Tire Mixup Costs Labonte
Bobby Labonte's strong run in Saturday night's Nextel Cup race fell victim to an unusual tire problem. Labonte's Petty Enterprises team mixed up which tires to put in which position on the car, causing him difficulty in handling through the last segment of the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
"On the last stop, the left rear tire got put on the right rear and the right rear got put on the left rear," he said. "That hasn't happened in about a hundred years. I was wrecking after that. I just had to hold on for 40 laps."
Labonte's team struggled to determine exactly what the problem was at that time. "We didn't know if it was a gear or [the] swaybar broke or what," he said after the race. "When the tires are mismatched like that, there's nothing you can do about it. We really didn't know about it until it was too late."
The issue dropped Labonte to 24th in the race and held him in his 27th points position. After the race, the 2000 Cup champion had some advice for his crew. "I told them, 'They're not going to give it to us. We're going to have to earn it,'" Labonte said.(Scene Daily)
Bobby Labonte's strong run in Saturday night's Nextel Cup race fell victim to an unusual tire problem. Labonte's Petty Enterprises team mixed up which tires to put in which position on the car, causing him difficulty in handling through the last segment of the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
"On the last stop, the left rear tire got put on the right rear and the right rear got put on the left rear," he said. "That hasn't happened in about a hundred years. I was wrecking after that. I just had to hold on for 40 laps."
Labonte's team struggled to determine exactly what the problem was at that time. "We didn't know if it was a gear or [the] swaybar broke or what," he said after the race. "When the tires are mismatched like that, there's nothing you can do about it. We really didn't know about it until it was too late."
The issue dropped Labonte to 24th in the race and held him in his 27th points position. After the race, the 2000 Cup champion had some advice for his crew. "I told them, 'They're not going to give it to us. We're going to have to earn it,'" Labonte said.(Scene Daily)
