Bad Oil Line Doesn't Stop Terrific Drive by Labonte

LONG POND, Pa., Sunday, June 13, 2004 Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries Racing Team overcame a bad oil line midway through the Pocono 500 and fought back to an incredible third-place finish.

Labonte started 17^th, fought an ill-handling race car throughout much of the first part of the race, nearly went a lap down and found himself in 38^th position after just 36 laps. After some adjustments in the pits throughout three pit stops, Labonte worked his way into the top 10 by Lap 119.

Then, disaster stuck.

Smoke began pouring from the Interstate Batteries Chevrolet on Lap 120 because of a break in the oil line. The oil on the track caused Sterling Marlin and Scott Wimmer to crash, but Labonte was able to make his way back to the pits and let crew chief Michael Fatback McSwain and the rest of the team begin repairs.

When he came in, he was completely out of oil and had no oil pressure, McSwain said.

Because Pocono is 2.5-miles long, the second longest track on the circuit behind Talladega, the team was able to make repairs for long periods of time, without going a lap down.           

All told, Labonte pitted four times during his own caution, but stayed ahead of the Chevrolet Pace Car each time.

Its a big racetrack, thank goodness, Labonte said. If it were Martinsville, we would have lost five laps, probably.

Labonte restarted the race in 16^th on Lap 132 with a new oil line, six gallons of new oil, four fresh tires and a full tank of Sonoco gasoline.

It was then that he began to make his move.

By Lap 159 he was seventh and on Lap 160 he pitted for fuel only, hoping to finish the final 40 laps without a pit stop.

While a caution was out on Lap 168 for an accident involving Rusty Wallace and Michael Waltrip, most of the leaders pitted, with the exception of Jimmie Johnson, Jeremy Mayfield and Labonte, who restarted the race in that order on Lap 173.

Four cautions in the final 25 laps ended any chance of a race to the finish and Johnson ended up winning under caution followed by Mayfield and Labonte.

We had a really good race car today, Labonte said. We nearly got lapped before the first caution. The guys did a great job. We had a little hole in the oil line, but came back from that. We had a little luck on our side today and a great effort going into it.

Labonte moved up two spots in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, moving from eighth to sixth. He has 1,812 points and his 301 behind leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is 42 points behind fifth-place Tony Stewart, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

The next NEXTEL Cup event is the DHL 400 June 20 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The race begins at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on FOX and MRN.