| Texas governor Rick Perry has kept no secrets | | | | this car is going to go mostly in reverse or drop out |
| about playing favorites when it comes to NASCAR, | | | | of the race." |
| and he'll be cheering along Bobby Labonte's No. 71 | | | | No matter how politics plays out, Bobby Labonte will |
| stock car from the Texas Motor Speedway at the | | | | get to drive in one more race this season, this time |
| April 18 Samsung Mobile 500. Perry has officially | | | | under the sponsorship of Rick Perry. He still has a |
| merged politics with NASCAR, as his re-election | | | | ways to go, however, if he wants to take that |
| campaign is sponsoring Labonte's car at the upcoming | | | | checkered flag by storm in the April 18 race at |
| Texas race. | | | | Texas. Labonte's 2010 NASCAR season has gotten |
| For racing fans with <a rel="nofollow" | | | | off to a slow start this year, with his best finishes at |
| onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' | | | | Daytona and Bristol, where he placed 21st at both. |
| outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" tickets</a> | | | | The TRG Motorsports extraordinaire has been on the |
| to this month's Texas Sprint Cup race, a first glance | | | | Sprint Cup circuit since 1991, and Labonte's |
| at history in the making will be seen zooming around | | | | longstanding clout with NASCAR is perhaps what has |
| the racetrack. Labonte's No. 71 Chevy will feature red | | | | led a Texas governor to make history in becoming |
| and blue lettering with the words "Governor Perry" | | | | the first politician to ever sponsor a stock car. |
| adorning the front and "Perry Governor 2010" penned | | | | Labonte spent most of his peak career years with |
| on the car's backside. Perry coughed up $225,000 for | | | | Joe Gibbs Racing in the late '90s and early '00s, and |
| the one-race sponsorship, and the Republican will be | | | | No. 71 has notched some very impressive numbers |
| rooting for the underdog (Labonte is currently 31st in | | | | on the Cup Series circuit, winning the Cup |
| point standings) to take the Samsung Mobile 500 | | | | championship in 2000 and coming in second overall in |
| Sprint Cup Series race in mid-April. | | | | 1999. |
| Speaking to Dallas Morning News about the unlikely | | | | Though last year was only mildly successful for |
| sponsorship, Governor Perry likened Bobby Labonte's | | | | Labonte, who finished 30th overall after the 2009 |
| driving to Texas' "strong economy," stating, "You | | | | season, perhaps Governor Perry's backing will help |
| build it right and you know what it's capable of." | | | | ignite a fire under the 45-year-old driver. The Labonte |
| Perry continued, "I know that he's going to take the | | | | name has deep NASCAR roots, with Bobby's brother |
| checkered flag at the speedway and we're going to | | | | Terry Labonte also having been a NASCAR legend of |
| take the green flag for the economy." | | | | old, and the Corpus Christi, Texas native will have |
| Despite the overflowing racing quips to compare | | | | more than a little support from his home state of |
| politics and racecar driving, a burn was delivered from | | | | Texas as he makes his way to the Texas Motor |
| his rival – Democrat Bill White – earlier this | | | | Speedway later this month for the Samsung Mobile |
| week in the form of White's spokeswoman Katy | | | | 500. As for Rick Perry's re-election campaign, that's a |
| Bacon. Responding to Perry's speech, Bacon said, | | | | story for another day. |
| "Given Perry's record on education, we're assuming | | | | |