NASCAR Winston Cup Pennsylvania 500 Preview -- #18, Bobby Labonte
16 July 1997
#18 Bobby Labonte, Interstate Batteries Pontiac Grand Prix
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Pennsylvania 500 Advance
Pocono Raceway
LABONTE LOOKS TO AVOID OLD POCONO FORTUNES IN NEW PONTIAC
LONG POND, PA - Some refer to the unique, three-turn Pocono International
Raceway as NASCAR's version of the "Bermuda Triangle," and Interstate
Batteries Pontiac driver Bobby Labonte can identify with the ominous
comparison.
Pocono has dealt nothing but misfortune for Labonte, who hasn't cracked the
top-10 in a NASCAR Winston Cup race there in nine career starts. He had high
hopes of ending his hex there in last month's Pocono 500 after coming off a
pole-winning run at Dover Downs International Speedway a week before. But
Labonte struggled from the start, crashed coming off turn one midway through
the race and limped home 31st.
Labonte, enters Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono determined to end his
jinx there. He enters the race seventh in the point standings, but Ricky Rudd
is closing in on his territory. Rudd lies only 37 points behind Labonte.
Labonte hopes to be more competitive this time around in a new Pontiac the
Joe Gibbs Racing team has prepared for the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
"We're going to bring another Grand Prix this time around," Labonte said.
"Pocono really isn't that tough a track, we just have had absolutely no luck
there. I've never had good luck there, and the team hasn't had a lot of good
fortune there, either. Pocono is tough on equipment and tough on motors, it's
tough on everything. We've really got to get our stuff together there.
"After all, it's only as tough as you make it."
Labonte had an uncharacteristic 27th-place finish at New Hampshire last
Sunday after posting three consecutive top-10 finishes. Labonte said the team
has tried some aerodynamic experiments on their Pontiacs over the last month
in the ongoing search for a competitive advantage.
Most teams would be envious of Labonte's placement in the point standings,
complete with four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 17 starts. Labonte and
his Jimmy Makar-led crew don't see it that way.
"If we don't cut our throats from wanting to do better we'll be OK," Labonte
said, hinting of the team's lofty expectations with a bit of comical
overstatement. "We're actually a little frustrated with finishing in the
top-10. I guess you should be happy with a top-10, and we're happy with them,
but we're not satisfied. We want to get better, and we feel like we should be
better. We've just got to keep working on it."
Joe Gibbs Racing has feverishly worked on fine-tuning their stable of
Pontiacs after switching from Chevrolet during the offseason, continually
experimenting to get the car even better. Pontiac teams have yet to win a
race this season, but Labonte believes the Grand Prix is capable of cracking
victory lane at any time.
Labonte points to the fact that Pontiac drivers have posted 28 top-10
finishes this season, up from only nine at the same point last year. The
Interstate Batteries team has been most instrumental in those improved
numbers, scoring more than double the number of top-10 finishes of any other
Pontiac team.
"We're working on the car, and we're still making adjustments," Labonte said.
"We think the Grand Prix is a great race car, and we hope we're bringing a
lot to the table for Pontiac. We're working on it as hard as we can and we're
still making progress, but we're still learning as we go. We're working on
some stuff, and we haven't won a race yet, but last year at this time we
hadn't won a race in a Chevrolet, either.
"There's not a problem with the Pontiac body. We're still trying to get the
program together for the combination as a whole. It's not just one little
thing. We've got to get it all together. That takes time. When you make a
change you don't make all the right decisions at once. It's hard to win a
race, and you get a little bit behind. I think as a whole we're getting
better, it's just going to take a little more time. I'm sure we'll get it in
the long run."
And Labonte is long overdue for a strong run at Pocono.
By Camp & Associates, Inc.
