Labonte “Sports” a New Car
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bobby Labonte made his Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series debut earlier this year competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona co-driving the No. 44 Doran Racing Pontiac Doran with his brother Terry, Jan Magnussen and IndyCar star Bryan Herta.
After finishing ninth overall in the Rolex 24, Bobby Labonte is poised to make his second appearance on Daytona International Speedway’s historic 3.56-mile road course in the Brumos Porsche 250 Rolex Sports Car Series race on Thursday, June 30, part of the Pepsi 400 weekend. He will share the No. 44 Loctite-sponsored Pontiac Doran once again with his brother, a two-time NEXTEL Cup Champion.
“I had a blast in the Rolex 24 race at Daytona and I’m looking forward to the Brumos Porsche 250,” said Bobby Labonte, who drives the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. “I guess the July race is a little shorter than the one in February — it’s definitely more of a sprint race.”
Before last weekend’s Aaron’s 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Bobby hopped in his red No. 44 Daytona Prototype for a parade lap around the legendary 2.66-mile tri-oval in Alabama as part of the pre-race festivities.
The 2000 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion is really enjoying the competition provided by sleek and stylish Daytona Prototypes.
“The Rolex cars are so much fun to drive, and I had the chance to drive my No. 44 Doran Pontiac before the Talladega NEXTEL Cup race, which was pretty neat,” Bobby said. “I learned a lot about the cars and the Daytona road course during the Rolex 24, and, hopefully, I’ll be able to learn more in July. I’m looking forward to it.”
The No. 44 machine will carry sponsorship from Henkel in North America’s Loctite brand. Other Henkel brands appear on the NASCAR Busch Series machine of Greg Biffle–who also competed in the 2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona–and the company is also an official supplier and sponsor to the West McLaren Mercedes team in Formula 1.
The Labontes won’t be the only NASCAR competitors in the Brumos Porsche 250. Labonte’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, who drives the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, is expected to race in the 70-lap, 250-mile race.
Current NEXTEL Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson–who co-drove the No. 4 The Boss Snowplow Pontiac Crawford to a second-place result in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Howard-Boss Motorsports regular drivers Butch Leitzinger and Elliott Forbes-Robinson–recently expressed an interest in running the Brumos Porsche 250 as well.
“I would like to race the 4th of July race in Daytona,” Johnson said. “I think it would work well. I know Tony ran the Watkins Glen race. I’ve got mixed emotions on doing that, but I definitely would like to do the (Brumos Porsche 250) race if it all works out. I’ve put my feelers out there to the Crawfords (the family that manages Howard-Boss Motorsports) and have let them know. We’ll see if we can get something pulled together.”
Source: Racing One
