Texas Race Report

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
2. Matt Kenseth, Ford
3. Mark Martin, Chevrolet
4. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
5. Jamie McMurray, Ford
28. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
35. Kyle Petty, #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Petty Enterprises is looking forward to Phoenix, and a little luck when they get there too. Both Bobby Labonte and Kyle Petty ran into bad luck during Sunday’s race in Texas. Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team had high hopes at the home track of Labonte. The car was fast during practice on Friday and the team was looking forward for a good run Sunday. Labonte was moving forward in the opening 25 laps, but only 39 laps into the event bad luck struck. Trash was collected on the front grill of the Cheerios Dodge thus sending water and oil temperature rising in the engine. Labonte was forced to pit to clear the debris. The caution then came out when Labonte returned and sent the team two laps down.

The rest of the afternoon Labonte and the team got the most of the car and stayed clear of any more trouble. Only 14 cars stayed on the lead lap at the end and the team was never given a chance to gain laps back. They did their best getting the most of the day. Labonte finished 28th and maintained his 22nd position in points.

“The engine was running hot and we had to come down to pit road,” said Labonte. “The grill was just blocked with trash. That’s just one of those things. We got put into a different ballgame then. The guys did a good of getting us out of here without too much harm. We’ll get to Phoenix and makeup some ground there.”

One of the fastest cars on the track Sunday was that of Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team. Petty started in 32nd, but once his tires were warm and up to race pressure he was climbing fast. A lap one accident, Petty suffered from very minor damage to the front that forced the team to pit. Petty came back and made his move to the front. Petty was running lap times consistent of cars in the top 10. Petty and the crew were just going to let the race unfold. Unfortunately Petty’s chance never came. A broken spindle forced the team behind the wall for repairs. The team was able to complete 291 laps and gain ground as more cars fell out. Petty finished 35th in Sunday’s race.

“It’s very frustrating,” said crew chief Billy Wilburn. “But, we’ll get to Phoenix and get it turned around. The car was looking good and Kyle was looking good. We just never got our chance to prove it today.”

Jeff Gordon slapped the wall, Matt Kenseth lost his handling and Jeff Burton is the first repeat winner at Texas. That summed up the final 25 laps in Sunday’s Samsung 500 at the fast 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. Burton claimed his 19th career Nextel Cup win, and became the first driver to win twice at Texas. Burton’s other win at Texas came in 1997.

Sunday’s race was a true ‘shootout’ in Texas in the closing laps. Jeff Gordon was one of the fastest cars on track all day, and it looked like he had things under control in the closing laps of the race. His fiercest competitor earlier in the day, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was forced to retire with mechanical problems after getting into a wreck earlier. Gordon extended his lead on the late-race restart, but his car became very tight. The right side of Gordon’s Chevrolet hit the wall coming off the Turn Four turn creating more of a nightmare for Gordon. His car faded after the contact and Matt Kenseth took the reigns. As always, Kenseth was showing his best at the end. This time, however, he was worried about a tire leaking. Kenseth was unable to hold off Jeff Burton who had no complaints or problems. Burton dogged Kenseth for the final 10 laps. It was an exciting battle for the win, won by Burton on the final lap. Kenseth held on for second, Mark Martin returned after a few weeks off to finish third and Gordon held on for fourth. Gordon remained in the points lead, but Burton closed the gap heading into Phoenix.

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series heads to the flat one-mile Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway for next Saturday’s Subway 500. The race will be televised live by FOX and broadcast live on MRN Radio.