Labonte Has Quiet Day; Finishes 17th at New Hampshire

LOUDON, N.H., Sunday, July 25, 2004 Bobby Labonte endured an uneventful, but productive day en route to a 17^th-place finish July 23 in the Siemens 300 July 25 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Labonte started in 20^th position, and quickly moved to 16^th-place by the end of the first lap on the 1-mile oval. However, he was never able to crack the top 10, running only as high as 13^th on Lap 65. Throughout the entire 300-lap event,

Labonte was between 13^th and 19^th place, and ultimately ended up in 17^th. 

The car was loose throughout most of the day, Labonte said. We were just sort of hanging on there at the end.

The day proved productive, however, as Labonte and interim crew chief Brandon Thomas worked their first race together as driver and crew chief on the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet.

Brandon did a good job today, Labonte said. I think we both learned a lot, and well get better at Pocono next week and Indianapolis after that.

Kurt Busch won the event, edging out second-place Jeff Gordon. Tony Stewart, Labontes Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, finished fifth. 

Labonte fell one spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, moving from sixth to seventh. He has 2,390 points and his 460 behind leader Jimmie Johnson and four points behind sixth-place Busch.

The next NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event is the Pennsylvania 500 Aug. 1 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Labonte finished third in the race at Pocono seven weeks ago. The race starts at 1 p.m. (EDT), and will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN.