Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Race Report

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
August 3, 2008
2.5-mile Pocono (Pa.) Raceway

RACE RESULTS:
1. Carl Edwards, Ford
2. Tony Stewart, Toyota
3. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
4. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
5. David Ragan, Ford
17. Chad McCumbee, No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge
33. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge

Carl Edwards picked up his fourth win of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season in Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway. In another race that came down to fuel mileage at the 2.5-mile triangle, Edwards had enough to beat Tony Stewart to the checkered flag. Several front-running cars began to run out of fuel as they made their way down the long frontstretch at Pocono to take the checkered.

For the second year in a row, rain disrupted a race at Pocono. The 2007 “spring” race was shortened due to inclement weather. This race featured a 45-minute red flag period following a caution for rain on lap 127. However, the race was able to restart and complete all of the scheduled 500 miles. Rain also washed out both of Saturday’s practice sessions.

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team finished 33rd on Sunday. Labonte is a three time winner at Pocono and he swept both races in 1999. He began the race from the 11th position, a solid qualifying effort for the team. When the green flag fell, Labonte radioed to crew chief Jeff Meendering that he had a ‘tight’ racecar in the middle of turn 3, but a ‘loose’ car everywhere else. Meendering made adjustments to the track bar, tire pressures and chassis, which improved the car, but it was still ‘loose’ off of each of the flat corners at Pocono. After the rain delay, Labonte drove back up to the 11th position. However, the handling of the No. 43 Dodge began to deteriorate and Meendering called Labonte down pit road on several occasions to improve the condition. This relegated him to 33rd.

“None of us are sure what exactly happened,” stated Labonte. “We’ve had a fast car since we unloaded on Friday, but it seemed like a different car today. Missing practice yesterday obviously hurt us. We tried using strategy to gain a few spots, but it was hard to come up with a strategy today. You didn’t know if the rain would hold out or not. I’m proud of my team because they worked hard today.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International this weekend for the Centurion Boats at the Glen. Friday’s qualifying session will be telecast on ESPN2. It will be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Channel 128.