Race 2 Win: Chevy Rock & Roll 400

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Chevy Rock & Roll 400 - Bobby Labonte Notes

BOBBY LABONTE RICHMOND NOTES AND QUOTES

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005 – The following are Chevy Rock and Roll 400 pre-race notes and quotes for Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing.

CHEVY ROCK AND ROLL 400 PRE-RACE NOTES:

Labonte will attempt to start his 26th NEXTEL Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. He has never won a NEXTEL Cup race at the 75-of-a-mile track. .

Labonte has four top-five and nine top-10 finishes at RIR. He has finished in the top-10 in four of the last five events at the track.

In the May race at RIR, Labonte started 39th and finished eighth.

In the spring of 2004, Labonte started 27th and finished third at RIR. In the fall he started 18th and finished 16th, one lap done.

During Bud Pole Qualifying at Richmond on Sept. 9, 1993, Labonte won his first career Bud Pole in the NEXTEL Cup Series. This year’s Bud Pole Qualifying is on Sept. 9, exactly 12 years to the day of Labonte’s first Bud Pole. While it is his only NEXTEL Cup pole at RIR, he has started in the top 10 in 12 of the 25 events.

Bad luck has plagued Labonte throughout the 2005 season. He has failed to finish in nine of the 24 races due to accidents or engine problems.

Labonte is 24th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He has 2,417 points and trails 23rd-place Ricky Rudd by 50 points.

The primary car for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 is chassis No. 93, a new car that has not been raced before. It was available, but not used, as a back up car earlier this season at Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond and New Hampshire

The back-up car is chassis No. 85, which was used in 2004 at Phoenix where Labonte started 27th and finished ninth. The only other time the car has been used was in 2003 at Indianapolis when Labonte started eighth and finished 22nd.

RICHMOND PRE-RACE QUOTE:

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet; 2000 NASCAR Champion, 1991 Busch Series Champion): “I’m looking forward to heading to Richmond this week. We’ve had some good runs on the short tracks this year. Qualifying is important everywhere we go, but no where more important than at the short-tracks. The cars can get strung out so quickly and a if the leader is setting a torrid pace right from the drop of the green-flag, then it's not hard to lose a lap early. Being able to start up front is a huge plus at places like Richmond, Bristol and Martinsville. It’s going to be another busy weekend since we’re running the No. 19 Banquet Chevrolet on Friday night. We’ve done pretty well in the Busch races this year, but we’d like to get a victory, obviously.”

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