CHARTER IS AT THE CENTER OF ATTENTION ON BOBBY LABONTE’S NO. 47 TOYOTA CAMRY AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
Track: Auto Club Speedway
Event: Auto Club 400
Date & Time: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 3 p.m. ET
Broadcast: FOX, MRN Radio
Auto Club Speedway Preview:
Auto Club Speedway has hosted 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races with 14 race winners and 15 pole winners. Bobby Labonte has competed in all events collecting four top-five, five top-10 and one pole (2001). He came close to winning two times finishing second on 4/27/03 and 4/30/00. His average start is 24.087 and average finish is 21.043. The 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has led 33 laps. The Corpus Christi, Texas-native is currently 29th in the points standings, 100 points behind leader Brad Keselowski.
JTG Daugherty Racing Quotes:
“We go to Southern California once a year now and I like racing the Charter Toyota Camry at Auto Club Speedway,” said Bobby Labonte. “The fans and competitors look forward to it. We don’t have an option to go there twice like some of the other tracks we visit. It’s a fast track and it’s good to always see the infield filled with campers. We’re hoping for good weather and a good crowd on Sunday.”
“Before heading to Auto Club Speedway, Toyota drivers are dropping by Toyota Motor Sales USA headquarters in Torrance, California,” said Labonte. “There is obviously a lot of tradition, a lot of engines built there, a lot of cars come out of there through the museum that Toyota has been so successful with over the years. We will be meeting the employees and Toyota will have most of their Toyota-powered drivers there and it’s always a fun event.”
“We appreciate the support of Toyota,” Labonte continued. “They are so supportive of their teams and NASCAR. There’s a lot of good things happening there.”
“After struggling in Vegas and Phoenix, our team definitely made the turn last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway giving Bobby a very good race car,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “The motor issues that we experienced took us out of the race. These things are going to happen to everyone, we just wished it didn’t happen on a weekend where we were destined for a solid top-ten finish. We know that we are definitely on the right path with the development of our setups and plan on showing off what we have learned this weekend in Fontana with the No. 47 Charter Toyota Camry.”
Bobby Labonte Stats:
Career Starts: 694
Wins: 21
Top-five: 115
Top-10: 201
First Start: 06/03/1991 Dover
First Pole: 09/11/1993 Richmond
First Win: 05/28/1995 Charlotte
Last Pole: 04/04/2004 Texas
Last Win: 11/16/2003 Homestead (328 races since)
Driver DOB: 05/08/1964
Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX
Crew Chief: Brian Burns
________________________________
Charter Media
Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States.
Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV® video entertainment programming,
Charter Internet® access, and Charter Phone®. Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband
communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business
telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul.
Charter’s advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand.
More information about Charter can be found at Charter.com.
________________________________
Tailgater of the Week:
Do you have what it takes to be the “TAILGATER OF THE WEEK”?
At Bristol Motor Speedway, Bob Worden from Stevens Point, Wisconsin stood out among the other tailgaters with help from his friends Jim Koziol, Ron Witt, Ken Scheidt, Luke Olsen, Rick and Donna Bush.
Worden, who was pleasantly surprised when Bobby Labonte walked up to his campsite, has been camping at Bristol for over a decade cooking up some of his favorite foods that includes steaks, burgers and chicken.
“We’ve been camping here for 11 years and it’s pretty cool to have Bobby stop by our campsite,” Worden said. “More drivers should be like Bobby Labonte.”
“If NASCAR wants to have even more fans in the stands, they should talk to Bobby Labonte,” Rockin’ Ron Witt said. “This is something else that Bobby has come to the campgrounds to interact with the fans.”
Tailgating is a way of life. It’s a way to bring friends and family together according to Worden and Witt. Even Labonte had a great time.
“This was a pretty neat deal,” Labonte said. “I had a lot of fun hanging out with fans of our sport.”
Are you the ultimate “Grillmaster” at the race track? Do you want to win an all expense paid trip and be the VIP guest of JTG Daugherty Racing at the big race in Las Vegas in 2014?
If you answered yes, then get out to the track and let us know where you are tailgating! Each race weekend during the Sprint Cup season JTG Daugherty Racing will be scouting the infields and campgrounds, looking for the best tailgaters at the track. The best, most enthusiastic tailgaters each race weekend will win a custom prize pack and become eligible for our “TAILGATER OF THE YEAR” competition.
You can let us know where you are tailgating by tweeting us your location.
Throughout the weekend, leading up to the green flag, our team members, owners and maybe even Bobby Labonte himself will be patrolling the infield and campsites looking for the best tailgaters. So, fire up your grills with Kingsford® Charcoal, heat up a can of Bush’s® Grillin’ Beans and clean up your messes with Clorox® and Scott® Brand Products!
Simply follow us on Twitter @NASCAR47 , send us a tweet with your tailgate location and include the hash tag #TweetYourTailgate
Visit www.RaceSavers.com for more details!
