Charlotte Race Report FINAL RESULTS: 1. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet 2. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet 3. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet 4. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet 5. Carl Edwards, Ford 12. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 18. Kyle Petty, #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge OVERVIEW: Bobby Labonte was behind the wheel of the #43 Cheerios/Pink for the Cure Dodge for Saturday night’s 500-mile race at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway and had a great view of the front early. Labonte started in the third position and went to work early. He fought a tight handing car for most of the night, but ran the first 120 laps all in the top 10. The team was making air pressure adjustments to the car to make it better before having to make bigger adjustments later. The car was consistently one of fastest top 10 cars all night, but it was pit road that bit the team. Labonte and the pink Dodge peaked at the halfway point of the race when they were running second. A caution sent the team down pit road when Labonte was forced into a block party on pit road. Tony Stewart collected two other cars on pit road spinning the car of Kasey Kahne, and putting Labonte right into the most symmetrical box possible. The cars cleared, but Labonte still needed service. Labonte attempted a second trip on pit road, but again Stewart blocked Labonte from pitting after passing his pit. The team fell back to the 26th position on lap 180 after being second just moments earlier. Labonte marched back to the top 10 and was running seventh when he felt something wrong with the car. Thinking it was a tire going flat Labonte hit pit road. The caution came when the car was on pit road and Labonte rolled through not losing a lap. The caution was for massive oil laid down on the track. It was that oil that Labonte had run in for several laps causing the ill feel. In fact, the tires were good and Labonte was now able to make a second charge. Labonte moved from 19th to 12th in the final seven laps. He is now 17th in championship points. “All in all 12th wasn’t bad for everything that happened tonight,” said Labonte. “We were a top five car and we showed that at times tonight. I don’t know what happened on pit road. We were boxed in and I think the ‘20’ was mad at the ‘9’ car. We lost 20 spots on it. We got into that oil and came down pit road. We caught a break there. It’s frustrating that we didn’t get a better finish because the Pink for the Cure Dodge was pretty good tonight.” Kyle Petty and the #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge team used a strong car and two ‘Lucky Dog’ awards to grab an 18th place finish in the Bank of America 500. In the process they were able to keep themselves squarely in the middle of the top-35 owner point’s battle. Despite losing a spot in the standings to 35th, Petty now has a more comfortable 109 point lead over 36th place. Petty started the race from the 42nd position, but several early cautions allowed crew chief Billy Wilburn to try a few things to increase track position and earn some valuable bonus points. When most of the field came down pit road for service after a lap 20 caution, Wilburn called for Petty to stay out and lead a lap. After restarting the race from the top spot, Petty was able to run top-20 lap times. However, he was unable to receive the help he needed, in the form of a caution, and had to make a green flag stop where he lost a lap. Outstanding pit stops by the Tire Kingdom crew allowed Petty to stay in the hunt for a ‘Lucky Dog’ award. It came on a lap 189 caution. Petty, with his strong Dodge Charger, was back on the lead lap. The race leaders set a pretty fast pace towards the end of the event. Despite running inside the top-25, Petty lost another lap. On a lap 321 caution, Petty received his second ‘Lucky Dog’ award. On the final lap of the race, he was able to get by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to finish 18th. “This was a team effort tonight,” sounded Petty. “That ‘22’ car, I don’t know, they’re on their game right now and we weren’t able to gain much ground on those guys. But tonight was a lot of fun. It was a wild night too. With all the problems that teams were having on pit road, my guys were rock solid all night long.” Petty Enterprises capped off a strong weekend with a pair of top 20 finishes Saturday night during the Bank of America 500 hosted in Concord, North Carolina. Jeff Gordon was the winner of the event after surviving a green-white-checkered finish and continues to be the point’s leader in the championship. Gordon’s sixth win of the season now puts him 68 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, Gordon and Clint Bowyer all had strong cars Saturday night. Johnson led the most laps, but it was Gordon leading in the final 50. His car was running low on fuel, and on a late race restart bobbled with the car of Kyle Busch. Ryan Newman blasted by both, but planted his car in the wall on the next turn. This caution created another restart and the chance for Gordon to take the lead. He held on for the win over Bowyer. Busch finished third. The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series heads to the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway for next Sunday’s Subway 500. The race will be televised live by ABC and broadcast live on MRN Radio.