Labonte Finishes 18th at Chicagoland, Remains 6th in Points

JOLIET, Ill., Monday, July 12, 2004 Bobby Labonte fought an uncooperative race car for most of the Tropicana 400 July 12 at Chicagoland Speedway and finished the race in 18^th.

Labonte started 11^th in the No. 18 Wellbutrin XL (bupropion HCl) Chevrolet, but fell back early on with an ill-handling race car. A series of air pressure and wedge adjustments did not seem to cure the car and Labonte spent much of the race between 16^th and 25^th-place.

It was a frustrating day, Labonte said. We just couldnt get the car to work for us. It was just frustrating, because it was one of those days where youre just not sure what to do.

I guess were still sixth in points, which is good, but we really need to get into Victory Lane this year.

The 18^th-place finish tied Labontes career-best finish at the 1.5-mile oval, which has offered him little success in the four races since the track opened in 2001. It remains the only track on the schedule where Labonte has never started or finished in the top 10.

Labonte remained sixth in points, and trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 442 points and trails fifth-place Matt Kenseth by 43 points.

After a week off, the next NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event is the New England 300 July 25 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H. The race begins at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) and will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN.