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NASCAR: Terry Labonte Wins Pontiac Excitement 400

7 June 1998

By Terry Callahan
The Auto Channel

Terry Labonte
RICHMOND, VA: Terry Labonte has won the Pontiac Excitement 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race held Saturday night at Richmond International Speedway. The race was red flagged with a handful of laps remaining. Labonte was able to use a bump and pass move on Dale Jarrett late in the closing laps for the win. Jarrett was furious with NASCAR for throwing the red flag just so the race could end under green.

There were more yellow flags in the last 30 laps than at any time during the race. One of those yellow flags was caused when Rusty Wallace booted Jeff Gordon into the wall after Gordon had made a pass on the outside of Wallace. The move sent Gordon to 37th in the race and from first to third in the Winston Cup points race. Wallace moved into second place in the series point standings. Gordon pointed the blame at Wallace, while Wallace wrote it of to "just racing."

Complete results follow with finishing position, (starting position), driver, hometown, car make, laps completed, reason out (if any), and money won:

1. (16) Terry Labonte, Corpus Christi, Texas, Chevrolet, 400, $99,975.
2. (4) Dale Jarrett, Hickory, N.C., Ford, 400, $75,625.
3. (22) Rusty Wallace, St. Louis, Ford, 400, $56,875
4. (7) Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo., Chevrolet, 400, $62,075.
5. (19) Mark Martin, Batesville, Ark., Ford, 400, $65,025.
6. (15) Jeremy Mayfield, Owensboro, Ky., Ford, 400, $39,075..
7. (13) Jeff Burton, South Boston, Va., Ford, 400, $42,150.
8. (14) Bobby Labonte, Corpus Christi, Texas, Pontiac, 400, $43,750.
9. (11) Kenny Irwin, Indianapolis, Ford, 400, $41,850.
10. (3) Sterling Marlin, Columbia, Tenn., Chevrolet, 400, $31,300.
11. (26) Ricky Rudd, Chesapeake, Va., Ford, 400, $41,900.
12. (18) Joe Nemechek, Lakeland, Fla., Chevrolet, 400, $32,750.
13. (9) Chad Little, Spokane, Wash., Ford, 400, $26,175.
14. (37) Jimmy Spencer, Berwick, Pa., Ford, 399, $35,675.
15. (10) Ted Musgrave, Franklin, Wis., Ford, 399, $33,735.
16. (39) Bobby Hamilton, Nashville, Tenn., Chevrolet, 399, $35,500.
17. (20) Dick Trickle, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., Ford, 399, $30,800.
18. (8) Johnny Benson, Grand Rapids, Mich., Ford, 399, $30,450.
19. (24) Ward Burton, South Boston, Va., Pontiac, 399, $30,225..
20. (25) Brett Bodine, Chemung, N.Y., Ford, 398, $32,150.
21. (38) Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, N.C., Chevrolet, 398, $34,250.
22. (29) John Andretti, Indianapolis, Pontiac, 398, $34,125.
23. (5) Kenny Wallace, St. Louis, Ford, 398, $22,950.
24. (27) Kyle Petty, Randleman, N.C., Pontiac, 398, $29,225.
25. (21) Bill Elliott, Dawsonville, Ga., Ford, 398, $29,075.
26. (12) Lake Speed, Jackson, Miss., Ford, 397, $22,450.
27. (2) Rich Bickle, Edgerton, Wis., Ford, 397, $25,425.
28. (41) Geoff Bodine, Chemung, N.Y., Ford, 397, $28,600.
29. (23) Ernie Irvan, Salinas, Calif., Pontiac, 397, $28,375.
30. (34) Mike Skinner, Susanville, Calif., Chevrolet, 396, $21,645.
31. (28) Randy LaJoie, South Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 396, $27,975.
32. (42) Darrell Waltrip, Franklin, Tenn., Chevrolet, 395, $20,925.
33. (30) Kevin Lepage, Shelburne, Vt., Chevrolet, 390, crash, $20,385.
34. (43) Derrike Cope, Spanaway, Wash., Pontiac, 390, transmission, $24,850.
35. (31) Todd Bodine, Chemung, N.Y., Pontiac, 379, crash, $17,825.
36.. (35) Dave Marcis, Wausau, Wis., Chevrolet, 374, $17,800.
37. (1) Jeff Gordon, Pittsboro, Ind., Chevrolet, 372, crash, $44,975.
38. (36) Jerry Nadeau, Danbury, Conn., Ford, 361, handling, $17,750.
39. (32) Steve Grissom, Gadsden, Ala., Chevrolet, 348, $24,725.
40. (33) Michael Waltrip, Owensboro, Ky., Ford, 340, crash, $24,700.
41. (17) Robert Pressley, Asheville, N.C., Ford, 260, $17,675.
42. (6) Jeff Green, Whitehouse, Tenn., Chevrolet, 183, crash, $17,650.
43. (40) Rick Mast, Lexington, Va., Ford, 113, engine failure, $17,650.

Race Statistics:

Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes, 29 seconds.
Margin of victory: under caution.
Winner's average speed: 97.044 mph.
Caution flags: 7 for 47 laps.
Lead changes: 17 among 8 drivers.

Lap leaders: Gordon 1-2; Marlin 3-80; T.Labonte 81-96; Jarrett 97-106; Benson 107-118; Jarrett 119-120; Marlin 121-123; T.Labonte 124-187; M.Waltrip 188; T..Labonte 189-197; Martin 198-270; Jarrett 271-308; T.Labonte 309-311; Jarrett 312-344; R.Wallace 345-371; T.Labonte 372-373; Jarrett 374-397; T.Labonte 398-400.

Unofficial point standings: Mayfield 1,868; R.Wallace 1,843; Gordon 1,822; Martin and Jarrett 1,815; T.Labonte 1,775; B.Labonte 1,641; J.Burton 1,573; Schrader 1,570; Spencer 1,530; Elliott 1,472; Earnhardt 1,457; M.Waltrip 1,421; Hamilton and Irvan 1,400.

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