Bobby Labonte Q&A

"Well, we've done a little bit of testing, but no different to what we did last year. We tested here and that was about all. But all our cars are prepared in the shop, all of our guys are still in place from last year and everybody is anxious to start the season off, hopefully like we did last year. We're starting over again come Sunday, so we've got to make sure we focus like we did last year."



"I don't think 'pacing myself' is quite it, so much as running at the back - I don't think that is what we wanted to do. Somebody asked me the other day if I'd been busy since I'd been down here, and I told them I hadn't been asked to do a whole lot. I've not been asked, because it's not like I've won a whole lot of stuff here this week... We started off the week with the Bud Shootout on Sunday, and we ran pretty good, but we just got in the wrong place at the wrong time. The 125-mile qualifying race just wasn't quite our day. We didn't have the right set-up and it wasn't worth tearing a race car up to try and get up there and fight. We haven't been distraught about things, but we've been challenged a bit by the new aero package and we still haven't quite figured how to tighten the car up as much as we'd like."



"Yeah, it's scarier when there are 45 lead changes, or whatever - trust me. But the way I see it, it is what it is. Whether you like it or not, you're here. But I don't think you have to have a car that can lead every lap to win here - just one that can lead the last lap. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. With two to go, you need to be going forward, and that's it. We've got to be focused on the right place and the right time."



"That's a tough question. But it's like Ken [Schrader] said the other day - when you have all of them together, it really doesn't hit all that hard, cos you're just bouncing off each other, so it's not a big deal - in a way... My philosophy is you can't let off and lose the draft, but if it's me and I suddenly see them four wide in front of me, I'm going to back off. It's tough, but the first time somebody screws you up, or nearly knocks you out of the race, you think: 'let's hang out here a little bit and see what happens'."



"Well, to go back in time, two years ago DJ [Dale Jarrett] was turned upside down here, and he won the championship. Last year, we finished sixth, the first GM car, and we ended up winning the championship. But if you do have a great race here, you can't let it overshadow the next 36 or so weekends of racing. But overall, even though you don't have to have the best race here, you would sure like to have the best race here."



"I think the first time I came down here was probably 1982, working on a car. A little story my dad told me was when he came down here in 1979. He was camped out in the infield, just watching the race as a fan. It was pretty bad when you lit a fire and somebody stole your firewood - the lit firewood. It was a pretty tough infield, but it's good memories. It's just a neat feeling, all the tradition here. You'd love to be part of the history and see your name around the place like a Pearson, or Petty, or Yarborough or Allison."