Labonte finishes 26th in SoCal

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Kasey Kahne, Dodge
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
3. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet
4. Carl Edwards, Ford
5. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
26. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
35. Kyle Petty, #45 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge

OVERVIEW:

FONTANA, CA (September 4, 2006) - Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team started the SONY HD 500 at the two-mile California Speedway in the 28th position. Labonte, like the rest of the 43 car field had to fight the track conditions early before the sun went down. Labonte was competitive, but the team knew it was a long 500-mile race. Crew chief Greg Steadman made handling adjustments to try to make Labonte better and set him up for a run as the sun set. The team was then caught on pit road when the caution came out. Labonte was sent a lap down, but with 90 laps remaining got the ‘lucky dog’ award and Labonte set his sights back to the front. Labonte moved into the top-25, but like the rest of the field Labonte needed four seconds worth of gas to make it to the end. Labonte pit, got fuel and came back to finish 26th.

“It was tough to run around other guys,” said Labonte. “We needed ‘clean’ air. The car wasn’t too bad then. We spent a lot of the race trying to get back on the lead lap. We did that and got the best finish out of it.”

Kyle Petty and the Schwan’s Home Service Dodge team started 35th in Sunday’s event. Petty and the team struggled to find the handle on their Dodge early, but crew chief Paul Andrews made adjustments and made the car better. Petty, like Labonte, was also caught on pit road early in the race when the caution came out. Petty was sent a lap down. The team continued to battle the handling of the car the rest of the night. Petty finished 35th.

“The car was pushing,” said Petty. “We got it better, but we didn’t get it where we needed it. The guys worked hard to make it better. We’ll keep working and head to Richmond.”

Kasey Kahne made it a weekend sweep Sunday evening. Kahne, winner of Saturday night’s Busch Series event, won Sunday’s race as well. A race of fuel mileage, Kahne was leading when the leaders had to hit pit road for a splash of gas. Kahne returned to the track first. His only challenge came from Reed Sorenson and the #41 team who decided to take the gamble. The gamble fell two laps short and Kahne was back in front. He took the win over Dale Earnhardt. Jr. It is Kahne’s fifth win of the season, but more importantly puts him closer to the top-10 in championship points heading into next weekends race at Richmond.

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the .75-mile Richmond (Va.) International Raceway for Saturday night’s 400-mile race. The race will be the last before the championship chase begins.