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RGM / Bobby Labonte Loudon Post Race Report
Robby Gordon Motorsports and Bobby Labonte Finish a Hard-Fought 30th in New Hampshire
Loudon, NH. (June 27, 2010) – Bobby Labonte, starting his first race for Robby Gordon Motorsports (RGM), helped wheel the No. 7 SpeedFactoy.TV Toyota Camry to a 30th-place finish at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Sunday afternoon at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
RGM was forced to a back-up car Friday afternoon following an accident in the first practice session. Unfortunately, with only 30 minutes remaining in practice when the accident occurred, the team was unable to pass through inspection in time for a qualifying lap. Since RGM is locked into the top-35 in owner’s points, the team was given the 42nd starting position. However, the team changed their transmission before the race and had to start at the back of the field, in the 43rd position.
Labonte had no problem moving forward at the start of the race and had the No. 7 SpeedFactory.TV Toyota Camry up six positions by Lap 20 – one of the biggest movers of the race. Debris then brought out the first caution flag of the race on Lap 36. Labonte reported being too tight in the center and loose off the gas with no rear grip. He came down pit road in 34th position for a fresh set of tires, fuel and adjustments.
The team gained one position on pit road and restarted the race at Lap 39 in 33rd position. Through the first hundred laps of action, Labonte was running consistent and had moved himself up to 30th position. The first set of green-flag pit stops started and Labonte came down pit road on Lap 104. The team made another slight adjustment to help with the forward drive and took four tires and fuel.
At the halfway mark and still without another caution, the No. 7 Camry was in the 33rd position. Another green-flag pit-stop was made on Lap 172 where the team just took tires and fuel. Labonte posted his fastest lap on Lap 176.
With a little less than 100 laps remaining, and the race just setting a record for the most green-flag laps, the car was loose in, tight in the middle and loose off. Finally, the second caution came out on Lap 240 for oil on the track in Turn 3. At this point, the team came down for a new set of tires and to fill up on fuel. They restarted the race in 31st position and did not have to race for position as they were the only car three laps down.
Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya were the reason for the third caution with 28 laps to go. Labonte entered pit road for the last time taking a fresh set of tires and enough fuel to go the distance.
On Lap 290, leaders Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch were racing for the win when the final caution came out for the two of them getting into each other. Bobby Labonte restarted Lap 293 in the 30th position and that was the position that he brought the No. 7 SpeedFactory.TV Toyota Camry home in.
Driver Bobby Labonte Comments on the Lenox Industrial Tools 301:
“First, I want to thank Robby Gordon and his team for giving me the opportunity to race their No. 7 SpeedFactory.TV Toyota Camry this weekend”, said Labonte. “We didn’t start off like we hoped on Friday, but we had a solid race and learned a lot about each other.
“Our goal was to learn as much as possible for Robby Gordon Motorsports and for me to be able to give them the best feedback I could. We wanted to keep the car in one piece and not race too hard where we would put ourselves in a bad position. We were able to maintain the No. 7 in owner’s points and keep them locked into the top-35.
“We did give ourselves a ‘Darlington Stripe’ but no big damage was done to the car. All-in-all, it was a good day for the team and I hope that they were able to learn from me being in the seat.”
Team Owner Robby Gordon comments on the weekend results:
“To be able to put Bobby, a past champion, in our car at Loudon was a great opportunity for our organization. I want to thank him for his help and giving us this opportunity. I think the information that we learned this weekend will be very valuable to our race team and will help make Robby Gordon Motorsports even better.”
Loudon, NH. (June 27, 2010) – Bobby Labonte, starting his first race for Robby Gordon Motorsports (RGM), helped wheel the No. 7 SpeedFactoy.TV Toyota Camry to a 30th-place finish at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Sunday afternoon at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
RGM was forced to a back-up car Friday afternoon following an accident in the first practice session. Unfortunately, with only 30 minutes remaining in practice when the accident occurred, the team was unable to pass through inspection in time for a qualifying lap. Since RGM is locked into the top-35 in owner’s points, the team was given the 42nd starting position. However, the team changed their transmission before the race and had to start at the back of the field, in the 43rd position.
Labonte had no problem moving forward at the start of the race and had the No. 7 SpeedFactory.TV Toyota Camry up six positions by Lap 20 – one of the biggest movers of the race. Debris then brought out the first caution flag of the race on Lap 36. Labonte reported being too tight in the center and loose off the gas with no rear grip. He came down pit road in 34th position for a fresh set of tires, fuel and adjustments.
The team gained one position on pit road and restarted the race at Lap 39 in 33rd position. Through the first hundred laps of action, Labonte was running consistent and had moved himself up to 30th position. The first set of green-flag pit stops started and Labonte came down pit road on Lap 104. The team made another slight adjustment to help with the forward drive and took four tires and fuel.
At the halfway mark and still without another caution, the No. 7 Camry was in the 33rd position. Another green-flag pit-stop was made on Lap 172 where the team just took tires and fuel. Labonte posted his fastest lap on Lap 176.
With a little less than 100 laps remaining, and the race just setting a record for the most green-flag laps, the car was loose in, tight in the middle and loose off. Finally, the second caution came out on Lap 240 for oil on the track in Turn 3. At this point, the team came down for a new set of tires and to fill up on fuel. They restarted the race in 31st position and did not have to race for position as they were the only car three laps down.
Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya were the reason for the third caution with 28 laps to go. Labonte entered pit road for the last time taking a fresh set of tires and enough fuel to go the distance.
On Lap 290, leaders Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch were racing for the win when the final caution came out for the two of them getting into each other. Bobby Labonte restarted Lap 293 in the 30th position and that was the position that he brought the No. 7 SpeedFactory.TV Toyota Camry home in.
Driver Bobby Labonte Comments on the Lenox Industrial Tools 301:
“First, I want to thank Robby Gordon and his team for giving me the opportunity to race their No. 7 SpeedFactory.TV Toyota Camry this weekend”, said Labonte. “We didn’t start off like we hoped on Friday, but we had a solid race and learned a lot about each other.
“Our goal was to learn as much as possible for Robby Gordon Motorsports and for me to be able to give them the best feedback I could. We wanted to keep the car in one piece and not race too hard where we would put ourselves in a bad position. We were able to maintain the No. 7 in owner’s points and keep them locked into the top-35.
“We did give ourselves a ‘Darlington Stripe’ but no big damage was done to the car. All-in-all, it was a good day for the team and I hope that they were able to learn from me being in the seat.”
Team Owner Robby Gordon comments on the weekend results:
“To be able to put Bobby, a past champion, in our car at Loudon was a great opportunity for our organization. I want to thank him for his help and giving us this opportunity. I think the information that we learned this weekend will be very valuable to our race team and will help make Robby Gordon Motorsports even better.”
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by nando on
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My completely non expert opinion but it sounds like the problem with RGM cars are weight balance and weight shifting. They have had a problem all year with loose on the gas, loose on the brakes, and tight in the center. Bobby (different driving styles) had this problem also so its good to know its not related to Robby's driving style but the cars.
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Permalink Reply by Keith Stone on
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30th with another driver.. nuff said..
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Permalink Reply by Rob Hoban on
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Unfortunately we will never know how the weekend would have been had it not been for the incident on Friday. Nontheless, Bobby got some good seat time in Robby's car and hopefully his information will help RGM in the future.
More importantly for some on this site, hopefully Bobby will want to come back for another race in the 07 (or the 7 at Martinsville)
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Permalink Reply by kurt kern on
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I think we could add a little more: 30th with different great driver in the back-up car. This says that RGM has the the depth to pull out back-up car and run at least close to the primary car....that's actually a very significant postive fact. I doubt most the teams which are running near him in points can do that. The fact that the driver reported similar handling characterics with both cars and also similar to what Robby has been experiencing is another significant fact. Gene, Robby, and Bobby will have to figure that out (I'm not qualified for comment). Change that many things and get a similar result says those things are the problem and also indicates that the solution to the problem is likely somewhere in that chassis design or critical set-up component. I think we heard Bobby say the power was good. I'm praying we can hold this brain trust together and be a multicar team with Bobby.
Just my opinion for what it is worth.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Gruber on
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I can't believe that RCR couldn't find a fourth sponsor for Bobby Labonte. When you look at some of the guys with big-time teams, and you look at Labonte, you have to wonder about the priorities.
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Permalink Reply by John on
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I hope this is just another step towrads Robby being a full time team owner, car builder and part time driver. Hopefully Labonte gave Robby the insight he was looking for. I still want to see Robby race everything except for short and intermediate tracks. He is amazing in anything on dirt and road courses and super speedways seem to be where his talents on pavement really show.
It was fun watching this weekend to see what would happen with a different, quality, driver this weekend.
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Permalink Reply by TOG on
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I want to see RG run every week, including Martinsville. The hell with that part time driver stuff...lol...
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Permalink Reply by bighead on
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I'd give up two Matinsville 25 spots for a 1 spot on a road course or super speedway
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