Labonte finishes 12th at Pocono

Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
Pocono 500
June 11, 2006; Long Pond, Pennsylvania
2.5-mile, Pocono Raceway

FINAL RESULTS:

1. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
2. Kurt Busch, Dodge
3. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
4. Brian Vickers, Chevrolet
5. Matt Kenseth, Ford
12. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
40. Kyle Petty #45 National Tire and Battery Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Petty Enterprises had an up-and-down day that ended on another positive during Sunday’s Pocono 500 at the 2.5-mile Pocono (Penn.) Raceway. Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team collected their second consecutive top-13 finish. Labonte posted a strong 12th place finish on Sunday. Kyle Petty and the #45 National Tire and Battery Dodge team suffered from an accident that ended their day early. Petty finished 40th. Denny Hamlin, a rookie in the Nextel Cup Series, won his first career Nextel Cup race on Sunday. Hamlin, who started from the pole, overcame an early race flat tire to grab the victory in Pennsylvania.

Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team started Sunday’s race in the 23rd position. The team, however, learned a lot during Saturday’s final practice sessions. Labonte was fast from the start of Sunday’s race. The Cheerios Dodge quickly entered the top-20 and steadily climbed forward. Crew Chief Todd Parrott kept Labonte one of the fastest cars on the track with slight adjustments to an already fast machine. Labonte eventually broke into the top-10 as the race started to near its close.

The team then suffered their only setback of the day. Labonte, running as high as seventh, had a flat tire that sent him on pit road for an unscheduled pit stop. The fast action by the “Helping Hands” pit crew kept Labonte on the lead lap. A late race caution then gave Labonte the opportunity to make a late race charge. Labonte moved from 18th to 12th in the final four laps of the race. The team finished 12th and Labonte moved up two positions to 23rd in championships points.

“I’ve got to thank these Cheerios guys for giving me a good car today,” said Labonte. “We kept getting better all day. We got going at the end, but ran out of laps. We still gained some spots and got a solid finish.”

Petty and the #45 National Tire and Battery Dodge team had their day cut short on Sunday. Petty, starting from the 33rdposition, was fighting handling issues early. The team, however, was making adjustments to make the car better. A long race, Petty had moved forward and the team was making progress on the car. The opportunity to get better ended when a loose tire came off the National Tire and Battery Dodge. Petty hit the wall as a result causing severe damage to the Dodge. The accident happened on lap 68. Petty wasn’t injured in the accident, but the team was forced to retire from the race.