BOBBY LABONTE AND NO. 47 PINE-SOL® TOYOTA CAMRY
KANSAS SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
Track: Kansas Speedway
Event: STP 400
Date: Sunday, April 21st
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM
Kansas Speedway Notes:
In 14 races at Kansas Speedway, Bobby Labonte’s best finish is 16th (10/10/04) and his best start is fourth (10/5/03). His average start is 21.857 and his average finish is 29.714. He has led two laps at the venue.
His best finish this season is 15th at Daytona International Speedway (2/24/13).
He is currently 30th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings, 99 points out of 10th place.
The 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will make his 700th career start in the coming weeks. It will take place at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, May 5th during the Aaron’s 499.
JTG Daugherty Racing Quotes
Bobby Labonte continues to recover from a stomach virus that plagued him at Texas: “Every day is a little better,” Bobby Labonte said. “My doctor has seen a lot of this lately with a wide variety of time to feel better. I hope to be getting better everyday. We have to put Texas behind us and focus on Kansas Speedway. The Kansas repave is nice from last year. We will see if it changed any over winter. We had a good car last time and I wrecked it. We can apply some stuff from the Texas test day a little. We are still behind on some things that we haven’t had time to test real well and look at data and meet about the changes.”
Crew chief Brian Burns moves forward to Kansas Speedway with something to prove: “Outside looking in, you would say that last weekend was a step back for our team,” crew chief Brian Burns said. “Minus the finishing results, it may have actually been our ‘Black Swan’ to help change things around. We had a very valuable test session on Thursday, which answered quite a few unknowns that we have had earlier in the season. Bobby was feeling pretty rough all weekend, and it really hit him hard on race day. We started the race with 15th to 20th place potential from the get go. Bobby probably shouldn’t have even started the race with how he was feeling, but race car drivers are a really tough breed and tend to push their limits quite a bit further than most of us.
“I want to thank Michael McDowell for jumping in the car on a minutes notice and helping us out,” continued Burns. “Getting feedback from another driver can be very helpful in assuring us that we are headed in the right direction. We have our focus set on Kansas this weekend, and hopeful that Bobby will have made a full recovery by then. I promise you that our group gets stronger and buckles down harder when times get tough, and we plan on proving it.”
Co-Owner Tad Geschickter knows his team is talented: “We have had a slower than expected start to the season,” JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said. “That made Bobby’s illness this past weekend even more challenging for everyone. The results don’t yet reflect the hard work of a great group of talented people at JTG Daugherty Racing, but I have no doubt that they will.”
Bobby Labonte Stats
Career Starts: 697
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 (331 races since)
Driver DOB: 05/08/1964
Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX
Crew Chief: Brian Burns
Bush’s Beans – Family Inspired Recipes
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Tailgater of the Week
Last Saturday, Billy Smartt from Sweetwater, Texas was awarded Tailgater of the Week for his grill setup in the infield of Texas Motor Speedway. Smartt has been coming to the track since the second year it was open.
When asked his favorite thing to grill, his answer was quick.
“I love to grill ribs and serve it with a side of Bush’s Beans,” Smartt said. “We’ll also make some stuffed jalapenos with three different cheeses and bacon on the outside covered with honey. We usually have a big group. These guys are from Amarillo, San Antonio and Odessa, Texas.
“Not only do we take our grill to the races, but also to Texas Rangers and Texas Tech games,” Sweetwater added.
Do you have what it takes to be the “TAILGATER OF THE WEEK”?
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!
