Labonte grabs fifth top-10 of the season at Dover

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
2. Carl Edwards, Ford
3. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
4. Kurt Busch, Dodge
5. Greg Biffle, Ford
7. Bobby Labonte, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
25. Kyle Petty #45 Wells Fargo Dodge

OVERVIEW:

Dover, DE (September 24, 2006) - Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team collected their fifth top-10 of the season Sunday afternoon at the one-mile Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Labonte’s seventh place finish highlighted a strong weekend for all of Petty Enterprises. Tim Andrews, son of Cheerios crew chief Paul Andrews, won Friday’s NASCAR Busch East Series event and Kyle Petty and the #45 Well Fargo Dodge team collected a 25th place finish to improve their points position. Jeff Burton won Sunday’s 400-lap event after a battle royal with Matt Kenseth in the final 30 laps. It is Burton’s first win of the season and puts him in the championship lead heading into Kansas.

Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team started Sunday’s race 26th. Led by crew chief Paul Andrews, the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team was as hungry as ever for a good finish. The team knew they had a good run last weekend at New Hampshire spoiled, but refocused their energy to Dover. The weekend wasn’t without struggles, but each hurdle was cleared with hard work. The team came into the race knowing their Cheerios Dodge was strong. Labonte fought a tight handling car, but Andrews, in his second week as Labonte’s crew chief, kept making adjustments. Although the car was never ‘perfect’, Labonte’s experience and talent kept the car moving forward. A long green flag run setup teams for pit stops. As drivers hit pit road, Labonte stayed strong on the track. The caution flag flew and Labonte was in the 11th position in the closing of the race. Labonte stayed consistently strong and other teams ran out of gas in the end. Labonte moved from ninth to seventh in the final 10 laps. The team moved back to 25th in points.

“This was a good rebound from last weekend,” said Labonte. “I’m happy for the guys and for Paul (Andrews). We all worked hard. The car was a little tight, but we kept working on it. It’s a good finish for us.”

Petty and the #45 Wells Fargo Dodge team defined a ‘true grit’ performance Sunday afternoon. The #45 Wells Fargo Dodge started Sunday’s race 17th, but early in the race Petty had to fight an ill-handling car. The team knew the problem early and crew chief Bill Wilburn went to work. The team was suffering from a setup that wasn’t allowing the car to turn. Wilburn made adjustments all afternoon and soon enough Petty was moving forward. Petty climbed back to 25th at the end of the race. Petty, more importantly, closed ground on the 35th place team in owner’s standings.

“Billy (Wilburn) made a lot of adjustments to get this car better,” said Petty. “We knew our problem early, but we had time to work on it. We didn’t give up and made something out of it. We didn’t want to be in that position, but I’m proud of the guys for getting a positive out of this day.”

The Nextel Cup Series now heads to the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s Banquet 400.