Talladega qualifying report

QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. David Gilliland, Ford, 50.860 seconds, 191.712 miles per hour
2. Dale Jarrett, Ford, 50.892 seconds, 191.516 miles per hour
3. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 51.083 seconds, 190.400 miles per hour
4. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 51.206 seconds, 190.200 miles per hour
5. Greg Biffle, Ford, 51.241 seconds, 190.042 miles per hour
18. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 51.517 seconds, 188.185 miles per hour
43. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 51.909 seconds, 186.820 miles per hour

TALLADEGA, AL (October 7, 2006) - Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team had a good day on Friday at the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Labonte posted the second fastest time in the drafting session. The team was also 18th fastest earlier in the day. Labonte and the team are using the same car that raced here in April. Labonte qualified the car 43rd and is looking forward to Sunday.

“The car drives really well in the draft,” said Labonte. “We just laid down a lap today that put us in the field. We’re ready to race with this Cheerios Dodge. It has proved it’s a good car in the draft.”

“We were slow, but that’s the way we were at Daytona and we finished pretty good in the race. We had a little different gear than Kyle did, and that might have made a little difference in our qualifying speeds. We didn’t make a qualifying run in practice yesterday and he did. It was more important for him. We were shooting in the dark, knowing that racing is where it’s at. This is a different car than we had at Daytona. That car was more for handling. It had a little more drag on it, so we didn’t want to bring it here.”

A new surface and now a new restrictor plate; that is what welcomed teams this weekend. The largest track on the Nextel Cup circuit underwent a ‘facelift’ after the race in April with fresh pavement laid all around the speedway. Teams were first on this surface on Friday for two rounds of practice. The second practice, a drafting session, saw speeds climb close to 200 miles per hour on the smooth surface. The result, a new restrictor plate issued to all teams Saturday morning- just hours before teams had to qualify. NASCAR was looking to slow down speeds before Sunday’s race, but the teams first tested the plates during qualifying. David Gilliland, a rookie for Robert Yates Racing, won his first career pole on Saturday. Gilliand’s #38 team is a consistent front qualifier at Talladega. His teammate, Dale Jarrett qualified second.

Kyle Petty and the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge team went into Friday’s practice session with the goal of setting up a fast car. The team had to qualify on speed Saturday. Petty and the team found speed in the second practice session and was the 28th fastest car in the drafting session. Petty flew solo on Saturday in his qualifying lap and posted the 18th fastest time. Petty easily qualified for Sunday’s race posting one of the fastest times by a Dodge.

“The credit has to go to the guys back at the shop,” said Petty. “I just got in the car and went around. We really had a good car, but it really came to life today when we needed it. This should make everyone feel good back at Petty Enterprises.”

Sunday’s race will be televised live nationally on NBC and broadcast on MRN Radio. Race coverage begins at 1:30pm (EST).