June 25 , 2007

SONOMA , C.A. –Two-time NASCAR champion Terry Labonte drove the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to a 35th-place finish in Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway. An ill-handling Camry and pit strategies that could not be capitalized on proved to be too tough to overcome for the NAPA team.

“It’s a shame we had the kind of day we did,” said Labonte, who started the race in 25th place. “On Friday, the guys at Michael Waltrip Racing were pretty pumped up after all three teams made the race. Unfortunately, we could not carry over that success into the race. Our NAPA Toyota just did not have as much forward bite as I would have liked. The lack of it caused us to struggle for most of the day. To make matters worse, the pit strategy we put into motion at the start of the day did not work to our benefit. From there, our day pretty much went downhill. It’s a shame. This team worked incredibly hard but just came up short.”

Crew chief Buddy Sisco called the race, and when Jamie McMurray led the 43-car field to the green flag, Sisco instructed his crew to be on the pit wall for a planned pit stop on lap 34, regardless of the number of cautions that would be thrown in the interim. Labonte made his way through three caution periods before coming down pit road on lap 34 for an air-pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel. The stop was completed in just 13.5 seconds. From that point on, the team’s goal was to conserve fuel so that only one more stop would be needed to make it to the end. However, nearly half the field had the same idea, and a handling improvement was needed to help Labonte pick up the pace. Unfortunately, the increase in forward bite with the air-pressure change was not enough to help him move up the leader board. 

By the half-way mark, race leader Robby Gordon appeared to be on his way to his second Infineon Raceway victory as Labonte struggled to break into the top 25. The NAPA driver came over the radio to inform the team that the car was a little better, but it was just too tough to pass anyone. Since their pit strategy was not working, the team tried to get the car working better for Labonte with two more pit stops under caution on laps 54 and 68. The services included an air-pressure change, four fresh Goodyears and fuel. Before the green flag waved at the lap-70 mark, Sisco instructed his driver to conserve fuel as it would be close if the race went green the rest of the way. At this time, Labonte was 34th and Robby Gordon was the leader.

With less than 20 laps to go, Labonte slid off the course but was able to continue. Sisco called his driver in for four fresh tires and a splash of gas on lap 90. The result put Labonte one lap down. Twenty laps later, he finished 35th.

“We just did not have the kind of car we needed to be competitive,” remarked Sisco after the race. “I’m sorry about that. We’ll look at our notes and figure out what we need to do to get Terry a better car in time for Watkins Glen. I have no doubt that we will work it out.”

Meanwhile, rookie Juan Pablo Montoya had the fuel mileage to make it all the way to the top spot to claim his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series victory. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Boris Said and Denny Hamlin.

A total of six Toyota teams participated in Sunday’s event.  Besides Labonte, teammates PJ Jones (substituting for David Reutimann) finished 12th and Dale Jarrett finished 26th. Butch Leitzinger, Marc Goosens and Dave Blaney finished 28th, 36th and 41st, respectively.

Next week, Michael Waltrip climbs back into the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to compete in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Toyota/SaveMart 350 Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/16/data/results_unofficial.html

Next Up:
Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on July 1
2006 Winner: Kyle Busch
2006 Pole:Ryan Newman
Television: TNT at 1:45 pm
Radio: MRN