FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2011
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Bobby Labonte Racing Collects Two Top-10 Finishes on SPEED Channel
Team Readies for New York and Maryland Swing Next Week

Trinity, NC (July 20) - Bobby Labonte Racing (BLR) collected two top-10 finishes in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) races that will be aired on SPEED Channel at a later date. BLR traveled to Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois where Earl Pearson Jr. earned a 10th place finish, while Brad Neat finished ninth the following night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri.

BLR's first stop of the weekend came at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois for the "Battle at the Beach".

Earl Pearson Jr., driver of the Lucas Oil Dodge, qualified third in Group B, which placed him in the third heat race. Pearson Jr. utilized his knowledge and experience to pilot his way to the heat race win.

With the heat race win, Pearson Jr. started the feature event in the third position. Only one caution flag waved during the entire 100 lap event, giving race fans full throttle racing action for just over 30 minutes. Pearson Jr. struggled with the ever-changing track conditions and finished the feature event in the 10th position.

"We just missed the set-up tonight," said Pearson Jr. "We'll get ready to head to New York and Maryland next week and vie for a win there."

Brad Neat qualified the Red Buck Cigars Chevrolet eighth in Group A, which placed him in the second heat race. During the heat race, Neat advanced his way to the fifth position, just one position shy of a transfer. Neat was then placed into the first B-main, where yet again he missed out on a transfer position by just one spot.

This forced Neat to use a LOLMDS emergency provisional, which placed him in the 27th starting position. From the drop of the green, Neat was on a mission in his Longhorn Chassis to make his way to the front, but with just one caution flag, it was nearly impossible to make up ground. Neat passed an astonishing 11 cars in route to a 16th place finish.

BLR then traveled the next night to Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri for the "Diamond Nationals".

Pearson Jr. started in the fourth heat race, but fell just one position short of transferring to the feature event. He was then placed into the second B-main where he won in convincing fashion during the 12 lap race.

This placed Pearson Jr. in the 18th position for the start of the feature. With just three cautions, the field got strung out, which made it hard to advance forward. Pearson Jr. would only pass four cars finishing in the 14th position.

Neat began his night with a fourth place run in the first heat race against a stout field of competitors at Lucas Oil Speedway. With the fourth-place finish, Neat started the feature in the 13th position.

For the second night in a row, Neat would advance his way through the field in route to a ninth place finish. It was Neat's 11th top-10 finish and his ninth top-10 on the Lucas Oil Tour in 2011.

The BLR teammates are now preparing their Longhorn Chassis for a three race trip to New York and Maryland with races on July 27 at Fonda Speedway in Fonda, NY and July 28 at Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, NY. On July 30, the team will travel to Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Maryland.

In the inaugural event at Fonda Speedway last year for the LOLMDS, Pearson Jr. finished sixth and Neat finished the 50 lap main event in 13th. While at Utica Rome Speedway, Pearson Jr. won the second heat race and went on to finish in fourth during the feature, while Neat placed 11th during the feature. Then at Hagerstown Speedway, Pearson Jr. earned another top-10, when he finished the 50 lap feature in sixth, while Neat finished 16th.

"I'm excited about racing in New York and Maryland again this year," said Jason Fitzgerald "Earl had three top-10 runs last year and we'll take his notes from those races to put the setups into both BLR cars. We'll be vying for a win this year and will be pushing for a top-10 finish each night with both cars."

Currently Pearson Jr. is fifth in LOLMDS points, just 75 points out of the fourth position. Neat is having a career-best year with the Lucas Oil Tour as he's currently seventh in points, just 30 points behind sixth place Jared Landers.