Labonte moves up four spots in points following Atlanta

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
2. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
3. Matt Kenseth, Ford
4. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
5. Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge
16. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
34. Kyle Petty, #45 National Tire and Battery Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team were one of only 18 cars to finish on the lead lap on Sunday at the 1.54-mile Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. Labonte finished 16th and jumped four positions to 17th in the point standings. It’s the highest position the ‘43’ car has been this early in the season since 1998.

The finish wasn’t without hard work. Labonte started the race in the sixth position, but battled a “tight” handling car early in the race. In most cases teams are given several opportunities to work on their cars during caution periods. Sunday’s race, however, only featured six cautions. There was only one caution for an accident and the rest for debris and a blown engine of Scott Riggs. The cautions did fall at the right time for Labonte and the team. The team was unable to get a complete tank of gas in the car in an early race pit stop. That left Labonte out of sequence to the leaders, but a timely caution for the team awarded Labonte the “free pass” award and put the team back on the lead lap. Labonte restarted 23rd and moved back into the top 20. The car again became difficult for Labonte to handle. Stewart and Johnson were setting a blistering pace up front and Labonte was sent a lap down, but again a caution came out to receive his second pass back to the lead lap. A final change to the car, and Labonte made his final charge after the last caution. The Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge crossed the finish line 16th at the end of the day.

“We really worked hard for that finish today,” said Labonte. “The car wasn’t handling well, but Paul (Andrews) and the guys worked hard on it. We did a lot of work to the car during the race. The guys did a great job and we ended up with a good finish.”

Handling was also the battle that Kyle Petty and the #45 National Tire and Battery Dodge team fought early on Sunday. Petty’s car did not react kindly to the many adjustments that crew chief Billy Wilburn and the crew put in the car during the early stages of the race on Sunday. The team made several major adjustments to make Petty comfortable. Petty did a remarkable job on the track to keep the car on pace. Eventual changes made Petty faster and his lap times were considerable with that of the top 15 cars. Petty moved forward at the end of the race and finished 34th on Sunday. Petty is also 34th in championship point’s standings, but less than 100 points out of the top 25.

“We made a lot of changes today,” said Petty. “This car just didn’t handle for us. The guys did a lot of things to it. It ran better at the end of the race, but we couldn’t find grip or a good balance to the car. It hurt us early. It got better and we were able to get some spots at the end.”

Jimmie Johnson scored his second consecutive victory Sunday afternoon. Johnson won the Kobalt Tools 500 after passing Tony Stewart in the final five laps for the victory.

Johnson, the defending Nextel Cup champion, led 135 laps in Sunday’s race. Stewart was his best competition throughout the afternoon. In fact, it looked like Stewart had things under control. After a miscue on a pit stop, Stewart easily climbed through the field to take the lead. Stewart was not pleased with Johnson’s pass to overtake him for the lead and eventual win. Stewart felt that he was “pinched” into the wall by Johnson. In any case Johnson took the checkered flag and Stewart finished second. Matt Kenseth finished third with Jeff Burton fourth. Juan Pablo Montoya had his best Nextel Cup career finish in fifth. The top five in championship point standings did not change. Mark Martin leads the points, but the will not race in the upcoming race at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Martin is running a partial schedule in 2007. Tony Stewart’s second place finish moved him seven positions to sixth in points.

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series now heads to the .533-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast live on PRN Radio.