Labonte Finishes Third; Scores Fourth Straight Top-Ten of the Season

RICHMOND, Va., Saturday, May 15, 2004 – Bobby Labonte continued to move up in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings by scoring a third-place finish in the Chevy American Revolution 400 May 15 at Richmond International Raceway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the event, while Jimmie Johnson finished second.

The third place was Labonte’s fourth consecutive top-10 finish and his fifth overall in 11 races in the 2004 season. He moved from ninth to seventh in the point standings after sitting in 15th-place just five races ago.

“We’ve had a string of good runs lately and that’s what it takes to contend for a championship,” Labonte said. “We coming together as a team, and we just need to stay consistent, and the points will take care of themselves.”

Labonte, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, started 27th at Richmond and went down a lap early fighting a tight race car. He pitted on Lap 104, taking on four tires, fuel and putting 2 ½ rounds of wedge into his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He came out of the pits the first driver one lap down. After the restart on Lap 107, Labonte and the Interstate Batteries team caught a huge break when leader Kurt Busch experienced a power-steering problem on Lap 112 and he was forced to the garage. Busch’s misfortunate enabled Labonte to get back on the lead lap and he remained there when the caution came out on Lap 122 for an accident in Turn 4 involving Jimmy Spencer.

“We caught a break there with the caution,” Labonte said. “The guys were able to make some adjustments and the car kept getting better.”

After getting his lap back, Labonte moved to 18th-place on Lap 169 when Kevin Harvick made contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2. The Interstate Batteries team elected to take fuel only on the Lap 172 stop. He exited the pits in 11th-place and, after the restart on Lap 176, began making his move toward the front. He was fourth at Lap 199, one lap shy of halfway, and then moved to second-place when Joe Nemechek and Jamie McMurray, who were ahead of Labonte, crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 203.

He fell to fourth after the restart when his Joe Gibbs Racng teammate Tony Stewart and Raybestos Rookie Brian Vickers got by the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevy. Earnhardt was able to get by Labonte on Lap 256, and he was in fifth when the pit-stop cycle began on Lap 284. Labonte pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment on Lap 288 and came out in third after all cars had pitted by Lap 326.

A caution on Lap 342 for Scott Riggs’ blown engine, allowed Labonte to pit for the final time on Lap 345 for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment. He came out in fifth, behind Earnhardt, Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Stewart. Stewart and Labonte pitted, while the top-three stayed out.

The green flag came out on Lap 355 and when Gordon and Stewart bumped each other on Lap 359, Labonte was able to move into third-place. He wasn’t able to challenge Earnhardt or Johnson, however, and he finished third, more than three seconds, behind Earnhardt.

“We were able to get some track position late in the race,” Labonte said. “We just didn’t have a chance to contend with Earnhardt or Johnson. We were able to finish third and the car was a lot better at the end than it was at the beginning. It ended up being a good night for us.”

The next NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event is the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge May 22 in Charlotte, N.C. The event does not pay points and will start at 7 p.m. and be broadcast live on FX and PRN. The next points-paying race is the Coca-Cola 600 May 30 at Charlotte.