Brickyard 400 Preview #43 Cheerios Racing/Totino’s Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Allstate 400 at The Brickyard Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway July 27, 2008 Bobby Labonte was the 2000 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard Champion. Quotes from Bobby Labonte: “This weekend really feels like the start of the second half of our season. It actually began after the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona a couple of weeks ago, but the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard starts a stretch of 17 consecutive races. Plus we are coming off of an off-weekend where everyone on the Cheerios Racing/Totino’s Dodge team were able to relax and get geared up for this big run to the end of the season. There isn’t a better way to start the second half than with one of our biggest races of the year. The first half starts with the biggest race, the Daytona 500, but Indianapolis is big too.” “My brother Terry was always one of my heroes when I was growing up. But as a young, aspiring racecar driver growing up in Texas, A.J. Foyt was another person that I often imitated. I can still remember his fourth Indianapolis 500 win in 1977. I thought it would be so cool to stand in Victory Lane at the Brickyard. Racing stock cars, however, I never thought I would get that chance. Then, in 1994, NASCAR raced at the Brickyard for the first time. I was fortunate to win in 2000 and it has to rank at the top of my list of career wins.” “We’ve had some good races with the No. 43 Cheerios Racing/Totino’s Dodge this year and we’ve had some races where we were off. You hope to learn something every time you go to the racetrack, but with the new car we have spent the first half of the year finding what works and what doesn’t. One of our better races came at Pocono and Indianapolis drives a lot like Pocono. That gives me confidence that we can have a good run this weekend. No one on this team is giving up on this year. There is still a lot of racing left.” “Fans, don’t forget that Petty Enterprises has two great promotions going with two of our partners, where you have a chance to win great prizes. The Bobby Labonte Pit Stop Challenge at www.super8.com will give you a chance to hone your pit stop skills. Log on now to enter the tournament. Who knows, maybe you will win the Richard Petty Driving Experience prize or a chance to hang out with me and “The King” at the race in Texas. Another contest that you don’t want to miss is with our manufacturer, Dodge. Go to www.dodgeking50.com to help “The King” continue his 50th anniversary of his first NASCAR start. There you can enter to win a brand-new Dodge Charger, a trip for two to Richard’s condo at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the race in October or $100 Marathon gas cards.” Bobby Labonte at Indianapolis Motor Speedway * Racing at Indianapolis, Labonte has scored four top-5s and five top-10s. * His best qualifying position at the track is third, which he scored in 2000. He has qualified within the top-10 a total of six times at Indianapolis. * In 14 starts at The Brickyard, Labonte has completed 2,170 of 2,241 laps (96.8%) including 30 laps led. * Labonte’s average start at the track is 20.2 and average finish is 15.6.