Labonte 30th in qualifying at Martinsville

QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 19.408 seconds, 97.568 miles per hour
2. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 19.446 seconds, 97.377 miles per hour
3. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 19.484 seconds, 97.187 miles per hour
4. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 19.489 seconds, 97.163 miles per hour
5. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 19.514 seconds, 97.038 miles per hour
14. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 19.683 seconds, 96.205 miles per hour
30. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 19.818 seconds, 95.550 miles per hour

MARTINSVILLE, VA (October 20, 2006) - Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker is riding momentum heading into this weekend’s events at the historic .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team has three top 10 finishes in its last four starts. The team is coming off a fifth place finish last weekend in Charlotte. Labonte, a former winner at Martinsville, was the 15th fastest car in the practice session. Labonte was the seventh car to qualifying and ended up being the 30th fastest qualifier.

“The track slowed down from this afternoon,” said Labonte. “We slowed down a little, but a lot of other guys have slowed down more. We picked it up on the second lap and the Cheerios guys had a good car prepared today. It’s been good so far. We just had an early qualifying draw.”

Petty Enterprises has a history like no other race organization at Martinsville. The track has seen a Petty Enterprises machine in victory lane 19 times- the most of any other team. Friday, team drivers Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte once again visited the speedway to qualify for Sunday’s Subway 500. A rainy and cloudy morning eventually broke free to sunnier skies with 50 teams attempting to fill the 43 starting positions for the last short track race of the season. Teams had a two hour practice session in the early afternoon before a 3:40 p.m. local time qualifying session. Jeff Gordon was the fastest driver in the practice session and followed up his performance in qualifying. Gordon was the second fastest, but Kurt Busch won the pole after a blistering lap. Denny Hamlin qualified third.

Kyle Petty and the #45 Wells Fargo Dodge team are hoping for a strong finish at Martinsville. Petty has had success at the track in the past and is always strong. The team had to first battle the tough qualifying field. Petty was 22nd fastest in the afternoon practice session, and was the fastest of the cars that needed to qualify on time. Petty then dominated the field on his qualifying run. He was the 14th fastest car of the day and sets himself up in a great starting spot for Sunday’s race.

“The guys did good,” said Petty. “Our Wells Fargo Dodge has been good all day. Both cars have been good here. Billy (Wilburn) did a great job with this car today. All the guys pitched in and did a great job. We have had some strong cars the past month or so. ”

Teams will have two final practice sessions Saturday morning. Sunday’s race will be televised live on NBC Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (EST).