Go, Bobby, Go!

There's a nice, long interview at Auto Racing Daily with Bobby Labonte. The interview covers all kinds of topics, from the team's middling performance all year long, missed chances at Martinsville and the Car of Tomorrow.

I believe that, you know, you have - I guess we've got 14 races left in the Car of Tomorrow and there's going to be a lot of things that's going to change between now and the 14th or 16th race, say, for instance, because I think everybody is still trying to figure it out. It's been two good races. The finishes have been real close obviously. But, hey, that could have happened in the car of yesterday, too.

Check out Auto Racing Daily for the full interview.

While Bobby Labonte's recent performance as a driver in the Nextel Cup hasn't been so hot as a team owner in the Lucas Oil Dirt series he is on fire. With driver Early Pearson, Jr's two top five finishes over the weekend, Earl took over the lead in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national point's standings with a 75 point advantage over Steve Casebolt.

"We had a pretty good weekend and hopefully we have gotten back on track with our program. We've been inconsistent here lately but Jason, Matt and Keith have been working hard to get us back up front again. It feels good to be leading the series points again but Casebolt and James are really running good everywhere and will be tough to beat for this championship. Really looking forward to going out to the Midwest next week and running at the Lucas Oil Speedway in MO," stated Pearson, Jr.

Pearson and team will travel to two more Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned events before the month closes. The Tri-City Speedway race in Pontoon Beach, FL will appear live on the SPEED Channel.

Donna Labonte, wife of #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge driver Bobby Labonte, hosted a First Book Speed Read last week. The event, sponsored by First Book, and Cheerios, placed one brand new book into the hands of a child in need for every word read at the community event hosted in Naperville, Ill.

The event celebrates the Race for Books initiative. Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories and First Book are donating 43 books to disadvantaged children for every lap completed by Bobby in the 2007 racing season. After completing all 267 laps in the July 15th race at the Chicago racetrack, Cheerios and First Book had donated more than 11,000 books to children in the region.

Find out more on Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories and First Book to see how you can get involved.

The No. 77 Dollar General stores team unloaded in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Wednesday for the Winn-Dixie 250 event scheduled for Friday night. Teams endured three days of Florida rains, which eventually postponed the 100-lap event until Saturday morning. Labonte started 31st in the field and quickly made his way up to 20th within the first three laps of the event. Unfortunately the car slipped out of gear and caused Labonte to slow on the track. From that point on, it was a day of catching up and trying to make up track position. Labonte finished out the day in the 23rd-place.

More on Labonte's performance in the Busch race at Daytona at WhoWon.com.

Labonte and the team have moved back to 18th in championship points heading into this weekend's event, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. The team is only 69 points out of the 15th position. Labonte and the #43 team continue to be one of the best Dodge teams on the circuit. Labonte is the third best Dodge in points.

"We feel pretty good that we can come back and have a strong run Saturday. This race is one that is won back at the shop. The guys preparing the car, shaping it and molding it back at the body shop are the ones that win the races at Daytona."

Despite recent setbacks Labonte seems to remain upbeat about their odds of getting into the Chase.

The season is about to take a turn. For the first time in the 2007 season NASCAR’s top series will return to a track for a second time. This week NASCAR returns to Florida for the Fourth of July classic at Daytona. Going fast and turning left was never so important, especially with the restrictor plates restricting the air flow through the carburetors.

Driving Kevin Harvick Inc.’s Snap-on rides will be Tony Raines and Bobby Labonte. Raines has had limited experience at Daytona, but has a good teammate in Labonte to lean on if he needs advice on working the exciting drafting package on the Busch cars.

"My second restrictor-plate race with KHI was at Talladega and both KHI cars were strong. I’m really looking forward to racing at Daytona with the Dollar General stores team for a second time this season," said Labonte. "Daytona is all about the aero package. So far this season the Kevin Harvick Inc. cars and the Dollar General stores crew has definitely hit on their speedway package."

For 30 years, Goody’s Headache Powders has been synonymous with race fans, Richard Petty and Martinsville Speedway. In 2007, Goody’s will continue the celebration of its 30th anniversary in racing with the running of a special No. 43 Goody’s paint scheme driven by former Cup champion Bobby Labonte at Martinsville Speedway on October 21.

The special paint scheme will feature a vintage design in “Petty Blue” to celebrate Goody’s 30th anniversary in racing and pay tribute to the storied history of the No. 43 racecar driven for decades by Richard Petty.

"It is always an honor to drive the No. 43 car made so famous by the King,” said Labonte. “To return to Martinsville with Goody’s on the hood of a special, vintage No. 43 paint scheme will be an excellent tribute to the history of our sport.”

More on the Goodys paint scheme at That's Racin'.

Wally Rogers, crew chief for the #77 Chevrolet, Bobby Labonte has been driving in the Busch Series was penalized for rules infraction at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Rogers was fined $500 for violating Sections 12-4-A, 12-4-Q and 16.1C "fuel cell foam not used as provided by the manufacturer; open areas cut out of foam". The infraction was discovered during practice on June 29.

I discovered a great blog earlier this week that had some interesting commentary on NASCAR races. Head over to Musings of Monkeesfan and read some great observations on this past weekend's race in New Hampshire.

The No. 77 Dollar General stores team unloaded in Loudon, New Hampshire on Thursday in preparation for the Camping World 200 Busch Series race. Bobby Labonte and the crew completed two practice sessions on Friday, and by the end of final practice, the Dollar General stores Chevrolet was in the top-10 on the speed charts. Both the driver and crew chief felt good about the 77 car and about the team’s chances for a solid run at New Hampshire International Speedway

More information available at WhoWon.com.