Charlotte Race Report

No. 43 Cheerios/Let’s Pink Together
October 11, 2008
1.5-mile Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway

RACE RESULTS:
1. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
2. Kasey Kahne, Dodge
3. Kurt Busch, Dodge
4. Kyle Busch, Toyota
5. Jamie McMurray, Ford
17. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios/Let’s Pink Together Dodge
35. Chad McCumbee, No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge

Jeff Burton propelled himself into the thick of the ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ by scoring his second victory of the 2008 season in the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Burton had to hold off Kasey Kahne, who was looking to sweep every race at Lowe’s this season, at the end.

The ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ appears to be down to a three-man race. Less than 100 points separate the top-three of Jimmie Johnson, Burton and Greg Biffle.

Bobby Labonte brought his No. 43 Cheerios/Let’s Pink Together Dodge home in the 17th position on Saturday night. Labonte began the race from the 20th position due to rain canceling qualifying on Thursday. Despite a car that was ‘loose’ in and ‘tight’ off, he was able to drive his way inside the top-15 by lap 50. Crew chief Jeff Meendering made several air pressure and chassis adjustments to keep the car suitable for Labonte, who used the ‘high’ line around the 1.5-mile track to pass the third-most cars of the 43 drivers in the field. On lap 155, Labonte was turning laps as fast as the leader of the race. He was knocking on the door of the top-10 when, on lap 205, he was hit in the left rear by another competitor and sent through the infield grass. While the damage was minor, the No. 43 Dodge was not the same after the spin. The car was ‘loose’ at both ends of the track. However, Labonte was still one of the fastest cars on the track at the end of the race.

“Sometimes you have those days where your car was better than where you finished,” said Labonte. “That’s what happened to us today. The chassis was off a little at the start, but Jeff made the right adjustments and we were fast there in the middle of the race. I don’t know if there was fluid on the track when we got spun, but there were a lot of cars that were sliding around at that point. We don’t know if something was broken or bent after that. It just wasn’t the same car.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for this weekend’s Tums Quikpak 500. Friday’s qualifying session will be telecast on ESPN2. It will be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Channel 128.