Dover, Del. (AP) ? Bobby Labonte?s crew chief decided to all but ignore qualifying for the MBNA Platinum 400. So, when qualifying was rained out Friday, and practice limited Saturday because of other races, Jimmy Makar looked pretty smart.
?Every once in a while a blind dog gets lucky and can find a bone,? Makar said.
Lucky or not, Labonte might be the best-prepared driver when the green flag waves Sunday. Add that to his record of success on the track, and he appears to present the stiffest challenge to teammate Tony Stewart extending his Dover winning streak to three.
Stewart will try to become the fourth driver to win three times in a row on the high-banked oval. Two victories last year following finishes of fourth and second as a rookie have made Stewart the latest master of The Monster Mile.
Labonte isn?t far behind at Dover. He has three career poles, won this race two years ago and has seven straight top-five finishes.
The success of both, and Stewart?s decision to test here recently bodes well for Joe Gibbs Racing.
?I know that only helps our team coming into this weekend,? Labonte said. ?Everyone is waiting to see what we have.?
They didn?t have much time to observe with practice curtailed before the $3.6 million event. So, the decision to spend very little time working on setting up the Labonte?s engine for qualifying could be crucial to Labonte.
Makar