Labonte scores first SRX victory
Jul. 12—NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bobby Labonte registered his first victory in the made-for-TV SRX racing series Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Labonte earned the pole position by virtue of the best average finish in two heats and officially led all 75 laps in the main event. Marco Adnretii edged ahead briefly during a restart with 10 laps until Labonte bumped his way past going into turn three.
Labonte pulled away and won by about .7 seconds on the 596-mile track, where he won a NASCAR Xfinity race in 1996.
"It may have looked easy, but it wasn't easy," Labonte said in a post-race television interview.
Andretti finished second. Matt Kenseth, making his first SRX start, finished third with a late charge. Paul Tracy, who challenged Labone early, took fourth and Helio Castroneves was fifth.
Ryan Newman took sixth, Josef Newgarden was seventh, Michael Waltrip eighth, Greg Biffle ninth, Ryan Hunter-Reay 10th, Tony Stewart 11th, Cole Williams 12th and Tony Kanaan 13th.
Saturday's event marked the fourth race in a six-race series, which continues Saturday at I-55 Raceway, a dirt track in Pevely. Missouri
