Labonte's 500th Career Start Nets 16th-Place Finish FINAL RESULTS: 1. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet 2. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet 3. David Ragan, Ford 4. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet 5. Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet 16. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 25. Kyle Petty, #45 Marathon Dodge OVERVIEW: Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team finished 16th at Saturday night’s Richmond 400 at the .075-mile Richmond International Raceway. The race was Labonte’s 500th career start. Labonte started the night in the 10th position. The team made various adjustments in the first 200 laps of the race to help Labonte get through the corners. The adjustments helped as Labonte made a charge at the end of the night. Unfortunately that charge had to come from the end of the pack after Labonte was assessed a penalty for speeding on pit road. His move, however, was strong and the team moved back into the top-15 and was looking to peak back into the top-10 before a final red flag stopped the field. Once the race restarted Labonte’s car was not as strong on the shorter runs. He still had a strong 16th place finish. Labonte remain 17th in points. “We were better on long runs,” said Labonte. “It didn’t go as well in the last run like it did before. The last red flag really hurt us. We were coming before that. We didn’t want to see that last caution.” Jimmie Johnson scored is second consecutive win. Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a blown engine at the end of Saturday night’s race to end his chances of making a championship run. Instead, Johnson heads into next weeks race at the New Hampshire International Speedway with a 20 point lead in the chase for the Nextel Cup championship. Johnson now has six wins on the season that translates into 60 bonus points when championship points are reset for the 12 chase finalists. Jeff Gordon, who finished fourth in Saturday night’s race, has 40 extra bonus points and will be second in the standings. Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick secured their spots in the chase with their finishes on Saturday. Kyle Petty put the #45 Marathon Dodge in the 25th position at the end of Saturday night’s race. Petty and the team made various adjustments and fought back from one lap down to finish on the lead lap. The team fought handling before they could get the time to make a major adjustment to the rear of the car. Track position was critical as Petty raced back on the lead lap. Once he was, crew chief Billy Wilburn was able to make that final major adjustment. Petty then rocketed through the pack to finish 25th. Petty and the 45 Dodge remain 34th in owner standings. “The guys did a good job of getting the car better at the end,” said Petty. “We beat some of the guys we needed too, but Sauter had a really good run. We are trying to catch those guys and get up there. We can make a run in the final 10 races and get us inside that top 30 in owner points.” The series heads to New Hampshire this weekend to begin the chase for the championship.