Kentucky Kicks Off Busy May for BLR
Paducah Track Feels like Home for Neat

Archdale, N.C. (April 28, 2010) - Bobby Labonte Racing kicks off a busy month of May with a stop at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway on Saturday, May 1, for a $10,000-to-win event in the home state of BLR driver Brad Neat.

The event will mark the second year for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race at the .375-mile, high-banked oval, which is about four hours away from Neat's hometown of Dunnville, Ky. Neat and teammate Earl Pearson Jr. will battle local Paducah favorites as well as Lucas Oil series regulars in Saturday night's action, which will be taped by the SPEED network for later broadcast (check listings).

The BLR team is ready to get back on the track after last Saturday's event at Hagerstown Speedway was rained out. And there will be a lot more racing to follow in the coming weeks. The Paducah race is the first of seven events on the BLR schedule for the month of May.

Pearson Jr. and the No. 44 Lucas Oil team are currently tied for third place in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings, and Neat and the No. 41 Red Buck Filtered Cigars team are in 15th.

 

Team Manager Jason Fitzgerald comments on racing at Paducah International Raceway, using his driving experience, and the busy month of May:

"As a team, we don't have a ton of experience at Paducah. So what I'll do is try to get as much feedback from Brad and Earl on the size of the track, how much banking it has, how the straight-aways are. Then I'll try to compare it to another track that's similar - one that I've been to - and gear up from that. There are a few tracks we have to do that for and this is one of them.

"I can draw on my experience as a driver to help prepare for a lot of these races, and I think that's an advantage. I think the biggest thing is that I can keep in perspective what they're going through in the driver's seat. You can understand what each part does on a car; but having been a driver before, I can understand what the driver goes through as far as footwork and what you have to do with the throttle and how everything comes together. There's a lot going on in there that someone who's never driven before doesn't really understand.

"I think it's good that we have a lot of races on the May schedule. It's good to have a week or two off to get everyone freshened back up, but sometimes that allows you to think too much. And if you're not careful, you can get off your game plan. Whereas, if you're racing every weekend, it helps you stay focused and stick to the game plan. It gets you in a rhythm and helps with the team's confidence. I think it will help us get more consistent. It's our job, so we want to race as much as we can. We've had enough time off. We're ready to go. I think it's going to be good for us.

"We're making a couple changes in the shop with cars and some set-up changes that I think will help Brad a little. I know he has some experience at this track. If we can get a couple back-to-back finishes that are decent, I think we'll really be able to build from there."