Darlington Race Report - Dodge Charger 500

Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
Dodge Charger 500
May 13, 2006; Darlington, South Carolina
1.366-mile, Darlington Raceway

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Greg Biffle, Ford
2. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
3. Matt Kenseth, Ford
4. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
18. Kyle Petty, #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge
22. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Petty Enterprises placed both their Dodge entries in the top-25 during Saturday night’s Dodge Charger 500 at the 1.366-mile Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. One of the hardest tracks to pass and one the longest events of the season, Petty Enterprises were able to survive and mostly thrive during the evening. The twilight event was won by Greg Biffle.

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker team had a good qualifying effort and started Saturday night’s Dodge Charger 500 in the 11th spot. Labonte and the team made various changes throughout the night as many teams suffered from handling woes. The Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge stayed in the top-20 for the first 220 laps of the race. Labonte was close on many different occasions of cracking into the top-10, but ever-changing track and race conditions kept that from happening.

Labonte’s Dodge lacked grip on the very slick Darlington Raceway. The Cheerios Dodge slightly brushed the wall near the end of the race. A famous ‘Darlington Stripe’, Labonte used his veteran skill to stay strong the rest of the night. Labonte finished 22nd .

“We were OK early on,” said Labonte. “We were making adjustments and looking for more grip. This is a slick track. We brushed the wall and the car got really tight. We battled that the rest of the race. The guys did a good job this weekend.”

Biffle was able to hold off a late race charge by Jeff Gordon. Gordon was closing in fast, but Biffle held on for his first win of the season. Biffle finally overcame his bad luck that has plagued him since the beginning of the year. Matt Kenseth finished third after leading 64 laps earlier in the event. Jimmie Johnson was fourth and last weekends winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished fifth.

Kyle Petty and the #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge team had one of the strongest runs of the night of any team. Petty started the race in the 40th position, but the Tire Kingdom Dodge quickly moved forward. The crew, led by crew chief Paul Andrews , made changes Friday evening during the team’s final practice session. The adjustments paid off and Petty was quick from the start. The Tire Kingdom Dodge finished 18th after gaining 22 positions.

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s All-Star Challenge.