Labonte Strong in Brewco Motorsports Debut
Cub Cadet/Mercy Home Entry Finishes 12th

 

Date:                July 8, 2006

Event:               USG DUROCK® 300

Location:           Chicagoland Speedway

Start:                25th

Finish:              12th 

 

Joliet, IL (July 10 2006) – Hopes were high for Bobby Labonte’s Brewco Motorsports debut this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.  With a special paint scheme and the 2000 NEXTEL Cup champion in the driver’s seat, the Cub Cadet team was looking forward to traveling to Joliet, IL.

The first event of the weekend was the unveiling of the special Mercy Home for Boys & Girls paint scheme on Thursday.  Cub Cadet and Brewco Motorsports held a paint scheme design contest amongst the residents of the non-profit facility for troubled young boys and girls.  The winning design was presented and the artists were recognized by drivers Labonte, Johnny Sauter and Scott Wimmer.  In addition, Brewco Motorsports sponsor Kimberly-Clark, through its Cottonelle® brand, donated one year’s worth of product to Mercy Home. 

When on-track activities began on Friday, the Cub Cadet/Mercy Home car was a handful for Labonte.  Loose and unpredictable throughout both practices, Labonte and crew chief Newt Moore struggled to find the winning setup.  Labonte qualified 25th and Moore was confident that his race setup would be to his driver’s liking.

When the race began, Labonte quickly showed that he had a car stronger than his starting position indicated.  Breaking into the top 20 on lap 14, Labonte radioed his crew that the car was “loose on entry but not bad.”  Labonte continued picking off his competitors and was just outside the top 10 by lap 30. 

Green flag pit stops began cycling through and Labonte came down pit road on lap 65.  A track bar and air pressure adjustment did not seem to help the Cub Cadet/Mercy Home car as Labonte told the crew he was “loose everywhere.”  Labonte was one lap down and was holding on around 17th place when the caution fell on lap 107 and he received the Lucky Dog pass. 

The Brewco Motorsports crew adjusted on their car under this caution and the changes seemed to help.  Labonte began climbing back through the field and was shown as high as 5th on lap 132.  The car became “loose in and tight through the center” toward the end of the race.  When the checkered flag flew, Labonte and the Cub Cadet/Mercy Home car were 12th. 

”It was a good first race together for all of us,” said Labonte.  “The car wasn’t great during practice.  The guys made a lot of adjustments and nothing really seemed to work.  The Cub Cadet/Mercy Home car was pretty good when the race started but I got really loose later on.  The car came around, though.  We had good pit stops and we got a solid finish out of the day.  Overall it was a good weekend.  I have a lot of fun in these Busch races and Newt Moore and the guys at Brewco Motorsports are a great group to work with.  I’m looking forward to getting to Michigan and doing it all over again.”