ARCHDALE, NC (October 4, 2007)- Earl Pearson Jr. and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team have been officially declared the 2007 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion. The final two events on the series schedule at Rome and Dixie Speedway were cancelled due to the passing of Mike Swims last Friday. The series decided to end the 2007 season in respect to the Swims family during their loss. Mike was one of the pioneers of the sport of dirt late model racing and a vital member of the series staff working closely with the Lucas Oil Company over the past three years with the series.

"I want to first offer my thoughts and prayers to the entire Swims family during this time. I was able to attend the services in Atlanta last Sunday and it was evident by the size of the crowd how many people Mike has touched over the years. He was a big part of where I'm at today when he encouraged me and my family back in the mid 90's to run some Hav-A-Tampa races near our home in GA and FL when we were running our own equipment on a shoe string budget. Mike always treated me and my family like we were just as important to be at his events as much as the touring guys at the time. When we won the "Rookie of the Year" title in '97 it was a huge step for my career and I owe a lot of that to Mike and the opportunity he gave me and many other racers to compete on a national level", stated Earl.

By winning the 2007 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series title, Earl has won three series championships in a row winning in '05, '06 and now '07.  Earl and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team tied Jimmy Owens with the most series wins in 2007 winning five events. Earl's wins came at East Bay Raceway in Tampa, FL, Farley Speedway in Farley IA, Virginia Motor Speedway in Saluda, VA, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO and Kankakee Motor Speedway in Kankakee, IL. Earl will be officially crowned the series champion at the series awards banquet at the annual PRI Show in Orlando, FL on December 6^th.

"This is really incredible to win the championship again against this level of competition. Every year the competition level has gotten stronger and more and more teams are stepping up their programs to compete at this level over a year long point's battle. Scott James and Steve Casebolt were really tough this year and both deserve to win the title we, were just fortunate to come out on top. I have to first really thank Bobby Labonte and Mark Hughes for believing in me and putting this team together at the beginning of the year. To win the championship with a first year team and switching our motor program over during the year is a huge accomplishment. Jason Fitzgerald, Matt Langston and Keith Edwards really worked their butts off all year giving me the best prepared cars that I could ask for. These three guys are really talented and I couldn't have won the championship with out their hard work and dedication. I also want to thank Billy Henry at LifeLong Locks for coming on board as the primary sponsor and jumping into this sport like he has. It is just awesome that we could win the championship for him and all our sponsors including Lucas Oil, Mastersbilt Race Cars, Larry Wallace Engines, Mopar, Sunoco Race Fuels, Allstar Performance, Tiger Rear End, BERT, Butlerbuilt, Hyperco, Moroso, SHY, Wilwood, Woodward, TWM, Dyers Top Rods, Weld, Hoosier Tire, PRC, Jones Racing Products, Stealth, Trick, Wrisco, Sparco, Bell, Mechanix Wear, Oakley, Cheerios, Coke, Dunn-Benson Racing Supply, ASI Racewear, WRT Web Designs, The Decal Source, Rick Schwallie Photography and WD Enterprises", stated Earl from his home in Jacksonville, FL.

Earl and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team will travel to Talladega Short Track in Talladega, AL this  Saturday for a $5,000 to win Southern All-Stars Series sanctioned event. Earl's remaining schedule for 2007 is listed below:

October 6^th- Talladega Short Track, Talladega, AL

October 10^th- Lowes Dirt Track, Concord, NC

October 12-13^th- Golden Isles Speedway, Brunswick, GA

October 19-20^th - KC Raceway, Chillicothe, OH

Nov 1-3^rd- Lowes Dirt Track, Concord, NC

Dec 6-8^th- Lucas Oil Series Awards Banquet /PRI Show- Orlando, FL

A Full story about Earl and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team winning the series championship will be out next week. The new 2007 Championship T-shirt will be available starting at Golden Isles Speedway Oct 12-13^th at the ASI Racewear trailer

For more information about LifeLong Locks and the strongest locks on the market today, visit www.lifelonglocks.com. To learn more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visit www.lucasdirt.com. For more information about Earl Pearson Jr. and the Bobby Labonte Racing Team visit their official website at www.bobbylabontemotorsports.com.