ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
BOBBY LABONTE WILL FIND OUT how his new ride handles when practice begins for the Goodwrench 400.
Sometime around noon today at North Carolina Motor Speedway, after the first practice for Sunday's Goodwrench 400, Bobby Labonte will have his first good indication of how his new Pontiac Grand Prix will work on NASCAR speedways.
He ran at Daytona, finishing 21st on the lead lap. But restrictor plate racing is a different game than speedway racing, where the engines are unrestricted and the aerodynamic factors are different.
And Labonte has had only minimal practice in the Grand Prix outside of Daytona.
``From what we can tell, we're hopeful there's not a lot of changes we'll have to make,'' Labonte said Thursday during a media appearance at Celebration Station in Greensboro, N.C. ``I guess we'll know by about noon tomorrow.
``Our heads will either be spinning or they will be pretty well straight. But I think it's a pretty good race car, to be honest with you.''
Labonte and car owner Joe Gibbs switched from the Chevrolet Monte Carlo to the Pontiac Grand Prix for the 1997 season because Gibbs had started his own engine program and he needed the engine assistance Pontiac was willing to give.
Pontiac, in turn, netted one of the top young talents in the Winston Cup series - and a replacement for departing car owner Felix Sabates. The Grand Prix teams struggled with the new car in 1996, although Bobby Hamilton broke through with a victory at Phoenix last fall.
``We've only tested the Grand Prix at Greenville-Pickens [Speedway in South Carolina], but [crew chief] Jimmy Makar has been to the wind tunnel with it and we did that test at Pocono last year,'' Labonte said.
Labonte also will be running in Saturday's Grand National race and ``with the Pontiac on Saturday, hopefully we'll learn if the car is going to do something radical from the first lap to the last.''
The one-mile oval at Rockingham traditionally has been one of the best tracks for the Pontiacs. Hamilton seemed destined to win one year ago at the Rock until Dale Earnhardt tapped him. Ward Burton picked up his first victory at the Rock in the fall of 1995 in the old Grand Prix.
Labonte won't have a lot of time to sort out things if his Grand Prix has problems. After a morning of practice, time trials begin at 1 p.m., with the Grand National cars first.
Qualifying is particularly important at Rockingham because of the backstretch pits. The fastest 30 get to pit on the frontstretch. The rest have to pit on the backstretch, which is a huge disadvantage.
``Races can be won from the backstretch, but they're few and far between,'' Labonte said. ``It doesn't happen much. But I like Rockingham. There's two grooves and you can run side-by-side. It's just a fast, neat race track.''
The race starts at 12:30 p.m. and will be televised live by The Nashville Network.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB