STP Returns to Hood of Famous #43
Labonte Hoping to Bring Back Championship Memories

This weekend, Bobby Labonte and the #43 STP Dodge team head to the 2.66-mile Talladega ( Ala. ) Superspeedway for Sunday's Aaron's 499.  The #43 Dodge will carry a retro STP paint scheme designed to pay tribute to one of the longest sponsorships in history of motorsports.

It will be the first time in six years that STP has been the primary sponsor.  They will commemorate the event by donating $43 for each lap completed to the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Labonte will be making his 27 th start at Talladega this weekend.  He has six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes at the superspeedway.  He won this race in 1998.  In his last race at the track Labonte started sixth and finished 11 th .
Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team are coming off their third top-10 finish in their last four races.  The team finished eighth last weekend at Phoenix .  Petty Enterprises has now accumulated a total of four top-10 finishes this season.



The thoughts of #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker driver Bobby Labonte heading into Talladega:


Questions for Labonte as he prepares for this weekend's Aaron's 499:

What does it mean to have STP on the hood of the car this weekend?

"It's tough to say what it really means.  I've never driven a Petty Dodge with STP on it before, but I know it means a lot of memories to a lot of different people.  It means wins, lots of wins, and many championships too.  What Richard Petty was able to do with the number '43', and the STP sponsorship, has been remarkable for our sport.  It's going to be special to be a part of that.  Hopefully we can take STP back to victory lane. 

How close is this team to victory lane?

"We're getting better each week.  We have to look closely after each race and find out where we can get better.  What do we need to do? How are we going to do it? We have had some good runs lately.  Hopefully we can continue in that direction each week.  If we can do that, we'll be good.  It's a realistic goal to find victory lane, hopefully, a few times before the end of the season.

What are you expecting this weekend at Talladega ?

"Well, we are ready to go.  We have a new car and we feel it's a good piece.  Anything can happen at Talladega , but if you come with a good car, or feel like you have a good car, you're already ahead of the game. There isn't much you can do if you don't have a good car.  We ran well in Daytona, and we think our superspeedway program is on top of everything.  Hopefully it's good enough to get STP and this #43 Petty Dodge back into victory lane.