Labonte to start 36th at The Glen

QUALIFYING RESULTS:

1. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 71.727 seconds, 122.966 miles per hour
2. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 72.387 seconds, 121.845 miles per hour
3. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 72.508 seconds, 121.642 miles per hour
4. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 72.633 seconds, 121.432 miles per hour
5. Jimmie Johnsnon, Chevrolet, 72.789 seconds, 121.172 miles per hour
36. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 74.371 seconds, 118.595 miles per hour
38. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 74.514 seconds, 118.367 miles per hour

WATKINS GLEN, NY (August 11, 2006) - The last road course race of the season, the AMD at The Glen, kicked off Friday afternoon with pole qualifying. The 2.45-mile Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course is the faster of the two road courses that the Nextel Cup Series races. The track forces drivers to go wide open and they are always on the edge. This was evident when Greg Biffle qualified. Biffle wrecked during his qualifying attempt and was forced to a backup car. Road course aces Boris Said, Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett all qualified. They still, however, were not fast enough to knock off the best NASCAR regulars. Dodge drivers had a good day. They took the top three qualifying spots. Kurt Busch won his sixth career NASCAR pole. Busch, who was fast all day, was better than 50 other competitors that attempted qualifying on Friday. Robby Gordon, a perennial favorite for Sunday’s race qualified sixth.

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team are under the leadership of Greg Steadman for the first time this season. Steadman took over the crew chief duties this week. He will have support from Robbie Loomis during Sunday’s race. Labonte qualified 36th on Friday, but hopes that Sunday will produce a better result.

“We didn’t qualify where we wanted, but we’re still looking forward to Sunday, ” said Labonte. “We are going to work on some things on Saturday. Greg (Steadman) is going to go to work and Robbie (Loomis) will look at some race strategy. It’s a road course race and a lot of things can happen. Hopefully we’ll be up front at the end of the day.”

Petty and the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge team qualified 38th on Sunday. Petty is a former winner at Watkins Glen and knows how to wheel a stock car around the historic track. The team struggled a little Friday getting grip from the track. It was very slick track and Petty knows that Sunday is the day that really counts.

“I think we saw some guys get pretty loose out there,” said Petty. “The track was pretty slick. We just put in a pretty good lap. We have been working on race setups for Sunday. We just wanted to get a clean lap in today.”

Teams have two final practice sessions on Saturday before Sunday’s 90-lap race. Sunday’s race will be televised live nationally on NBC and broadcast on MRN. Race coverage begins at 1:00pm (EST).