RACE RECAP:
Lowe’s Motor Speedway
NASCAR Banking 500
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009
Bobby Labonte – No. 96 Ask.com/Search for the Cure Ford Fusion

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 96 ASK.COM/SEARCH FOR THE CURE TEAM FINISH 31st AT CHARLOTTE

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series raced what is considered the ‘home track’ for most teams – Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Saturday night. Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 96 Ask.com/Search for the Cure Ford Fusion carried a few extra passengers along with him for the NASCAR Banking 500 - more than 13,000 names of people affected by breast cancer were featured on the decklid of Labonte’s special pink No. 96 as part of a breast cancer awareness program with Ask.com. The search engine transformed its homepage into a one-day memorial for those affected by breast cancer on Oct. 1 to celebrate the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and its national partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cureâ. Each Tribute made that day was incorporated into the No. 96 paint scheme. So, with a lot riding on the No. 96, Labonte set out to have a solid run and a strong finish.
After qualifying 24th during Thursday evening’s time trials, Labonte and company had their work cut out for them. But, two practice sessions on Friday were what team 96 needed to feel confident heading into Saturday night’s 234-lap event.
Pole winner, Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag and Labonte rolled off 24th but before 10 laps were complete the race was stalled twice for the first two of the race's 10 cautions.

Green flag racing resumed and Labonte settled in to his No. 96. By lap 20 he reported to the Ask.com team that his Ford was "tight center off". A caution on lap 35 permitted Labonte to pit and the No. 96 crew removed a spring rubber from the Ask.com Ford and made an air pressure adjustment. However, the changes weren't helpful and Labonte struggled to maintain track position over the next run and fell from 34th to 39th.

Lap 88 saw Labonte on pit road for a scheduled stop and the 96 crew threw a wholesale of changes at the Ask.com Ford including: air pressure, track bar and wedge adjustments in hopes of remedying the handling woes. The changes seemingly helped and Labonte was running 27th by the race's halfway mark.

For the remainder of the race Labonte managed his No. 96 despite battling tight handling. When 500 miles were complete and the checkers waved Labonte ended up in 31st place.
Jimmie Johnson again dominated the field and had a perfect race weekend in Charlotte: fastest in all three practices, started on the pole, led the most laps and ultimately won the race. Matt Kenseth challenged for the win early in the race, but came home second. Kasey Kahne was third, followed by Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano completed the top five.

UPCOMING RACE:
Martinsville Speedway – TUMS 500
Bobby Labonte – No. 96 DLP Ford Fusion
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009
2:00 p.m. (EST) – ABC television/MRN radio

LABONTE’S CHARLOTTE STATS:
Start: 24th
Finish: 31st
Laps: 331/334
Points: 70
Status: Running
High: 22nd
Low: 40th
Fastest Laps: Three

TEAM 96 2009 CUMULATIVE STATS:
Races: 31 of 36
Points: 2661
Rank: 31st
Top fives: One
Top 10s: One
Starts: 31
Poles: 0