Bobby Labonte Closes Out 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Homestead Miami Speedway

Homestead, Fla. – NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte and the No. 71 TaxSlayer.com team closed out TRG Motorsports’ first Cup Series season at Homestead Miami Speedway with a 31st-place finish and a positive outlook to build on for next season. TRG closes out an incredible first season. After missing the Daytona 500, TRG qualified for every other race during the 2009 season. The team heads into 2010 with Labonte behind the wheel, and

TaxSlayer.com on board as the team’s sponsor for 12 races next season.
Despite battling a race car that was tight in the center and loose off for the majority of the day, Labonte was able to recover from going one lap down early in the race, to running in the top-25 with lap times faster than much of the competition. Unfortunately, as track conditions changed from day to night, the car lost grip quickly.

“This wasn’t the finish I wanted to close the season out with for TRG Motorsports or TaxSlayer.com, but I’ve got to give credit to Slugger and all of the guys on the crew for working on the car and making adjustments all day,” Labonte said. “I’m feeling good about the successes we’ve had this year and I’m excited to take that to Daytona in just a few months.”
TRG Motorsports team owner Kevin Buckler was dissatisfied with the results but pleased with the efforts of his team and driver for fighting through a long day in the Sunshine State.

“A 31st-place finish isn’t what I was hoping for, but when you think about the strides we’ve made this season, and how far we’ve come since February, it’s pretty amazing,” Buckler said. “We’ve got a great group of guys who have worked really hard all year – we’ve all learned a lot together and I can’t wait to see what we’re going to do in 2010. We will be working hard throughout the off season to take our program better and sign additional sponsors and partners for next year.”

The No. 71 TRG Motorsports team will spend the off-season preparing for a next year with Labonte behind the wheel and the 52nd Running of the DAYTONA 500 in February, 2010.