ARCHDALE, NC (December 3, 2006)- Bobby Labonte Racing has reached an agreement with Dunn-Benson Motorsports and will field cars for the Jacksonville, Florida resident and full time racer Earl Pearson Jr. beginning with the 2007 season. Earl is the current 2006 World 100 winner and the three time Dirt Late Model National Champion winning the Stacker2 Xtreme DirtCar Series National Championship in 2004 and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship in 2005 and 2006. The team will be based out of the Bobby Labonte Racing shop in Archdale, North Carolina. The 2006 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Crew Chief of the Year Jason Fitzgerald will continue to handle the crew chief duties along with Matt Langston as additional full time crew for Bobby Labonte Racing.

Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Series Champion and current driver for Petty Enterprises car number 43, is excited about the opportunity to field cars for Earl Pearson Jr. and to be a part of the huge sport of dirt late model racing. Bobby is equally excited to be associated with Carlton & Kemp Lamm and Dunn-Benson Motorsports.

“I met Earl and the Dunn-Benson Team two years ago at a race at the Talladega Dirt Track across from the Talladega Super Speedway. Earl and I became good friends over the past couple of years and he and Carlton gave me a chance to drive their car in 2005 at Eldora Speedway in the first Nextel Prelude event. I have really been hooked on these dirt late models ever since. Carlton, Kemp and Earl have proven to be true professionals in this sport and I’m excited to have this opportunity to be associated with Earl and Dunn-Benson Motorsports” stated Bobby Labonte.

For the past 35 years Carlton Lamm has been involved in motorsports in some capacity and has had a number of different drivers drive his cars through the years. 2006 was by far the best year ever for Dunn-Benson Motorsports and Earl Pearson Jr. The Carlton and Kemp Lamm owned team won their third dirt late model national championship in a row winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2006. Earl and the Dunn-Benson Motorsports team won 3 events and had 19 top five finishes, 26 top ten finishes and 3 COMP Cams Fast Time Awards on the national touring series in 2006. Not only did Earl win the series championship in 2006, but the Dunn-Benson Motorsports Team also won several big events outside of the touring series including the prestigious World 100 at Eldora Speedway, The Hillbilly 100, and a World of Outlaws Late Model Series sanctioned event during speedweeks at Volusia Speedway Park in Earl’s home state of Florida.

“To have this opportunity to be associated with such a great driver and person in Earl Pearson Jr. is exciting for me. Earl has proven he is one of the top drivers in dirt late model racing and is a great representative for the sport, sponsors and to the fans. He is the total package and I’m excited to have him as a part of my organization”, stated Bobby. Bobby Labonte Racing and Earl Pearson Jr. are finalizing sponsorship for the team and working on their schedule for the 2007 season. A special press conference announcing more details and sponsorships about the new team is tentatively scheduled for the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando on December 14th. A new Bobby Labonte Racing website will be released in the near future for fans, sponsors, and the media to keep up with the new team and information about Earl Pearson Jr.