CUP: Terry Labonte Becomes All-Time Leader In Sprint Unlimited Last-Place Finishes

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Terry Labonte finished last in Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited at the Daytona International Speedway when his #32 C&J Energy Services Ford fell out with a vibration after he completed two of the race’s 75 laps.

1989 and 1990 Sprint Unlimited winner Ken Schrader was originally listed as the driver of Frankie Stoddard’s #32 for the exhibition race.  However, prior to Friday’s practice, Terry Labonte, the 1985 Unlimited winner and the #32's driver for the Daytona 500, took over the ride.

Labonte’s run in the Unlimited did not last long as he pulled behind the wall during the opening green-flag run, twelve laps before an accident in turn one took out six other cars.

This marked Labonte’s third consecutive last-place finish in nineteen Sprint Unlimited starts.  His other two last-place runs were withdrawals from his last two Unlimited starts in 2005 and 2006, where he was set to run the #44 Kellogg’s Chevrolet in the former and the #96 DLP HDTV / Tweeter Chevrolet in the latter.  Prior to that, Labonte led a career-best 17 laps in the 2004 running and finished 8th behind winner Dale Jarrett.

Prior to this race, Labonte was one of seven drivers who had more than one last-place finish in the Unlimited, joining John Andretti, Geoffrey Bodine, Derrike Cope, Jeff Gordon, David Pearson, and Ricky Rudd.  With this third finish, Labonte now has more last-place finishes in this event than any other driver.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #32 in the Unlimited since 1995, when Chuck Bown withdrew his Active Trucking Chevrolet from the Busch Clash.  Bown was joined by Ernie Irvan, who was unable to run the #28 Texaco / Havoline Ford due to life-threatening injuries he suffered at Michigan the previous summer.
*Labonte is the first driver to finish last in the Unlimited due to a vibration.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
19) #32-Terry Labonte / 2 laps / vibration
18) #55-Mark Martin / 14 laps / crash
17) #24-Jeff Gordon / 14 laps / crash
16) #18-Kyle Busch / 14 laps / crash
15) #11-Deny Hamlin / 14 laps / crash