FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2012
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Bobby Labonte Racing Scores Top-10 Finish in Portsmouth

TRINITY, N.C. (October 23) - Bobby Labonte Racing (BLR) headed to Portsmouth, Ohio for the Dirt Track World Championships on Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20, 2012. The BLR team and Earl Pearson Jr. were looking for a strong finish to the 2012 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt season. BLR was one of 93 teams that showed up for the Dirt Track World Championships.

 Everyone was ready for a Friday night showdown; however, Mother Nature had plans other than racing. After, heavy rainfall the LOLMD series was forced to postpone everything until Saturday.

On Saturday, racing started early afternoon with hot laps and qualifying. BLR and Pearson started sixth in their respective heat and at one point, raced up to second position. However, they ended the heat in third place which transferred to a 15th-place starting spot in the feature Saturday night.

"The car wasn't very good in qualifying, but we worked hard and came back with a strong showing in our heat race," stated Pearson.

The BLR guys, consisting of Anthony Burroughs and Matt Langston, made some additional adjustments to give Pearson a better-handling car. Pearson lined his Lucas Oil Longhorn Chassis up in 15th place for the feature. He made quick work of getting his No. 44 car in the top 10 by the halfway mark and was in sixth place when the race track locked down, which did not allow cars to pass. Pearson maintained his spot on the track for the rest of the race and finished with a solid sixth-place finish.

"I was real happy with the car in our heat race and that transferred over to the feature. We were able to pass nine cars fast and could have passed more" said Pearson. "The track changed on us and I'm happy to come away with sixth place Saturday night."

The Dirt Track World Championship was the final race in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt championship standings. Jimmy Owens will be crowned the champion at the Lucas Oil banquet. Earl Pearson, Jr. ended up sixth in the championship points for the 2012 season.

BLR and Pearson will take a couple of weeks off before heading to the World Finals in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday, November 1 through Saturday, November 3. The team is working hard in the shop at Trinity, N.C. to prepare the No. 44 Lucas Oil Longhorn Chassis for the World Finals. Pearson and crew will take the car to test next week, looking to learn some things they can take with them to Charlotte.