Labonte grabs a top-5 at Charlotte

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Kasey Kahne, Dodge
2. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
3. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
4. Dale Earndhardt Jr., Chevrolet
5. Bobby Labonte, #43 Bugles Dodge
22. Kyle Petty #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge

OVERVIEW:

On a cold night in Charlotte (NC), Bobby Labonte and the #43 Bugles Dodge team were heat on the track. Labonte finished a season-tying best fifth place finish to record the teams third top 10 finish in its last three races Saturday night during the Bank of America 500 at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Labonte’s performance was the best of any driver that is not competing for the Nextel Cup championship. Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson made it a repeat performance from May’s Coca-Cola 600. Kahne won with Johnson finishing second- the same order they finished in May. Jeff Burton finished third to maintain his lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.

Labonte and the #43 Bugles Dodge team started the night 21st with a new car. The night didn’t start off as planned. A swerving Robby Gordon in the opening laps resulted in damage to the right side of the Bugles Dodge. Labonte and the “Helping Hands” pit crew made repairs and Labonte made his way to the front. Labonte went back to 31st on lap 40, but the 334-lap affair was plenty of time for Labonte to move to the front on a track he excels on. Labonte moved into the top 15 by halfway and never looked back. A mid-race caution changed the running order of the race, but Labonte was still on the lead lap. Everything fell into place and the team found themselves running in the top-10. Labonte was fast on the track and showed his skill at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Crew Chief Paul Andrews made great calls all night and gave Labonte an adjustment on the last pit stop. Labonte raced to fifth in the final 20 laps. The finish propelled the team to 23rd in points.

“Our Cheerios Dodge, we can’t thank everyone enough,” said Labonte. “We had Bugles on tonight and that’s three out of the last four with top 10 finishes. I knew we had a good car early. We were a little tight, little loose, but a lot was about track position and avoiding wrecks. We did that and had a good night in the pits. Paul (Andrews) did a good job making the adjustments and the calls. It’s a good finish for us.”

Petty and the #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge team started 32nd and finished 22nd in Saturday night’s event. Petty was involved in a lap three accident that involved eight other drivers. Petty suffered left front damage that took away all the down force from the car. The Tire Kingdom crew didn’t let that stop them from making it a successful night. They made a series of pit stops for repairs and put a new noise piece on the left front of the car. The Tire Kingdom Dodge was one of the fastest cars on the track, even with the damage. Petty climbed to 22nd at the end of the night.

“We were going to get the best out of this night,” said Petty. “The guys did a great job of repairing the car. We couldn’t do anything to avoid the wreck. It’s a shame things like that happen so early in the race. The car was good and the guys worked hard to repair it. We got the best finish out of it.”

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for Saturday’s 500 lap race.