Labonte to Start 23rd at Pocono

Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
Pocono 500, June 9, 2006
2.5-mile; Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, Pennsylvania

QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 53.054 seconds, 169.638 miles per hour
2. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 53.102 seconds, 169.485 miles per hour
3. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 53.251 seconds, 169.011 miles per hour
4. Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 53.320 seconds, 168.792 miles per hour
5. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 53.411 seconds, 168.505 miles per hour
23. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 54.012 seconds, 166.630 miles per hour
33. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 54.538 seconds, 165.023 miles per hour

A rookie won the pole for Sunday’s Pocono 500 at the 2.5-mile Pocono (Penn.) Raceway Friday afternoon. Denny Hamlin, in a Joe Gibbs Chevrolet, won his second career pole after posting a lap just shy of 170 miles per hour. The Pocono Raceway is a flat, triangular-shaped oval. It is one of the hardest tracks for teams to get a handle on. The unique layout makes it a track favorable to veterans, but young Hamlin impressed during his qualifying run. Kurt Busch qualified second to score his 11th top-10 start this season.

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team picked up speed on Friday. Labonte was the 34th fastest car in practice, but the team never stopped making adjustments. After the morning practice session, the Todd Parrott led crew came together to figure out the best setup for qualifying. The adjustments paid off as Labonte picked up two miles per hour. Labonte qualified 23rd.

“It was like magic on our qualifying lap,” said Labonte. “We got a lot better. We were just a little slow on getting up to speed today, but we’re getting there right now. We’ve got Saturday to make it even better. We’ll go from there.”

Petty and the #45 National Tire and Battery Dodge team used Friday to practice race setup. Rain showers surrounded the track all day. Rain is still possible for Saturday. The team decided it best to prepare for Sunday’s race. Petty qualified 33rd.

“We just worked on race setup in practice,” said Petty. “We got a descent lap in. We just want to continue to work on the car for Sunday. We’ve been fighting a few things, but we’ll get it worked out.”

Teams will have two final practice sessions on Saturday before Sunday’s 500-mile race. Sunday’s race will be televised live nationally on FOX and broadcast on MRN Radio. Race coverage begins at 1:30pm (EST).