Former NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Terry Labonte will be on the 4.361 km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course today in an NBS stock car to provide feedback to teams who will be taking part on the NAPA 200 race in August on the island. These kinds of tests are normally done by Cup driver Jeff Burton, but with the possibility that Burton may race in the August event, NASCAR decided it give him an unfair advantage over other teams so close to the race date.(Toronto Sun)(6-12-2007) UPDATE: History was made Tuesday when Terry Labonte tested with members of Richard Childress Racing’s (RCR) NASCAR Busch Series teams at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in preparation for the inaugural Canadian Busch Series race scheduled for Aug. 4 at the Montreal road course. It was the first time a Busch Series race car has turned a lap on the 13-turn 2.709-mile circuit, which has been home to the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix since 1978. The 2007 edition of the race was held last weekend. Labonte drove RCR’s #21 AutoZone Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. He made a total of 21 laps (57 miles) with a fast lap of 1:49:86 minutes at an average speed of 105.602 mph. “The test went very well and it was an honor and quite a thrill to drive the first laps here in a NASCAR stock car,” said Labonte. “The biggest thing was figuring out the braking points that will be used for the race. We can’t get into the corners as deep as the Formula 1 cars. I think there will be at least two good places to pass so track position will be very important but it’s the same as Sonoma (Infineon Raceway) or some of the ovals that NASCAR races at.” Labonte, retired from fulltime NASCAR competition, was chosen to be the test driver because he will not compete in the Canadian event. All the information collected from the test, including videotape taken of the course from laps in a street-legal sedan, will be shared with every Busch Series team that will participate in the event. RCR did a similar test in January 2005 with driver Jeff Burton prior to the first Busch Series race at Autodromos Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. On hand from RCR were NBS team manager Will Lind, all three Busch Series crew chiefs (Dan Deeringhoff/#2 BB&T, Shane Wilson/#21 AutoZone, and Pat Smith/ #29 Holiday Inn), and crew members from all three teams.(RCR PR)(6-13-2007)
