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Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 31
Distance: 2.5 miles
Laps: 200
Shape: Tri-oval

Coke Zero 400
Saturday, July 5
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, FL
Saturday, 8:00 p.m. EST

Daytona 500 practice
Thursday, July 3, 4:00 p.m. - 5:20 p.m./et,
Thursday, July 3, Final 6:35 p.m. - 7:45 p.m./et,

Qualifying
Friday, July 4, 7-Eleven Qualifying 4:10 p.m.am/et

Race Day Saturday, July 5
8:00 p.m. EST
TV: TNT 6:30 p.m. EST
Radio: MRN Radio at 7:15 p.m.
2007 Winner:  Jamie McMurray 

Check the SPEED Channel schedule (speedtv.com) for various programs on the race this weekend.

Quotes from Terry Labonte: 
“This will be my first restrictor-plate race with the new chassis, but after watching this year’s Daytona 500 I thought they put on a good show.  You saw a lot of passing from the front of the field all the way to the rear.  With the old car you could drive up to someone’s bumper, but passing was another matter.  It looked to me like the old “slingshot” move is back.  I know all about that from the big-bodied cars that we used to race around there in the early 80’s.  I’m looking forward to practicing that move one more time.”
 
“You know, I haven’t competed in the July race at Daytona since 2004.  I’ve actually missed going down there quite a bit.  Especially since they moved it to a night race.  The cars look so cool running around there at 200 mph, side-by-side and under the lights.  I can remember what it was like when we ran that race on Sunday afternoon.  It was, without a doubt, one of the hottest races of the year.  So I think the move has worked out well on several fronts.”
 
“I have no regrets in my racing career.  I’ve accomplished everything that I could ever imagine.  That being said, it would be nice to finish my career as a Daytona winner.  I’ve had some success at Talladega, but Daytona has always eluded me, for whatever reason.  I’ve run well there all the way up to my retirement from full-time competition, with a top-5 coming in one of my last starts.  Bobby ran well there in February and that gives me confidence that we can do the same this weekend.”

Qualifying Results

1. Paul Menard, Chevrolet
2. Mark Martin, Chevrolet
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet
4. Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet
5. Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet
20. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Dodge
41. Terry Labonte, No. 45 Dodge

Paul Menard scratched his name in the NASCAR history books by grabbing his first career pole during Friday’s qualifying session for the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at the Daytona International Speedway. Teammate Mark Martin will start alongside and will help Menard lead the field to the green tomorrow night.

This weekend’s track schedule is a bit different than a normal race weekend. There were two practices scheduled yesterday to prepare for qualifying today. The second practice session was canceled due to rain, forcing many teams to meet well into the night to develop a plan for Friday.

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Dodge will start Saturday night’s race from the 20th position. B. Labonte kept his Petty Enterprises entry as the fastest Dodge on the board until late in the session. When looking at the cars that qualified in “race” trim, as opposed to the cars that had to qualify on time and put in a “qualifying” setup, B. Labonte was 14th fastest overall.

“We didn’t know what to expect after practice was canceled,” said B. Labonte. “We decided to make a lot of changes and I was really happy with the car. The guys worked hard and I’m excited about the race tomorrow. We’ve got a little bit of momentum right now. If we keep working hard good things will happen.”

Terry Labonte and the No. 45 Dodge will start 41st for tomorrow’s race. While it didn’t make one of the faster laps in qualifying, T. Labonte was happy with the way the car handled. Daytona has become a rough racetrack over the years, so having a good handling racecar is a premium.

“I was happy with how the car drove in practice and qualifying,” said T. Labonte. “I’ve been here enough to know that there is no reason to panic if you don’t put down a fast lap in qualifying. The guy that wins is the guy that can hold the throttle wide open for the most laps.”

Results

1. Kyle Busch, Toyota
2. Carl Edwards, Ford
3. Matt Kenseth, Ford
4. Kurt Busch, Dodge
5. David Ragan, Ford
13. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Cheerios Racing/Pillsbury/Cinnabon Dodge
16. Terry Labonte, No. 45 Richard Petty Driving Experience Dodge

Kyle Busch continued his dominant 2008 season as he picked up his sixth victory in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, which ended under a caution period. After spinning early in the race, Busch and Carl Edwards were side-by-side when the final caution came out. Busch was awarded the victory after several reviews.

Daytona has produced some of the closest finishes in NASCAR history and Saturday night was no different. Several late-race caution periods forced the race into a “green-white-checkered” finish. When yet another caution came out in “overtime”, the race was over and Busch was awarded the victory after a video review showed that he was ahead of Edwards at the moment the caution light was illuminated.

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Dodge team came home 13th in Saturday’s event. B. Labonte started the race from the 20th position. He radioed to crew chief Jeff Meendering early in the race that his car was “tight,” especially coming off turn two. After several air pressure adjustments B. Labonte radioed that his car could run just about any line on the track and he began to show the rest of the field that he had a fast car. As the track surface began to “tighten” up the No. 43 Dodge did as well. More aggressive adjustments were made and the car went from the “tight” side to the “loose” side. Meendering gradually brought the car back to a “neutral” condition and B. Labonte was able to pass a lot of cars in the lower line to finish with a solid top-20.

“Well, we missed all the wrecks and that’s something in itself,” said B. Labonte. “Those last 15-20 laps was about the wildest I have been a part of. We were pretty good at the start of the race but the track just tightened up on us. We made some adjustments and the car just swung the other way. We’ve seen that a lot this year. You make fairly easy adjustments and the car just goes from tight to loose. It’s hard to find a neutral. But Jeff and everyone did a great job and it was a good point’s night for us.

Terry Labonte and the No. 45 Dodge team finished the race in a very respectable 16th position. T. Labonte’s race mirrored his brother Bobby’s in several ways. He could get through the corners of the 2.5-mile speedway as good as anyone early in the race. However, his No. 45 Dodge also “tightened” up when the racing surface itself began to do the same. Crew chief Stewart Cooper made several wedge and track bar adjustments and the car turned quickly to a “loose” condition. T. Labonte had to use pit road and the infield grass to dodge several of the late race wrecks, but he kept his car fairly clean and gave the team a solid point’s day.

“I had a great view for most of that late-race excitement because it seemed like everything was happening right in front of me,” said T. Labonte. “It got pretty crazy out there. I had to use up about every square inch of this place to get around some of those wrecks. But we had a good car and everyone on pit road did great. I would have liked to have had more green flag laps than yellow there at the end because I think we could have challenged for a top-10.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to the Chicagoland Speedway for the LifeLock.com 400. The race will also mark the 50-year anniversary of “The King” Richard Petty’s first NASCAR start. Qualifying for the event will be held on Thursday night. It will be televised on the Speed Channel and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius NASCAR channel 128.

Kyle Petty name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, L.L.C.
Richard Petty name and/or likeness used under license by Petty Marketing Company, L.L.C.