Phoenix: Bobby Labonte preview

Bobby Labonte:

"I was so proud of my team at Texas. Early in the race we were struggling with the handling of the car. We were making an adjustment on each stop. Whether it was raising the track bar or pulling a spring rubber, the guys were just working so hard on pit road. Several of the stops were under 13 seconds, with adjustments. Stops like that really help us make up time and positions. A lot of times that can be much easier than passing on the track."

"Having Billy Wilburn move over to become crew chief of our new test team is something that is really going to accelerate our program. Billy will go to the track or the seven-post shaker and stay until he finds something that works. Having that asset allows you to roll off the truck and be pretty close to your race setup. Then you can fine-tune during practice and search for that one-tenth or two-tenths that will get you to the front of the pack."

"Phoenix is another track where we raced this new car last year. At Bristol and Martinsville, we capitalized on that year's worth of experience and had two great runs going. We just didn't get the finish we deserved. You know, it seems like we are consistently in the top-10 in this 'spring' race at Phoenix. Having those notes from last year, along with the test at Phoenix last month, should be able to push us into the top-5 where we can contend for the win."

-credit: pe