Labonte Looking for Win at ‘The Glen’

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 7, 2003) – Terry Labonte and Kellogg’s / got milk? Racing roll into the year’s final road race with hopes of continuing their mid-season surge that’s pulled them within 75 points of NASCAR’s top 10. The two-time champion has to like his chances for victory on Watkins Glen International’s 2.45-mile road course. Although he’s not won a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race there, Labonte did win four Busch Series events in the 1990s, including three straight from 1994 to 1996. He’s finished second twice on the Cup side, most recently during his championship season of 1996. But it’s his resurgence in 2003, particularly over the last nine races, that’s sparking Labonte’s charge toward a spot in the top 10. His average finish for the first 12 races this year was 20th, including a fifth-place effort April 6 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. But over the last nine events, Labonte’s average finish has improved to 12th, including three straight top-10 finishes to begin the month of June. That was the first time he had posted three straight top-10s since he put five in a row together to close the 1998 season. This rally also has included a fourth-place finish July 5 in Daytona Beach, Fla., and a fifth-place finish later in the month at Long Pond, Pa. Labonte enters this week’s event 14th in points. When he left Texas Motor Speedway in March, he was 31st in the standings. In the 14 races since, he’s advanced 17 spots -- the largest gain of any driver during that period. Bill Elliott is next with 16, having moved from 33rd to 17th. This year’s race at The Glen is scheduled for Aug. 10 -- 16 years to the day since Labonte turned in one of his best road-course performances. On that date in 1987, he started from the pole position and finished second to Wallace. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native will look to reclaim that form on Sunday. Broadcast live on NBC and MRN Radio at 1 p.m. ET, the race marks the second of two road course events in 2003.