California Qualifying Report

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
August 29, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series / 2-mile Auto Club Speedway

QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet
2. AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota
3. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Pepsi Chevrolet
4. Kasey Kahne, No. 8 Budweiser Dodge
5. Patrick Carpentier, No. 10 Valvoline Dodge
24. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
38. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge

Jimmie Johnson won the pole position Friday afternoon for Sunday evening’s California 500 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Johnson will start alongside AJ Allmendinger, who qualified second quickest.

For Petty Enterprises, Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team will start the 500-mile event from the 24th position

“I wanted to be in the top-20,” stated Labonte, who won the pole position at the 2-mile oval in 2001. “But, I’m happy with that lap and how much we improved the car. This is a brand-new car and we had some good long runs in practice to prepare for the race, but we didn’t find much speed. So, I’m really happy with how much we were able to improve the car for qualifying. The guys did a good job with the car.”

Sunday night’s race will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 8 pm (EDT). It will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius NASCAR Channel 128.