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Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 24°
Distance: 1.5 miles
Shape: Quad-oval

Samsung 500
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Texas Motor Speedway
FOX/Sunday, 1:00 p.m.

Schedule
Practice
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm Friday, April 4
12:00 pm to 12:45 Saturday, April 5
1:20 pm to 2:20 pm Final Practice Saturday, April 5

Qualifying
12:00 pm Friday, April 4
Two laps all positions

Race Day Sunday, April 6
1:00 pm Driver Introduction
1:30 pm Race (334 laps, 501 miles)
FOX, XM Radio, MRN Radio

2007 Winner: Jeff Burton

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

Race Preview

Quotes from Kyle Petty:
 “Chad McCumbee is going to step into the No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge this weekend at Texas.  Texas is a good track for him.  He had a strong run going in the truck race there last year.  At Pocono, he did a great job filling in for me when I went into the booth.  Everyone at Petty Enterprises believes in Chad and his abilities.  Texas gives us a chance to get another good look at Chad without throwing him to the wolves.  He should be relaxed because he knows he can get the job done there.”
 
Quotes from Chad McCumbee:
 “I feel comfortable around the No. 45 team.  Billy Wilburn and I work well together.  We had a great race last year at Pocono.  I’m hoping for more of the same this weekend.  Kyle is going to be there, giving me advice and pointers.  That means a lot to me.  I’ve learned a lot from him already.”
 
“I’m anxious to do my part to help this team.  We’re planning on going to Kentucky Speedway on Wednesday for a test.  Just to help me get used to the new car.  The two races last year were in the old car, so there will be a little bit of an adjustment period there.  I don’t have a lot of experience in the old car either, so maybe that will be a positive.” 

Chad McCumbee Fast Facts

• In 2007, McCumbee competed in two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for Petty Enterprises, with a high finish of 25th coming in the “spring” race at Pocono.
  
• McCumbee is currently 13th in the Craftsman Truck Series point standings.  He has had a strong start to 2008, finishing seventh in the season opener at Daytona and securing a fifth-place finish in Atlanta.
  
• On Wednesday, McCumbee will test the #45 Dodge at Kentucky Speedway.
  
• This is McCumbee’s third season of Truck Series competition; in 50 races he has scored one top-5 finish and six top-10s, his average start is 21.7 and average finish is 20.2.
  
• McCumbee, 23, won an ARCA event last June at Pocono Raceway on the same weekend that he made his Sprint Cup Series debut in the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge.
  
• In the Truck race at Texas Motor Speedway last fall, McCumbee started second and led four laps but finished thirteenth after an accident forced him out of the race.

Qualifying Results

1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet
2. Carl Edwards, Ford
3. Kyle Busch, Toyota
4. Ryan Newman, Dodge
5. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
30. Bobby Labonte, Cheerios Racing/Sam’s Club Dodge
45. Chad McCumbee, Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. scored his first pole as a member of Hendrick Motorsports during Friday’s qualifying session for the Samsung 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway.  Carl Edwards, a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner in 2008, will start alongside.  Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman will start third and fourth, respectively, to give each manufacturer a car inside the top-four qualifiers

Some of the biggest news of the day came when Michael McDowell was involved in a scary wreck while driving into turn one during his qualifying effort.  The car slammed violently into the wall, head on, and proceeded to roll eight times.  The best news is that McDowell was out of the car, under his own power, when the medics arrived.  The incident proved to be the most stern test yet of the new car’s safety characteristics.  

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios Racing/Sam’s Club Dodge will start Sunday’s event from the 30th position.  Labonte, a Texas native, is looking for his first win in his home state.  He does have two pole positions to his credit.  After having great cars the last two weeks, only to have been involved in other driver’s mistakes, Labonte is looking to lasso the momentum that the team enjoyed earlier in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.  

“The car was just a little too snug, especially coming off turn two.  That’s a tight turn anyway,” said Labonte.  “Jeff (Meendering, crew chief) and I talked and we have a plan to get it to turn better tomorrow.  I’m running the Nationwide Series race too, so maybe that will help.”

“I’m just glad that Michael McDowell walked away from that wreck with no injuries,” continued Labonte.  “I called him to make sure he was okay because those can be a little scary.  But you have to tip your hat to NASCAR and the new car.  You know, its No. 1 goal was to improve safety.  Anyone that was in attendance today can verify that this is a safe racecar.”   

Rookie Chad McCumbee was behind the wheel of the No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge this weekend, replacing Kyle Petty.  McCumbee’s lap of 29.390 seconds was not enough to make it into the field of 43.

Last update Thursday, May 22, 2008

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.