GOOD DAY FOR BOBBY

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Bobby Labonte’s third race with Yates Racing produced his best Cup finish since his third at Martinsville in the fall of 2006 with Petty Enterprises. He didn’t lead any laps Sunday, but ran top-five for about 100 laps, between 180 and the finish at 285.

“We were really good in clean air,” the 2000 champion said. “On two restarts before the end, I thought I had a tire going down. It went straight getting into Turn 1 and I got jacked up and had to race some guys. Then that last restart with three or four to go, Carl had a problem and I got around the 24 [of Jeff Gordon]. I got by Jamie on the inside and had the 00 [David Reutimann] in my sights and almost had a fourth-place.

“But all in all, it was a really good day; I’m really excited about it. These guys have done a great job. I feel like we’ve got all this confidence on our side right now. I’m excited we got a top five and we’re looking forward to each and every weekend. It’s going to be a builder for me. It’s really huge because we had a great race car all weekend. I thank [crew chief] Todd Parrott and all the folks at Hall of Fame Racing for giving me this opportunity.”