Kyle Busch picked up his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of 2008 by taking the checkered flag in the Best Buy 400 Benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks at the Dover International Speedway on Sunday. Teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle finished second and third, completing the podium.
The race was marred by a lap 17 caution that involved 10 cars. Many of those competitors were inside the top-12 in the Sprint Cup point’s standings, which is the cutoff for the “Chase for the Sprint Cup.” This allowed for a lot of movement within the standings.
Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team finished 32nd in Sunday’s event. Labonte, the 1999 winner of this race, took the green flag from the 19th position. Rain came through the Dover area on Saturday and washed much of the rubber off the track from the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. When a track has a coating of rubber on the surface it will have more grip. The ‘green’ track, coupled with the sunlight that was beaming on the track on Sunday, resulted in a slick racetrack. When the race began, Labonte radioed to crew chief Jeff Meendering that he lacked grip getting into, and off of, the corners of the fast, one-mile oval. Before he could make his way down pit road for adjustments, Labonte was involved in the big wreck on lap 17. While the No. 43 Dodge was one of the lesser wounded cars, the damage forced him several laps down and ended his chance for a trip to victory lane.
“We were waiting for a caution period so we could come in and make our adjustments, but we didn’t expect to be in it,” said Labonte. “When I got to the frontstretch, the track was blocked and I had nowhere to go. The worst of the damage was to the front splitter and that ruined the aerodynamics of the car. The guys on pit road did a great job in getting it repaired as much as they could. It’s unfortunate because we usually make the car better during the race. I’m proud of everyone’s hard work because we were able to pick up a few spots at the end and gain some points.”
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to the Pocono (Pa.) Raceway next weekend for the Pocono 500. Friday’s qualifying session will be telecast on the Speed Channel.
