Qualifying Report - Homestead

QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 30.545 seconds, 176.788 miles per hour
2. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 30.583 seconds, 176.569 miles per hour
3. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 30.621 seconds, 176.350 miles per hour
4. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 30.669 seconds, 176.074 miles per hour
5. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 30.692 seconds, 175.942 miles per hour
36. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 31.077 seconds, 173.762 miles per hour
40. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 31.335 seconds, 172.331 miles per hour

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team were the 17 fastest car at the end of the first practice session Friday. Labonte was the fifth car to qualify Friday, and it’s the second consecutive weekend that an early qualifying draw has hurt the team. Labonte will start 36th in Sunday’s race at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

“It wasn’t a good draw,” said Labonte. “It wasn’t a great lap either. We have been in this situation before and we can get it dialed in. It’s been a pretty good season and we want to end on a high note.”

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series concludes its season this weekend. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are the only two drivers left to fight for the championship. The 10-race chase began with 12 eligible drivers for the championship, but Johnson and Gordon have dominated the past 10 weeks.

Johnson has won the last four races and is in the driver’s seat for the championship. He only has to finish 18 or higher to secure his second consecutive championship. The team made it easier Friday after winning the pole with a lap narrowly better than that of Ryan Newman. Jeff Gordon qualified 11 for Sunday’s race.

Kyle Petty and the #45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team will start Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup season finale from the 40th position. Petty only needs to start the event at the Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway to assure himself a finish inside the top-35 in 2007 Nextel Cup owner points. This will lock him into the first five races of 2008, including the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

Despite having a Dodge Charger that was not to their liking, the #45 crew never rested on their laurels. Every member on the team, including Petty, is focused on finishing this season on a positive note.

“We would have liked to have had a better car today, but this is only Friday,” said Petty. “We’ve had great cars at the mile-and-a-halfs this year and we have tomorrow to get this car ready for the race on Sunday. Yeah, we are basically locked into the top-35 right now, but we need a strong finish to this season. We need that going into this very important off-season.”

“We had some shade in the first and second turns,” said crew chief Billy Wilburn. “We weren’t that bad in three and four in practice. We worked on a bunch of stuff in practice. We picked up in qualifying, but it’s tough to get an early draw like that.”

Friday’s qualifying session was televised live nationally by ESPN2 and broadcast on MRN Radio. Sunday’s race will be televised live on ABC and broadcast live on MRN Radio.