Labonte Qualifies Fifth at Michigan QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 38.784 seconds, 185.644 miles per hour 2. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 38.805 seconds, 185.543 miles per hour 3. Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 38.920 seconds, 184.995 miles per hour 4. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 38.931 seconds, 184.943 miles per hour 5. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 38.959 seconds, 184.810 miles per hour 35. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 39.887 seconds, 180.510 miles per hour BROOKLYN, MI (June 16, 2006) - The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series visited the “Irish Hills” of Michigan Friday. Teams qualified Friday afternoon at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway, located in the city of Brooklyn, for Sunday’s 3M Performance 400. The weather was a big story during qualifying. Temperatures nearly topped 90 degrees as drivers had to deal with a slick Michigan track. Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge had no problem with the challenging track. Labonte qualified fifth for Sunday’s race. Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team had a quick start to their weekend on Friday. Labonte was 13th in practice. Labonte is also racing in the Craftsman Truck Series this weekend. Labonte was the fastest truck (#4 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge Ram) in practice during the morning session. All the track time Labonte experienced helped the team rip off the fifth fastest of the day during Nextel Cup qualifying. The #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge will start in the top-10 for the fifth time this season. “This Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge was pretty fast today,” said Labonte. “The guys really worked hard. I practiced in the Craftsman Truck Series this morning, and it’s been a while since I’ve done that. We learned a little from that. Todd (crew chief Todd Parrott) and the guys just put together a great car today. "I think that will be good for the race. I felt like in practice we were loose, but we got better at it. To go that much faster and still be loose I didn’t think would be comfortable and it wasn’t, but I guess it rolled the center good enough, but I like a little more in the right front than that." Petty and the #45 Wells Fargo Dodge team had a good practice session on Friday. Petty was the 26th fastest car in practice. The team worked on race setup for Sunday’s race. Petty ran some of the most laps during practice. Petty qualified 35th for Sunday’s race, but the team plans to continue to work on their setup for Sunday’s race during Saturday’s practice sessions. “We were a little tight in qualifying,” said Petty. “The Cheerios car was really good today. We are heading in that direction. We did a lot of things today on our Wells Fargo Dodge to get ready for Sunday. We’ll keep working on it.” Teams will have two final practice sessions on Saturday before Sunday’s 400-mile race. Sunday’s race will be televised live nationally on FOX and broadcast on MRN Radio. Race coverage begins at 1:00pm (EST).