Earl Pearson Jr. Collects Four Top-10 Finishes
Trinity, N.C. (March 2, 2011) – Bobby Labonte Racing had a very successful run at Speedweeks in Volusia, Fla. last week with the No. 44, Lucas Oil Sponsored Longhorn Chassis of Earl Pearson Jr. picking up four top-10 finishes in six nights of racing. Pearson Jr. was able to capture his first top-five finish of the season on the opening night of racing. The No. 41, Red Buck Cigars Chevrolet of Brad Neat also made the trip to Volusia Speedway Park, but engines woes forced him to retire early from the race week.
Monday night marked the first night of competition at Volusia Raceway Park. Pearson Jr. started off the night with a win in his heat race which put him on the outside pole for the feature. Pearson Jr. would lead the first four laps of the feature before being overtaken by Billy Moyer Jr. Pearson Jr. would be hot on Moyer Jr. heals for the rest of the race pressuring him high and low, but was unable to make any of his moves stick and had to settle for second place. The second-place finish is currently a season best for Pearson Jr.
“Our team really had this Lucas Oil Charger hooked up tonight,” said Pearson Jr. The Longhorn Chassis was fast, and I could go anywhere I wanted on the track.”
On Tuesday night, Pearson Jr. would have to do the alphabet soup dance. Pearson Jr. finished fourth in his heat race, just one spot out of a transfer position. He raced the second consolation finishing second. This put Pearson Jr. at the tail end of the field for the 30-lap main event. He finished 20th in the second night of action.
Day number three for the team, saw a better finish for Pearson Jr. He was able to transfer through his heat race into the main event. Pearson started the night in the 15th spot and worked his way up to 10th when the checkered flew. It was his second top-10 finish of the season.
On Thursday evening, Pearson Jr. used his momentum to place second in his heat race and start on the outside of Row Six for the feature. With just two cautions flags waving during the feature, it was hard for Pearson Jr. to make up a lot of ground, but he pushed his Longhorn Chassis and finished the night in seventh-place against the World of Outlaw regulars in their season opener.
Friday night seemed like Groundhogs Day. The team saw the same exact results as Thursday with Pearson Jr. placing second in his heat which put him outside Row Five. Yet again, hardly any cautions would wave, but he was able to make it up to the seventh position for the second night in a row for his fourth top-10 finish of Speedweeks.
The final night of racing, Pearson Jr. started in the fifth heat and finished sixth. After the race was over, Pearson Jr. would pull to the pits with a mechanical failure. The team decided to end their week of racing, but team manager Jason Fitzgerald was happy overall.
“Overall, it’s not too bad,” said Fitzgerald. “We really feel bad for Brad and the Red Buck team. We’ll go back and look at that. He had such great runs at East Bay and Ocala, Volusia was disappointing for him. But, I think we’ve got Earl back on track. He had a second and few sevenths. That’s a good rebound from East Bay. We’ll take our notes back to the shop and go from here.”
The team is now preparing for their next event while working at their shop in Trinity, N.C.
About Bobby Labonte Racing:
BLR is located in Trinity, N.C., and owned by 2000 NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte. The team was formed in 2007 and immediately won back-to-back Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championships. The team became a two-car operation in 2010 with the addition of driver Brad Neat. The organization is sponsored by Red Buck Cigars, Lucas Oil, ASI Racewear, Allstar Performance, Bazell Race Fuels, BERT Transmissions, Butlerbuilt Motorsports Equipment, Cornett Racing Engines, Dyers Top Rods, Hank Thomas Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Hypercoils, Larry Wallace Racing Engines, Mason Racin, Outerwears, Pink Carburetors, PRC, Racing Optics, SHY Racing Suspensions, Sweet Mfg., Tarter, Tiger Rear Ends, TWM Racing Products, Weld Racing, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood, Wrisco Aluminum, X-treme Graphics, and Sunoco Race Fuels.