Entering Saturday, Bobby Labonte had already been a force throughout the second season of the Camping World SRX season, finishing no worse than fifth place in each of the first three main events.
However, with a potential championship in sight, the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion turned it up, even more, putting on a dominating performance to capture his first-ever victory in the Superstar Racing Experience.
Saying that the 58-year-old was dominant would be an understatement, after securing a front-row starting position in the event through a third and fourth-place finish in the heat races.
From the drop of the green flag in the main event, Labonte was untouchable, holding off surges from Paul Tracy in the early portion of the event, and Marco Andretti all throughout the final stages of the event to cross the start-finish line in the lead by three-quarters of a second.
For the second consecutive weekend, Marco Andretti finished in the runner-up position, coming up just short of the NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee for the victory. Matt Kenseth, making his debut in the Camping World SRX Series, made a late-race charge, but finished in third.
Paul Tracy continued a strong run of finishes with a fourth-place result at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, with Helio Castroneves – winner at Five Flags Speedway – rounding out the top five.
Leading the points entering the event, Ryan Newman struggled throughout the 75-lap feature, coming home in sixth place and losing the points lead.
Josef Newgarden, making his SRX debut, ended up seventh, after spinning into the outside wall in turn two, before later making contact with fellow NTT IndyCar Series competitor Tony Kanaan while battling for 12th, crashing both cars.
Michael Waltrip, Greg Biffle, and Ryan Hunter-Reay completed the top-10 finishers.
Heading into the dirt track portion of the schedule, Bobby Labonte holds a three-point advantage over Marco Andretti for the SRX points lead, with Ryan Newman sitting in third place only five points back.
Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle complete the top-five in point standings, heading into the final two events.
