Labonte Finishes 17th in UAW-GM Quality 500 at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 16, 2004 – Bobby Labonte finished a disappointing 17th in the UAW-GM Quality 500 Oct. 16 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Jimmie Johnson won the event, while Labonte finished the event two laps down.

After starting 34th in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, Labonte quickly moved into the top-20 despite several early caution and one red-flag period to repair the SAFER Barrier after rookie Brian Vickers crashed.

However, Labonte struggled with a tight race car throughout the remainder of the 367-lap race and fell two laps down.

“It was frustrating,” Labonte said. “The car was just so tight that we weren’t able to keep up with the leaders. It’s been a long year and a frustrating year for everyone. We’ve got five races left, and we need to do our best in order to get a win.”

Despite the disappointing finish, Labonte moved up one spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He is in 14th-place with 3,652 points. He is 10 points behind 13th-place Kevin Harvick and 26 points ahead of 15th-place Kasey Kahne.

On the night before the UAW-GM Quality 500, Labonte drove the No. 18 Banquet Chevorlet to a 14th-place finish in the Busch Series race at Charlotte.

The next NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event is the Subway 500 Oct. 24 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va. The race starts at 12:30 p.m. (EDT), and will be broadcast live on NBC and MRN.

Labonte will also compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event Oct. 23 at Martinsville driving a Chevrolet for Morgan Dollar racing.

The Kroger 200 truck race starts at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on SpeedChannel and MRN.