Bouncing Back And Turning Right
Labonte Looks For Better Weekend on Road Course

LEVEL CROSS, NC (August 8, 2006) - This weekend, Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team head to the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course for Sunday’s last road course race of the season. The AMD at The Glen is one of only two road course races on the Nextel Cup schedule.

Labonte is no stranger to road course racing. Labonte has raced in a pair of Grand America Rolex series races in a Daytona Protoype since July. Labonte raced at Daytona (Fla.) and again in Birmingham (Ala.) just a few weeks ago.

Labonte will be making his 14th start at Watkins Glen and first for Petty Enterprises. Labonte won the pole for this race in 2000 and has finished inside the top 10 in nearly fifty percent of his starts at the track. Labonte has two top-five and six top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen.

Comments from Labonte as he prepares for this weekend’s AMD at The Glen:

What are your thoughts heading into Watkins Glen?

“We obviously want to get a good finish. We didn’t have the weekend we wanted at Indy, but Watkins Glen has been good to me in the past. I really enjoy road courses and road racing. This is hopefully the medicine we’ll need to bounce back.

“I know everyone on this Cheerios team just wants to get back to the track. We have had some bad races in the past, but we have shown the strength to rebound. We have proved we can do it, and we’ll do it again. It’s nice that we’re going to a place that has been good to me in the past. Hopefully we’ll get another good run this weekend.”

What are the challenges of Watkins Glen?

“It’s just a road course. That’s the biggest challenge for a lot of guys. Some guys grow up racing go-karts, and maybe that’s the last time they raced on a road course since they got to Nextel Cup. I think it helps that I’ve raced some of the Grand American races recently. I may be more familiar with braking and turning right. I hope it gives me a leg up this weekend. It can’t hurt.

“The Busch Series is racing Saturday and a lot of the Cup guys will be in that. That’s going to give some guys a lot more track time. It’s probably going to help some of those teams, but you never know. Anything can happen in road course races. It’s a lot about strategy and things like that.”

What will determine the winner this weekend?

“Anything can happen at a road course. You always see a lot of different pit strategies. The guy that wins sometimes isn’t the guy with the best car. You have guys that will be on pit road, you think there is something wrong, but it’s just the pit strategy they are using. You have to race your own race and let everything fall into place.

“We just want to have a good run. If you can stay on course and have a good car you’ll end up with a good finish. Todd (Parrott) is a very talented crew chief. He knows what it takes to win races. We’ll do what it takes to get this Cheerios Dodge in victory lane on Sunday.”