Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries Racing Team will begin the month of May the way they ended the month of April on a high note – after the No. 18 Chevrolet clocked the 15th-fastest speed during Friday’s time trials for the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Playing off the momentum generated by last weekend’s sixth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway, Labonte toured Talladega’s sprawling 2.66-mile oval at a speed of 187.298 miles per hour. He will start Sunday’s race from the inside of the eighth row, alongside Mark Martin.

“We picked up where we needed to pick up between practice and qualifying, and it paid off with a good lap,” Labonte said. “I ran a pretty high line on the first lap, maybe even a little higher than I wanted to in a few places. That just equated into a better second lap. Our guys have built some great engines and worked on the bodies to go along with it. It will pay off in the race on Sunday, too.”

Labonte’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Tony Stewart and Jason Leffler, qualified 11th and 18th, respectively. Stewart posted a top lap of 187.713 mph while Leffler qualified at 187.265.

Kevin Harvick won the pole with a speed of 189.804 mph and will share the front row with defending race winner Jeff Gordon, who was second-fastest at 188.988 mph. Elliott Sadler, Scott Riggs, Ryan Newman, series points leader Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Rudd, Dave Blaney, rookie Travis Kvapil and Kurt Busch round out the top 10.

Source: www.bobbylabonte.com

Date: 4/30/2005 9:22:08 PM