NASCAR Winston Cup ITW DeVilbiss 400 Preview: #18, Bobby Labonte
14 August 1997
#18 Bobby Labonte, Interstate Batteries Pontiac Grand Prix
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
ITW DeVilbiss 400 Advance
Michigan Speedway
LABONTE LOOKS FOR BREAKOUT WIN AT MICHIGAN
BROOKLYN, MI - Two weeks ago Bobby Labonte nearly won the Brickyard 400
thanks to the fuel economy in his Interstate Batteries Pontiac. Races at
Michigan Speedway also often boil down to fuel mileage, so Labonte may be in
the catbird seat for Sunday's ITW Devilbiss 400.
Labonte earned his best finish of the season with his second-place run in the
Brickyard 400. The team relied on it's penchant for stretching fuel to the
max to get Labonte up front. He went the final 115 miles on one tank of gas.
Labonte and crew chief Jimmy Makar have carved a reputation as having one of
the most fuel efficient cars on the circuit. Makar said it takes driver and
crew chief working in unison to make the strategy work.
"The driver plays a big part in gas mileage," Makar said. "He's got to be
thinking fuel mileage the entire time he's out there. He has to be easy on
the car. He has to ease a little off the throttle. If your calculations are
right, it shouldn't be a big gamble, just a little gamble."
Getting good mileage is always a top priority at Michigan. Caution flags
seldom fly with regularity at the wide superspeedway, so many teams opt to
stretch their fuel mileage with each pit stop in order to gain a cushion on
the competition.
"We're always trying to conserve gas," Labonte said. "When we get into that
situation, we try to keep our Pontiac as free as possible to conserve gas and
get good gas mileage. Michigan is so big and wide you don't have many
accidents because there is more room for error. When there's fewer yellow
flags it brings fuel mileage more into play. It's more typical to have a
wreck the first 50 laps than the last 50 laps. If you get one in the first 50
laps, and it stays green and works out the right way, you can make more fuel
mileage than everyone else.
"I think it's more along the line of you're racing, racing, racing, and as it
gets closer to the end, you start thinking, 'Hey, we've got a chance. We
might be able to make it all the way on gas, if we go two more laps on each
stop.' All of a sudden, you're able to go six laps further than everyone
else. If they've got to only get gas and go, I'm still going to beat them. I
think it's really in the back of your mind until later in the race. When
you're not running particularly well that can work out to your advantage."
Labonte seldom has a problem with running well at Michigan. Two of his four
career wins have come at the track located in the Irish Hills of Michigan.
In four August starts at Michigan, Labonte has never finished out of the
top-10. In 1995, Labonte won both races at Michigan. Overall, in nine career
starts at the superspeedway, Labonte has six top-10 finishes.
In June's Miller 400, Labonte ran with the leaders through most of the race
before getting shuffled back and settling for ninth.
"We ran third, fourth, fifth, most of the time," Labonte said. "We led some,
and I was feeling pretty good, but then we got tighter as the race
progressed. We've got to make sure we don't do that again. We feel like we've
figured out why it did that."
Other than his shining record at Michigan, Labonte isn't sure why the track
suits him so well.
"I really used to not like Michigan, but now I do, and I really don't know
why," Labonte said. "There's not any one thing there that makes me say, 'Hey,
I really like this place.'"
Another trip to victory lane at Michigan and maybe Labonte will finally know
why he likes the track so much.
By Camp & Associates, Inc.