FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2011
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Bobby Labonte Racing Collects Top-10 Finish on Lucas Tour
Team Now Prepares for Firecracker

Trinity, NC (June 21, 2011) - Bobby Labonte Racing (BLR) was able to collect another top-10 finish this season during Friday's Grassy Smith Memorial at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC. Brad Neat and the No. 41 Red Buck Cigars Chevrolet team thrilled the fans in attendance with his high-side heroics while racing to his ninth-place finish.

Neat began the night with a decent qualifying run placing him in the fourth heat race which was stacked with the best drivers in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS). With such a stout field of drivers in the heat race, Neat was able to race his way to a fourth-place finish which was good enough for a transfer position.

Neat then started the 50-lap feature event on the outside of the eighth row alongside Jimmy Owens. From the drop of the green flag, Neat was on the heels of Owens. A record nine cautions slowed the event, but that didn't slow down Neat from advancing to the fifth position around the halfway point of the race. Under a late race caution with less than 10 laps to go, Neat suffered a flat tire and had to go pit side for another Hoosier tire. With little time to race his way back to the front, Neat did a great job and finished in the ninth position.

"I knew if I could follow Owens through the field I was going to be alright," said Neat "Jimmy knows how to get around this place, but we just had a tire go down."

The No. 44 Lucas Oil Dodge of Earl Pearson Jr. was also placed in the fourth heat race with his BLR teammate. Unlike Neat, Pearson Jr. ran into some trouble during the 10-lap heat race and finished eighth.

This delegated Pearson Jr. to start in the second B-main. He did everything he could to get into a transfer position, but finished the B-main in the fifth position. This meant that Pearson Jr. had to take a provisional and start 24th for the feature event.

When the green flag dropped, Pearson Jr. quickly made his way to the bottom groove which seemed to be the fast way around the half-mile facility. Pearson Jr. was able to race his way to a 19th-place finish on a hard fought night with temperatures in the high 90's.

"Tonight was not our night," said Pearson Jr. "We will take what we can from this race and apply it to future events. I'm looking forward to racing at Lernerville this weekend in the Firecracker 100."

With Neat's ninth place finish, the Kentucky native propelled himself to the sixth position in points behind Jared Landers. Pearson Jr. fell back to a tie for seventh in points with Ray Cook. Next up for the LOLMDS will be a triple header weekend beginning July 1 at Beckley Motorsports Park in West Virginia, then July 2 at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Ohio and concluding on July 3 at Muskingum County Speedway in Ohio.

BLR is now making last minute preparations to both the Lucas Oil Dodge and Red Buck Cigars Chevrolet for the teams' trip to Lernerville Speedway in Lernerville, Penn. for the 5th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com. The Firecracker 100 is sanctioned by the World of Outlaws (WOO) and is considered one of the crown jewel events in dirt late model racing in America.

The last time Pearson Jr. ran in the Firecracker 100 was in 2009 when he placed third.

"I'm hoping our return trip to Lernerville will be just what we need to get our season back on track," said Pearson Jr. "We need a good run this weekend in the Firecracker 100."

On both Thursday and Friday nights, the WOO will run a full racing schedule with qualifying, heat races, B-mains and a feature event paying $6,000 to win along with full WOO points. Then on Saturday, the $30,000 to win Firecracker 100 will take place with 30 cars starting this prestigious event. There will also be a $3,000 to win non-qualifiers race.

A point system from nights one and two will set the heat lineups for Saturday Night. Following the heats will be a pair of Last Chance Showdowns, the Uncle Sam 30 non-qualifier's race and the 5th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com feature event.