UPDATE: Bobby Labonte came to town to talk a little NASCAR yesterday, but it was his race car that got the most attention. Draped in camouflage netting, the #18 Chevrolet was parked on a pier next to Dave & Buster’s. A crowd of on-lookers gathered around, apparently oblivious to the traffic whizzing past on Columbus Boulevard or the dozens of yachts gently bobbing nearby in the Delaware River. Polite applause gave way to cheers when the cover was removed, revealing a special paint-job commemorating the World War II invasion of Normandy. Sporting an olive-green body with red and yellow accents on the nose and gray “rivets” painted on, the Monte Carlo carried a poignant message on its hood: “We will accept nothing less than full victory.” Labonte will pilot the car at Dover International Speedway on June 6, the 60th anniversary of D-Day, in a Nextel Cup race that has been renamed the MBNA 400: A Tribute to Heroes. MBNA, which is also sponsoring Labonte’s racer, will donate a portion of the sales of die-cast replicas of the car to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation and to the Armed Forces Family Scholarship and Assistance Fund, which is administered by the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. “It’s a great honor to be a part of this, and I really like the fact that we’re doing it at one of my favorite tracks,” Labonte said. “We would really like to stick this car in Victory Lane, not just to help us in the points standings, but also because it would make the die-cast a hotter item to sell.” With an open date in the Nextel Cup schedule this weekend, Labonte was accompanied yesterday by his wife Donna and their two children, son Tyler, 10, and daughter Madison, 6. Soon after the event ended, the family headed to the Phillies game, where Labonte threw out the first pitch and his car was put on display.[boo…the Phils lost 6-5]
AND Ron Hornaday Jr., [South NJ’s] Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer have been tabbed to throw out the first pitch at tonight’s NASCAR Night at the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia [home of Jaysli’s beloved Phillies]. After spending the morning and early afternoon testing at Nazareth Speedway, the trio of Busch Series competitors will head to the sports complex for the Phillies game against the St. Louis Cardinals, which is scheduled to begin at 7:05pm/et. Each driver will take part in events throughout the evening, including an autograph session inside the first-base gate. “I’ve been a Phillies fan all of my life,” said Truex, who was born and raised in Mayetta, N.J. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” For ticket information on the race, visit the track Web site at www.nazarethspeedway.com or call 888-629-7223.(Philadelphia Inquirer), see an image of the #18 D-Day scheme on my #18 Team Paint Schemes page (5-5-2004)