ARCHDALE, NC (July 17, 2008)- Earl Pearson Jr. and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team continued the "Drive For Five" tour this past weekend extending his lead in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national point's standings to 300 points over Steve Casebolt. Earl competed in two Lucas Oil sanctioned events this past weekend earning a runner up finish at North Alabama Speedway and an 8th place finish at Columbus Speedway in Mississippi.

At North Alabama speedway earl dominated the feature event leading the first 29 laps before tangling with a lapped car that cause a caution and sent Earl to the rear of the field. With just 11 laps to go Earl was able to drive back to the front and nearly grabbed the lead from Freddy Smith on the final lap but settled for a second place finish at the Alabama facility. With two wins on the series in 2008 Earl continues to march towards his fifth consecutive national dirt late model touring series title with 15 sanctioned series events left on the schedule in 2008.

"We had probably the best car I've ever had all year. I could drive it anywhere and I was running away from the other drivers when I got hooked up with a lapped car. I should have been more patient with the lapped traffic and took my time because nobody was going to catch me. If I couldn't win then I'm glad Freddy got the win. It's an honor to race with him every week knowing how much he has accomplished in his career. I wanted to win but to see Freddy get a win on the series was really cool", stated Earl.

Earl and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team will travel to a pair of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events this weekend one in Pontoon Beach, IL at Tri-City Speedway and the second event on Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO. Friday night's event at Tri-City Speedway will be taped for broadcast by SPEED Channel. Earl and the team will be on the road and travel to several other events next week as Earl's schedule gets real busy heading to the month of August. Earl's upcoming schedule for next week is listed below.

Earl and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team would like to thank all their sponsors in 2008 for their support including LifeLong Locks, Lucas Oil, Mastersbilt Race Cars, Larry Wallace Engines, Mopar, Sunoco Race Fuels, Allstar Performance, Tiger Rear End, BERT, Butlerbuilt, Hyperco, SHY, Wilwood, Woodward, TWM, Dyers Top Rods, Weld, Hoosier Tire, PRC, Wrisco, Sparco, Bell, Mechanix Wear, Oakley, Cheerios, Coke, Dunn-Benson Racing Supply, ASI Racewear, WRT Web Designs, The Decal Source, Rick Schwallie Photography and WD Enterprises.

To learn more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit www.lucasdirt.com. For more information about LifeLong Locks and the strongest locks on the market today, visit www.lifelonglocks.com. For more information about Earl Pearson Jr. and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team visit their official website at www.bobbylabontemotorsports.com.

Earl Pearson Jr. upcoming schedule:

July 18th - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series- Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, IL

July 19th - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series- Lucas Oil Speedway, Wheatland, MO

July 20th - World of Outlaws Late Model Series- Belleville High Banks, Belleville,KS

July 21st - World of Outlaws Late Model Series-Boone County Raceway, Albion, NE

July 24th - World of Outlaws Late Model Series- Muskingum County Speedway, Zanesville, OH

July 25th - World of Outlaws Late Model Series- Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH

July 29th - World of Outlaws Late Model Series- Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, PA





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