Labonte Earns Second Consecutive Top-10 Finish FINAL RESULTS: 1. Carl Edwards, Ford 2. Kasey Kahne, Dodge 3. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet 4 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 8. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 32. Kenny Wallace, #45 Wells Fargo Dodge OVERVIEW: If chemistry makes a team, then new Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge crew chief Doug Randolph is the mad scientist. Randolph helped Bobby Labonte and the #43 team to their second consecutive top-10 finish Saturday night at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Labonte started the evening in the 22nd position, but was the fastest car on the track in the first 150 laps of the race. Labonte moved from 22nd into the top-10 before the first caution. The first pit stop by the “Helping Hands” pit crew put Labonte in second. Labonte fell back to third as he fought a tight handling car. Randolph made various adjustments with air pressure and the chassis. The slight changes helped Labonte stay in the top eight most of the night. The team elected to pit with 100 laps to go for one final adjustment and fresh tires. Labonte started outside the top-10 for the first time since the start of the race. Labonte moved as high as seventh before finishing eighth. Labonte is now 17th in championship points only 52 out of the 16th position held by Casey Mears. “Doug made good calls tonight,” said Labonte. “He gets a lot of credit. He was great on the radio and that helps. He made adjustments that kept us going. We just didn’t go at the end. It didn’t go like we wanted. It was still a good night for everyone.” Carl Edwards was the winner and an official competitor in the “Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.” Edwards won Saturday night’s race in front of a sellout crowd at the freshly-surfaced speedway. Edwards is fifth in championship points and is locked into the chase. Saturday night’s race was something different from the racing fans have become custom of seeing at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The banks are still steep and the excitement still high, but the fresh laying of concrete, and added room to the speedway, has created three distinct grooves. Drivers are able to race around each other instead of the “bump-and-run” technique of passing that become custom in the past. Edwards was able to drive past Kasey Kahne during Saturday night’s race and easily went on to win. Kahne, who led 305 of Saturday night’s 500-lap race, settled for a disappointing second. Clint Bowyer raced his way to the front all night and finished third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth as he continues to attempt to grab the 12th and final spot in the chase. The man that currently holds that position, Kurt Busch, finished sixth to make sure Earnhardt Jr. didn’t make up too much ground. Kenny Wallace filled in for the injured Kyle Petty in the #45 Wells Fargo Dodge and finished 32nd in a car that he felt was a top-25 car. Wallace and the team were trying to move up from their 32nd starting position. Wallace was heading towards the top- 25 when he drove the car around the track under green trying to pit on a track that has two pit roads. Wallace, however, did a respectable job for never working with the group before. “We have a better car than this finish,” said Wallace. “Billy (Wilburn) and these guys work hard. I made an error that cost the team, but I gave it my all in the car tonight. This is a good team, but we didn’t get the finish we wanted tonight.” The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series now heads to the two-mile California Speedway for next week’s 500-mile race. The race will be televised live on ESPN and broadcast live on PRN Radio.