California Race Report

Bobby Labonte / No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
August 31, 2008
2-mile Auto Club Speedway

RACE RESULTS:
1. Jimmie Johnson, Lowe’s Chevrolet
2. Greg Biffle. 3M Ford
3. Denny Hamlin, FedEx Toyota
4. Kevin Harvick, Shell Chevrolet
5. Matt Kenseth, R&L Ford
21. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge (started 24th)
38. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge (started 38th)

If it seemed like Jimmie Johnson led every lap of Sunday evening’s California 500 at Auto Club Speedway, it wasn’t too far from reality. Johnson easily led an event record 227 of 250 total laps to take a dominating victory. Greg Biffle, who took the lead several times on pit stops but couldn’t pass Johnson on the racetrack, finished second while Denny Hamlin was third.

For the two Petty Enterprises entries, drivers Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte started the evening as two of only five men to start each of the 16 Sprint Cup races held here at what was previously known as California Speedway.

For Labonte, it was 500 hard-fought miles in a brand-new #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge chassis, finishing on the lead lap in 21st position, while Petty drove the #45 Well’s Fargo Dodge to a 38th place finish, one lap behind the leaders at the finish.

Labonte ran in the top-20 for much of the event, but fell a lap behind on lap 133. While racing aggressively to regain the lap, Labonte smacked the wall hard on lap 167, but did mostly cosmetic damage to the #43 car. Soon after hitting the wall, Labonte made several sparkling passes to become the ‘Lucky Dog’ (the first car one-lap down), and regained a spot on the lead lap when the yellow flag fell on lap 180.

“This is a brand new car,” said Labonte, “so we weren’t sure what to expect. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel very fast on the straightaways. I was racing really hard to get the Lucky Dog and I hit the wall hard. The car felt like it almost stopped – as if I was welded to the wall or I shifted down into third gear. It was weird, but it didn’t hurt the car. The crew really did a good job tonight to keep me on the lead lap. We could have used some more speed, but a lead lap finish is something we can build upon.”

Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit races under the lights of Richmond (Va.) International Speedway Saturday night. It is the final regular-season race before the 10-race Chase for the Championship begins.