Bobby Labonte Racing Back to the Bluegrass State
Earl Pearson Jr. Ready to Repeat; Brad Neat to Rebound

Archdale, N.C. (August 10, 2010) - Bobby Labonte Racing (BLR) will travel to Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., this weekend for the 28th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil. The $2,500-to-start and $50,000 purse has drivers Brad Neat and Earl Pearson Jr. ready to continue their battle on the Lucas Oil Late Model Series tour.

BLR and the series visited Florence earlier this summer when Pearson Jr. came away with a victory. Neat, unfortunately, did not move on to the feature race in June, but did learn plenty about the track as they prepare for this weekend.

Pearson Jr. is coming off of an eighth-place finish at the World of Outlaws (WoO) USA Nationals last weekend at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisc. That performance, among the best late model teams and drivers, and picking up the win earlier at Florence, has the No. 44 Lucas Oil Dodge team ready for this weekend's event

"The Bluegrass Bullet", Neat will be racing in his home state of Kentucky looking to rebound from his June race results. The No. 41 Red Buck Filtered Cigars Chevrolet team is ready for another solid performance. The team has finished in the top-15 in five out of the past six races.

 

Team Manager Jason Fitzgerald Comments on Pearson Jr. at the WoO Event and Returning to Florence Speedway:

"Earl and the team did such a great job this past weekend. We had a really great time running against the World of Outlaw guys. They are some of the best dirt racers, and it's reassuring for our race team to be able to compete against them like we did. We had a solid race and it gives us momentum for this weekend.

"We are definitely excited to head back to Florence Speedway. With Earl winning there in June, it makes us that much more excited to get back there and race. We will be sure to have both our cars set up right and make a run for the win.

"Brad's team has been having consistent finishes over the past six weeks, and we are glad we have been able to make the right changes to get Brad comfortable. Since we missed the feature with him in June, we will definitely do what it takes to get him in the field. He has had past success there before so we'll be sure to get him in the show.

"This is a big race for BLR. There is big money involved and it would be great to be able to bring this back to BLR. The summer stretch isn't over yet, and we still have a lot of racing to do. We have had our ups and downs so far this season, but we are really looking to finish out the season with solid consistent runs. I think our guys are on the right track."

 

About Bobby Labonte Racing:
BLR is located in Archdale, N.C., and owned by 2000 NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte. The team was formed in 2007 and immediately won back-to-back Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championships. The team will become a two-car operation in 2010 with the addition of driver Brad Neat. The organization is sponsored by Red Buck Filtered Cigars, Lucas Oil, Sunoco Race Fuels, Coca-Cola, ALLSTAR, Tiger Rear Ends, BERT, Butlerbuilt, Hyperco, SHY, Wilwood, Sweet, TWM, Dyers Top Rods, Weld Wheels, Bell, Hoosier Tire, PRC, Mechanix Wear, Braswel, Larry Wallace Engines, Dunn-Benson Racing Supply, ASI Racewear, Xtreme Graphics, Hank Thomas Performance, Wiles Drive Shafts, MasterBilt Race Cars, Bazel Race Fuels, Mason Racin, Racing Optics, TNT Energy, Cornet Racing Engines and WD Enterprises