Darlington Race Report

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
2. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
3. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
4. Ryan Newman, Dodge
5. Carl Edwards, Ford
19. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
25. Kyle Petty, #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Petty Enterprises continued the consistent racing that has come to define their season thus far. Both teams overcame ill-handling racecars at Darlington Raceway, along with a little bad luck, to garner a pair of top-25 finishes for the second consecutive race.

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team finished 19th after starting 13th in Sunday’s Dodge Avenger 400. They battled adversity, but came through with a top-20 finish. Labonte received a Lucky Dog Award to help the team battle back from a lap down early on. From there, the Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge was tight in the middle of the corner and loose off the corner all afternoon. However, the team made changes on every pit stop and Labonte found himself running inside the top-15 in the latter stages of the race. While running in the 14th position, with a top-10 firmly within reach, Labonte was squeezed up into the outside wall by another competitor. The No. 43 machine suffered enough damage that Labonte could only muster a 19th place finish as a result. Labonte is now 19th as the team battles for a spot in the championship chase. They are 153 points out of the 12th spot.

“I believe that we could have finished in the top-10,” said Labonte. “But, we got squeezed up into the wall pretty hard at the end. That’s the way Darlington is, but we had a good car.”

Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team passed a lot of cars for the second week in a row. Despite a tight racecar, which was compounded by the abrasiveness of the Darlington asphalt, Petty moved up 17 positions from where he started. Ambient temperatures were hovering around the 75 degree mark for much of the day, allowing the leaders to run a frenetic pace. Petty ended up going two laps down due to his tight condition. However his 25th place finish kept him 31st in the championship standings. Petty is only four points out of the top-30. He is 360 points out of the 12th, and final, spot in the Chase for the Championship.

“We were just really tight on some sets of tires and ended up burning them up,” said Petty. “That is just Darlington, man. If you are abusing any one of your tires, it is multiplied because of the track. I am anxious to see this place after it is paved. This place will frustrate you, but my team gave me a good car. We were running really fast lap times in the middle of the race and able to make some ground up at the end.”

Neither Mother Nature nor Denny Hamlin could keep Jeff Gordon from continuing Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance in Car of Tomorrow (COT) races. Gordon captured his seventh Darlington (S.C.) Raceway victory in Sunday’s running of the Dodge Avenger 500. Saturday rain forced the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series to race on Mother’s Day for the first time since 1986. Hendrick Motorsports has now swept all five COT races this season.

Darlington provided the biggest test to date for the COT. The 1.366-mile oval will be the longest track on which teams will use the new car this season. The cars and drivers put on a good show throughout the day, but the action really picked up inside the final 25 laps. Three-wide maneuvering became common place among the top-10 cars. Denny Hamlin made a strong charge through the field after a pit stop incident to finish second. It looked as if Gordon could lose his power plant at any moment due to overheating, but he held on for his 78th career victory.

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series next heads to the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. for two weeks of racing. Saturday, May 19th, will be the annual NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge. Sunday, May 27th is the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season. The NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge will be shown live on the Speed Channel. The Coca-Cola 600 will be shown live on FOX. Both races will be broadcast live on MRN Radio.