Q&A: Bobby Labonte.

Testing ahead of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season is well into it's second week at Daytona International Raceway.

During Wednesday testing, when he set a time good enough for 20th place in the overall standings, Bobby Labonte - driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Monte Carlo - took time to answer some questions...

Q:
Bobby, how's testing going?

A:
We're a day and a half into a three day test. I don't know where we're at on the chart this morning, but speeds are relatively close between both cars. We launched off this morning with the best lap and we haven't got any better so hopefully we'll learn some things after lunch to make it better. So far we do not have to go home and cut everything off and start over again. That's not a bad thing.

Hopefully we can improve throughout the week and go home and pull out the rest of the stops that we have left that we didn't bring here and then come back and be faster than we are here today. I was here a couple of weeks ago. I had a good time driving Kevin Doran's car. Getting used to the race car and the race track. I'm not sure how much time you get before the race starts, but I'm sure after the race stats that hopefully we'll get a lot of laps.
Q:
What's a great moment in NASCAR history for you?

A:
Winning the championship for me and everything else is down after that. I have to put myself at the top, right? I would think Earnhardt winning the Daytona 500 would have to rank up there because after he tried so many times and didn't do it for 20 years and finally won it. That would have to be the first. Do you want me to go through all 40, or just one (laughs)?
Q:
Is it a disadvantage for Tony Stewart not to test here?

A:
I don't know. Probably not but maybe so. I'm not sure. Doesn't matter too much to me because I'm here. As far as the two laps per qualifying type runs, the data shows us all that. Drafting practice-yeah, there's something there. Every year it changes a little bit. Will we have enough practice when we get back here? Probably so.
Q:
During the off season did you locate areas you need to improve on?

A:
I think so. Obviously last year was a unique situation for our race team to make a change in the middle of the year. That was the biggest thing that happened to us. If we don't do that again we'll be better off and that's what we plan on not doing. We also have to know we have to be more competitive. We have to finish races better than we have been and than we did last year to be in the top ten in points. We know we have to improve on things. We worked on that in the off-season. A lot of that is communication between Steve and me and between Steve and guys that work on the race car so that we can understand each other.