| Texas 400 News: |
| Terry Labonte is true to his home state. Texas Motor Speedway will be the site for one of only 10 races that Labonte will compete in during 2005 as he kicks off his two-year retirement tour, "Shifting Gears - Lone Star Style." Labonte will be seeking to become the first repeat NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series winner in Texas Motor Speedway history Sunday, April 17 in the Samsung/RadioShack 500.
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams took advantage of the off week in the schedule and headed to Texas. Five Cup Series teams and two Busch Series team tested at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the first of three weeks of testing by various teams in preparation for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 weekend April 14-17. Three drivers were on the track Tuesday, including Terry Labonte, Michael Waltrip, and Mark Martin (Busch car). On Wednesday, the testing included Sterling Marlin, Dave Blaney, Kyle Petty, Labonte, Waltrip, and Reed Sorenson (Busch) on the track. Blaney and Marlin continued their testing Thursday. Blaney led the weekend's speed charts with a 192.102 mph tour of "The Great American Speedway" while his Jack Daniel's Chevrolet was in qualifying trim. Labonte was the fastest of the day Wednesday with a speed of 189.474 mph. Next quickest was Petty (189.208), followed by Waltrip (188.811), Marlin (188.153), and Blaney (187.240). Sorenson toured his Busch car around the track at 184.932 mph. "The car has felt really good so far," Labonte said. "We are working on a number of things and are pleased with what we have found." Labonte, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, is running only a limited Cup Series schedule this season and in 2006 before retiring from competition. He is being inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 13 in a ceremony at Texas Motor Speedway. "I am really looking forward to coming back here to Texas twice this year," Labonte, driver of the #44 Kellogg's Chevrolet, said. "It has been so different, not leaving to go to a race as a driver every week. But, it has given me the chance to spend a lot more time with Justin (his son) and our Busch team. I am really enjoying that." |
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| It may be March Madness time of the year, but sports fans are tuning their televisions to NASCAR in record numbers each week. The April 17 Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway will be carried nationally on FOX (locally on KDFW-TV, Channel 4).
In Fort Worth-Dallas, the FOX telecast of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on March 13 in Las Vegas posted a whopping 6.9 rating, up dramatically over the 3.8 rating in this market in 2004. Through the first three races of the 2005 season, NASCAR ratings locally were up 33 percent from a year ago. The Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway has annually been one of the top-rated sports telecasts on FOX. The network's coverage of the Las Vegas race was the most-watched sporting event nationally with a 6.4 rating, easily outdistancing NCAA college basketball conference tournament championship games and the NCAA Men's Basketball Selection Show |