The Mental and Physical Meet at Infineon
Important Road Course Race Provides Unique Challenges

LEVEL CROSS, NC (June 20, 2006) - This weekend, Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team head to the 1.99-mile Infineon Raceway, located in Sonoma, California, for Sunday’s Dodge/SaveMart 350.

Labonte will be making his 14th start at the Infineon Raceway this weekend. Labonte has two top-five and five top-10 finishes at the track. Labonte has qualified as high as third at Infineon and his highest finish is fourth on two different occasions.

Questions for Labonte as he prepares for this weekend’s Dodge/SaveMart 350:

How important are the road course races?

“Both road course races are really important. Sonoma is this weekend and Watkins Glen is in August. We don’t have a road course race during the final 10 races, but the two races are important in keeping your momentum going during the summer. You can’t let down this weekend. You can’t have a negative attitude. You have to be prepared. We are going to treat it like any other weekend.”

Is there a different atmosphere at road course races, more to think about?

“We’re turning right and that’s something different to think about. We’re shifting, braking, accelerating, going up-and-down hills, yeah, there’s a lot to think about. You just have to put it all together for an entire day. You can’t miss a shift or miss your marks. You have to concentrate and keep getting good laps in.

“We see a lot of guys go off the track and lose time. Infineon is a technical track. It’s really fast at some points, but really slow at others. You just have to keep your rhythm and get good, clean laps. We’re used to racing ovals so a road course just makes you think differently.”

Does this make this weekend more a mental challenge?

“Infineon is both physical and mental. You’re constantly turning the car. It’s a constant movement so you’re using a lot of muscles. It can get physically tough if you’re racing hard with these guys. You just can’t let up.

“It’s mentally tough because you can’t miss a beat. You remember what you did the previous lap and what you’re doing at the present moment. If it’s good, you try to do it again. If it wasn’t, you try not to make that mistake again. It’s a lot about getting that rhythm around the track. You hope your car is rolling through the turns and braking well. You’re thinking about a lot of stuff, but only remembering what works. We’re hoping that we’ll have a lot of good things happen to us on Sunday. We want a good run with this Cheerios Dodge.”