Motorsports

Labonte rides fumes to third

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 26, 2006

SONOMA, Calif. - Fuel strategy paid off for Terry Labonte at Infineon Raceway, where the two-time NASCAR champion benefited from some late cautions and a little luck to nurse his car the final 50 laps on a tank of gas. The result: a third-place finish in the Dodge/Save Mart 350.

"It was an awful good run. We got really good gas mileage," Labonte said. "We needed a couple of caution laps. We gambled on it."

He said the car was a little loose, which kept him from using the throttle the way he normally would have.

SHORT RACE: Three drivers never made it through the first lap as a five-car wreck triggered by Ken Schrader's spin took Schrader, Sterling Marlin and Tom Hubert out on the eighth of Infineon's 11 turns. After the spin, Schrader said he just found himself going the wrong way. "I looked up and saw all kinds of cars and said, 'There ain't no way they are all going to miss us,' and they didn't."

SPARK PLUGS: Robby Gordon's day ended on Lap 76 with a broken tie rod after he had run as high as second. . . . Hired road racing specialists didn't fare well. Scott Pruett was the only one of the three to finish on the lead lap, in 30th place. P.J. Jones was 36th after busting up the rear end, and Ron Fellows battled a rash of problems to finish 37th. . . . Jeff Gordon and Belgian actress Ingrid Vandebosch started dating in 2004 and appeared together in the movie Taxi. The couple has been engaged about a month but did not officially announce it until Saturday. No date has been set for the wedding.

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 01:30:47]