Labonte Finishes 20th in Fontana, Falls to 12th in Points

FONTANA, Calif., (Sunday, Sept. 5, 2004) - Bobby Labonte finished a disappointing 20^th in the Pop Secret 500 Sept. 5 at California Speedway.

The finish caused him to drop to 12^th in points.

"Obviously, that's not the result we wanted tonight, Labonte said." "It was just a really frustrating night, because we couldn't get the car to do what we needed to do. We fell out of the top 10 (in points) and that's frustrating, but we've still got one more race to try and get back in and get in the Chase. It's tough, but that's where we're at. We'll do our best to get back in at Richmond."

Labonte started 37^th and managed to get only as high as 19^th, briefly in the middle portion of the race, and spent most of the event between 20^th and 30^th position. The Wellbutrin XL crew attempted several different changes, none of which proved successful. Perhaps the only highlight of the evening came in the final 10 laps when Labonte managed to go from 25^th on a Lap 240 restart, to 20^th by the time winner Elliott Sadler took the checkered flag.

Labonte fell to 12^th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standing, 11 points behind 11^thplace Jamie McMurray and 36 points behind 10^th-place Mark Martin. 

The next NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event is the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 Saturday night, Sept. 11 at Richmond International Raceway. Labonte finished third at the track back in May. The race starts at 7 p.m. (EDT), and will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN.