Hampton, Georgia, (Sept. 4, 2010) - Bobby Labonte qualified the TRG Motorsports No. 71 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet Impala SS in 24th place for tomorrow evening's running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With track temperatures some 15-degrees hotter than they were in practice, Labonte qualified the TaxSlayer.com Chevy on the 12th row with a time of 30.037 and an average speed of 185 mph. The Texan dropped nearly seven-tenths off of his fastest practice time in qualifying. What was good might have been better as the team drew fifth place in the qualifying order out of 46 cars, and ran in what was the heat of the day.
"In practice we were way too tight," Labonte said. "Dan (Stillman, crew chief) and the guys put a tight set-up on the car off of the trailer, because the last two times I drove the 71 it was way loose. I talked to him on Wednesday and we decided to come tight. We tried to free it up throughout the first practice on the same set of tires, and then we put on a second set and made a five lap run and got it better. It took us all day to get there. I appreciate the big effort from the TRG guys. We struggled the last two races with the car early, so I hope we have gotten over that aspect."
The team went early in the qualifying session, but Labonte showed his best speed of the day when it counted.
"We picked up some speed in qualifying, but it looks like everyone else did as well. Going early in qualifying was a bit of a disadvantage. The track cooled a little for the guys who went out at 5:30 p.m. as opposed to when we went out at 4:40 p.m."
The team will take into account the 7:30 p.m. start for tomorrow evening's race which is sure to bring cooler air and track temperatures.
"Racing at night means we have to build some adjustability into the car. We need to free it up a lot from where we are at right now. I was having trouble turning in mid-corner. We need to make it handle better from the center of the corner off and if we go too far, be able to tighten it up a little during the race tomorrow night."
Labonte, the 2000 Sprint Cup Series Champion, has a very strong record at Atlanta. With six wins (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003) the track located just 20-miles south of Atlanta is his most successful on the schedule.
Team principal, Kevin Buckler, likes the team work so far this weekend.
"We made a lot of changes to the car from the set-up that we unloaded with this morning," Buckler said. "The guys were really hustling in practice and we hit on it during the last session with Bobby posting a strong time. We made it even better for qualifying and we are looking for another improvement for the race. The Georgia Bull Dogs won today, which is the start of a very good weekend. We are looking for a strong performance for our sponsor, Augusta based, TaxSlayer.com tomorrow night."
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Emory Healthcare 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live on ESPN starting at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 5.
TaxSlayer Pro's computerized tax return system, which was introduced to professional tax practitioners in 1992, is the first chapter in the company's impressive corporate story. The second was in 1998 when they used the basic technology from the professional package to develop their own individual version for online preparation and e-Filing. Growing out of an established firm with a solid reputation of over 30 years in the Tax Preparation business, TaxSlayer.com has the full expertise of a professional tax service behind every return. The TaxSlayer.com individual program is a fully featured online tax preparation step-by-step system that is designed for the individual taxpayer. This program provides all of the forms, calculations and communication links to allow you to prepare and e-File a tax return electronically with the IRS. Additional information can be found at www.taxslayer.com and www.taxslayerracing.com.
TRG Motorsports is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Currently the team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry as well as a limited Camping World Truck Series effort and an ARCA RE/MAX Series team. The Racer's Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of sports car racing. TRG's Porsche sports car program is run out of the company's headquarters in Petaluma, California. The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 30, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (three) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
For more information please contact Kyle Chura at (248) 821-0468 or
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. Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.
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