Bristol is Best Finish So Far
Looking For Even Better Result with Hamburger Helper Dodge

This weekend, Bobby Labonte and the #43 Hamburger Helper Dodge head to the .533-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s Sharpie 500. Labonte will be racing the Hamburger Helper scheme for the only time this season.

Labonte will be part of a press conference Friday afternoon at the Bristol Motor Speedway media center to announce a special promotion involving Hamburger Helper. The press conference is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

Labonte’s first major NASCAR win came at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Labonte beat the late Dale Earnhardt and David Green in 1991 for his first NASCAR Busch Series win. Labonte has also won two poles in the Busch Series at Bristol.

Labonte will be making his 28th start at Bristol in Nextel Cup competition this weekend. Labonte is coming back to the track after scoring a fifth place finish for the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team in March. Labonte earned his third top-five finish at Bristol in that race. He has nine top-10 finishes at Bristol. Labonte’s best start is third.

Comments from Labonte as he prepares for this weekend’s Sharpie 500:

You won your first Busch Series race at Bristol. What was that like?
“It was memorable. We had a good car, and we were having a great run. I had to come up through the field late. Dale Earnhardt was leading and I had to get around him for the win. It was never an easy thing to do when trying to pass Dale Earnhardt. He wasn’t going to make it easy on you, but at Bristol, where nothing is easy, it was a tough chore. I eventually ‘rooted’ my way up there and got next to him. We did the ‘trade the paint’ thing, but we got past him. I went on to win.

“It’s memorable. I think any time you beat Dale Earnhardt for a win it’s memorable, but this was my first Busch Series win. It was just a special moment. Bristol is going to be a special place. We can’t go back and run that race over, but it’s a memory that I’ll always have. That’s pretty cool.”

You had a great race in March. What the expectations this time?
“It was another good day. We had a good Cheerios Dodge, and we were right there at the end. I know a lot of fans in that area like watching the ‘43’ race up front. We were up there most of the day. We didn’t have a great starting position (30th), but we found our way to the front with strategy and a fast car.

“It was a good result for us, but we need to go back and see if we can get a little bit better. It’s positive to know that we can do it, because we’ve done it before, but we need to show it on the track. This night race is usually a little different. Guys are excited and things happen a little bit more. We’ll just have to be on our toes and be there at the end.”

Is this the most exciting race of the season?
“It might be for the fans. They keep building seats and they keep filling them. The night race is always a big event. There is always a lot of excitement and it seems like the races never let the fans down. It’s just a tough track to pass and tough to race. You have to be patient and hope the guys around you are patient too.

“Who knows what will happen Saturday? There is usually something that happens and it’s talked about for a few weeks. Hopefully we’ll have a race like March. We just did our ‘deal’ and got out of there with a good finish. We want to do the same thing with this Hamburger Helper Dodge this weekend.”