Richmond Race Report - Crown Royal 400

Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
Crown Royal 400
May 6, 2006; Richmond, Virginia
.750-mile, Richmond International Raceway

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
2. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
3. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
4. Greg Biffle, Ford
5. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
24. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
26. Kyle Petty, Merchant’s Tire Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker team ran up front Saturday night at the .750-mile Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Labonte, starting 35th, easily made his way to the front in the opening laps. Labonte was up to 13th after the first 100 laps and the crew had to make no adjustments to the car. Labonte then powered into the top-10 and eventually as high as fifth with 120 laps remaining. Labonte was running 10th with just 60 laps remaining when the car developed a problem in the rear. Labonte had to back off to ensure a solid finish. The team finished 24th.

“The car was great early,” said Labonte. “We didn’t make many chassis adjustments. We were fast and it was good running up front. We had problems at the end. We didn’t know what it was at the time. I just had to hold on at the end.”

Kyle Petty and the #45 Merchant’s Tire Dodge team were tight at the start of Saturday night’s race. Petty dropped back a little after the team had started 12th. Crew Chief Paul Andrews made adjustments to the machine. Petty was then able to move back to the front in the last 200 laps. Petty got up to 26th at the end of the night.

“We were a little tight at the start,” said Petty. “We just kept working on it. We got better and made up some positions at the end.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored a popular win Saturday night. Earnhardt, NASCAR’s most popular driver, scored the win over Virginia rookie Denny Hamlin. It is Earnhardt’s first victory of the season. Hamlin earned his career best finish.

Kevin Harvick dominated the race, but a pit call cost him a chance at victory. Harvick and his team elected to remain on the track while the rest of the leaders made pit stops with a little over 100 laps left. That allowed Earnhardt Jr. and Hamlin to close in on fresher tires. Hamlin eventually took the lead. A series of cautions over the last 50 laps put Earnhardt ahead on pit road. Hamlin closed to his side back on the track, but was not able to complete the pass. Hamlin finished second while Harvick, who led 272 laps, had to settle for third.

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the 1.366-mile Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for Saturday night’s Dodge Charger 500.