Labonte 24th at The Glen

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
2. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
3. Jamie McMurray, Ford
4. Robby Gordon, Chevrolet
5. Carl Edwards, Ford
24. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
30. Kyle Petty, #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick diced for the lead in the final 10 laps of Sunday’s AMD at The Glen. In the end, it was Harvick taking his first win at the historic 2.45-mile Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course. Harvick’s win is his second victory of the season and puts him third in the Nextel Cup championship chase. Harvick is now essentially a lock into this season’s “Chase for the Nextel Cup.” Tony Stewart, one of the best drivers at Watkins Glen, had the lead after passing Harvick, but he couldn’t hold him off in the closing laps. Stewart still moved up two positions in points and is now seventh. The race featured a race record 10 cautions. Drivers, teams and NASCAR officials were all busy scoring Sunday’s race with many drivers coming away unhappy. Kurt Busch, who committed to pit road when a caution came out, suffered the worst. He had a strong car all afternoon, but came away with a disappointing 19th place finish.

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team started Sunday’s race in the 36th position. Labonte and the team finished 24th at the end of Sunday’s race after avoiding late-race spins and accidents. Labonte and the team had to be patient as they moved up the field. Other teams fell in bad positions, Labonte and the Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team let the race come to them. The cautions fell and Labonte continued to move forward. The end of the day Labonte came home with a 24th place finish. He remains 25th in points and only nine points behind 24th.

“It wasn’t a great day for us, but we got positions at the end,” said Labonte. “We made it a little better for ourselves when it counted. I think we got a top-25. It wasn’t the day we wanted, but a lot of guys had it worse. We ran well at Michigan in June and I like the track. I’m looking forward to that race.”

Kyle Petty and the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge team had things going their way early in Sunday’s race. Petty, taking advantage of the many caution’s, was able to position himself in the top-10 for portions of Sunday’s race. Petty and the team were strong throughout the race, but a late race spin but a damper on the finish. Petty led the field after a lap 29 caution and gave the team five bonus points. Petty then came down pit road, but came back with chances high for a great finish. The #45 ‘Petty Blue’ Dodge looked strong all afternoon. The late race accident left Petty with a disappointing 30th place finish. Petty did move up one position to 32nd in driver standings.

“We had a really good car today,” said Petty. “Paul (Andrews) and the guys did a great job of calling this race. We just didn’t get the finish we deserved today. Things happen, but we’ll get ready for Michigan. We want to get into the top-25 in the standings before the season ends. We did come out of here one spot higher.”

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s GFS Marketplace 400.