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Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 18°
Distance: 1.5 miles
Shape: D shaped oval

LifeLock.com 400
Saturday, July 12, 2008
ChicagoLand Speedway
TNT/Saturday, 8:00 p.m. EST

Schedule
Practice
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm EST Thursday, July 10
5:00 pm - 5:45 pm EST Friday, July 11
6:20 pm -7:20 pm EST Final Practice Friday, July 11

Qualifying
8:40 pm EST Thursday, July 10, Two laps all positions

Race Day Saturday, July 12
7:30 pm EST Driver Introduction
8:00 pm EST Race (276 laps, 400 miles)
TNT, XM Radio, MRN Radio

2007 Winner: Tony Stewart

Check the SPEED Channel schedule (speedtv.com) for various programs on the race this weekend.

Race Preview

Quotes from Terry Labonte:
I’m really honored to be a part of the celebration going on this weekend in Chicago for Richard Petty’s 50th Anniversary.  I started racing in the Cup Series in 1978 when ‘The King’ was still a pretty dominant driver.  When I started out he was still the guy to beat, the guy that all the other drivers looked up to.  When young drivers get into Cup these days they have a lot of different people to look up to.  There were a lot of greats that came before me but ‘The King’ wasn’t just great, he was a legend.
 
I’ve enjoyed my time driving for Petty Enterprises this summer.  Of course I was excited about just being able to hop back into a Cup car but the fact that it was a Petty car was extra special.  On top of that I was going to get to be driving alongside my brother, Bobby.  I’ve gotten to work with some great people.  These past few weeks, it has been fun being at the track again.  Now that my stint with them is over, I’ll go back to missing the racecar.
 
I think it’s really neat that both the 43 and 45 Dodges will have 50th anniversary paint schemes this weekend and both cars will have a Labonte in the driver’s seat.  I feel really lucky to be one of the guys in a Petty Enterprises car this weekend and I know Bobby does as well.  I’m hoping that we score a really good run for ‘The King’ in Chicago.

Race Results

1. Kyle Busch, Toyota
2. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
3. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
4. Greg Biffle, Ford
5. Tony Stewart, Toyota
29. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios Racing/RP 50th Anniversary Dodge
38. Terry Labonte, No. 45 Marathon/RP 50th Anniversary Dodge

Kyle Busch made it a weekend sweep as he took the checkered flag in the LifeLock.com 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night. Busch also won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the track on Friday. The victory is the seventh of the season for Busch.

Saturday’s race also marked the 50th anniversary of “The King” Richard Petty’s first start in NASCAR. On July 12, 1958, Petty started 13th and finished sixth in a NASCAR Convertible Division race. He would go on to enjoy the most successful career in the history of American motorsports.

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios Racing/Richard Petty 50th Anniversary Dodge finished 29th on Saturday. He began the race from the 20th position as rained washed out the qualifying session on Thursday and the field was set by 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup owner points. Chicagoland Speedway installed lights during the off-season and Saturday’s race was the first Sprint Cup race held at night on the 1.5-mile oval. This forced the teams to abandon their notes from previous races because not only were they competing under different track conditions, but this was the first race at Chicagoland with the new chassis as well.

At the start of the race, B. Labonte radioed to crew chief Jeff Meendering that his No. 43 Dodge was “loose” entering the corners, but “tight” on exit. Meendering made several air pressure and chassis adjustments and during the middle portion of the race B. Labonte had one of the fastest cars on the track. As the race continued into the night and the track conditions continued to change, the handling on the car began to fade. On lap 246, B. Labonte spun while racing in heavy traffic. The veteran kept the car off the wall, but was relegated to a 29th place finish.

“With this being the first night race at Chicago, none of the teams were really sure what the track conditions would be like,” said B. Labonte. “Our car was just too tight, especially in the middle of the corners. It was better in the middle of the race, but then it went away again. We made a lot of adjustments, but the car just didn’t respond. I’m proud of my team because we fought hard all night.”

Terry Labonte and the No. 45 Marathon/Richard Petty 50th Anniversary Dodge crew finished 38th on Saturday night. Like his brother, T. Labonte also had to deal with a car that was “tight” in the middle of the corners. Crew chief Stewart Cooper made several wedge adjustments that helped the car. However, as the race moved to the final laps and the track itself “tightened” up the No. 45 Dodge would not turn enough for T. Labonte to move up from the 38th position.

“We figured that the car would be tight at the start because it was a night race and the track had a lot of grip,” sounded T. Labonte. “So we built a lot of adjustability into the chassis and it helped for a while. But these cars just aren’t as responsive to change and we were just too tight there at the end of the race.”

Last update Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Kyle Petty name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, L.L.C.
Richard Petty name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, L.L.C.