Labonte Avoids Wreck on Last Lap, Finishes 21st on July 4th in Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 4, 2009) – Bobby Labonte finished 21st in today's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway after fighting the handling of his race car for 160 laps on Independence Day. An accident on the final lap involving race leaders Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne ended the second restrictor-plate race under the lights at the 2.5-mile oval with a double-meaning bang – both an exciting finish and a plethora of fireworks.

With qualifying rained out on Friday afternoon, Labonte took the green flag according to owner points in 28th position. After only five laps in his Academy Sports + Outdoors Ford Fusion, Labonte radioed to crew chief Ben Leslie, reporting the car to be too tight to travel on the bottom of the track but too loose to stay on the top line.

The first caution of the day at lap 12, caused by a spin from Mark Martin, brought Labonte down pit road for several adjustments, four tires and fuel. Labonte reported his tachometer to be malfunctioning, leaving Labonte vulnerable to speeding on pit road and unaware of the horsepower in his Ford Fusion. After rebooting the meter, Labonte took the green flag reporting the device to be in good shape.

The second pit stop followed a caution and Labonte came down pit road for another round of adjustments. Leslie radioed for a wedge and air pressure adjustment as well as four fresh tires and fuel. Labonte rejoined the field now in 31st position.

"It's too early to be a brave soldier," said Labonte in reference to racing hard. "I almost spun out there up top but it's too tight to stay down low."

Two more cautions followed by pit stops gave Leslie more opportunities to improve the handling of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Ford Fusion. A wreck at lap 76 brought Labonte down pit road for the crew's fourth pit stop of the day. Labonte, now scored in 18th position, climbed 13 positions in the caution.

A series of four more cautions at Daytona International Speedway brought Labonte down pit road as Leslie continued to work to improve the handling of the Ford Fusion. In the closing laps, Labonte would avoid a major pile up on the frontstretch for the checkered flag and finish 21st.

"That got really interesting there at the end," said Labonte. "Our car tonight didn't give me a lot of choices when it came to picking a line. It was too tight to stay on the bottom but too loose to stay high. But, we salvaged a 21st-place finish and kept it safe there at the end. The car got better as the night went on; it just wasn't competitive enough to run up front or even pass the guys that were good. All in all, I couldn't be happier with the guys tonight. They did a great job working on the car and getting me off pit road quick."

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will travel to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. TNT and MRN will carry the race live beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT.