Labonte's day at Indy ends early

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
2. Matt Kenseth, Ford
3. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
4. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet
5. Mark Martin, Ford
27. Kyle Petty, #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge
40. Bobby Labonte, #43 Totino’s MEGA Pizza Rolls Dodge

OVERVIEW:

SPEEDWAY, IN (August 7, 2006) - Bobby Labonte and the #43 Totino’s MEGA Pizza Rolls Dodge team had an engine failure that ended the team’s day on lap 135 at the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Labonte, driving the Totino’s MEGA Pizza Rolls Dodge ran inside the top-20 at times on Sunday, but the team was continuing to make adjustments to the car. Labonte and the team were hoping pit strategy might place them in a top spot at the end of day, but the engine let go before any strategy could be played out. Labonte finished 40th.

Kyle Petty and the #45 Tire Kingdom Dodge team had a solid 27th place finish on Sunday. The team worked on the handling throughout the day, but at the end Petty found himself moving forward. Early in the race Petty was letting the warm track come to him and letting the race strategy unfold. A hard track to pass, Petty moved into the top-25 in the middle part of the race. Petty eventually fell back after some handling issues, but late-race adjustments by crew chief Paul Andrews allowed Petty to move up to 27th.

“It was a race of track position,” said Petty. “We had a pretty good car today. We were working on the handling, but we were better than a lot of those guys. It’s a lot about track position. We did a good job of moving up at the end.”

Jimmie Johnson added another notch to his stellar season by winning Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Johnson has a reputation of running into bad luck at this track where his teammate Jeff Gordon has won four times. Sunday, however, Johnson bounced back from an early race flat tire to win. Johnson beat Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick, two drivers that were dominant all race long. Jeff Burton had a strong race, but faded to 15th at the end of the day. The race finished under caution after Kasey Kahne hit the wall hard. That accident left Kahne 11th in the point standings and one spot out of the championship chase.

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen (N.Y.) road course for Sunday’s last road course race of the season.