itself, the fans. A little bit of everything just seems like it goes a long way there. It’s always a treat to go to Michigan, and when you run good there it helps. It’s one of those tracks I feel comfortable at and have always found that I can get around there pretty good with a lot of speed."

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