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Daytona 500 Pole Story

SOURCE: Daytona International Speedway Labonte Brothers to Share Front Row for Daytona 500 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Bobby Labonte captured the Bud Pole Award for the Feb. 15 Daytona 500 Saturday, running a lap of 192.415 mph on the ...

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

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SOURCE: Daytona International Speedway

Labonte Brothers to Share Front Row for Daytona 500 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

Bobby Labonte captured the Bud Pole Award for the Feb. 15 Daytona 500 Saturday, running a lap of 192.415 mph on the high banks ofDaytona International Speedway in the Interstate Batteries Pontiac.

Labonte will be joined on the front row for next weekend's running of the "Great American Race" by his older brother, two-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte, who ran a lap of 192.127 mph in his Kellogg's Chevrolet, second fastest of the 55 cars to attempt qualifying runs.

"Man, Terry's going to be mad at me," said Labonte, after capturing his 11th NASCAR Winston Cup pole position but first at Daytona. He captured the first pole position for Pontiac at Daytona since Kyle Petty won the pole for the 1993 Daytona 500. "My team put a lot of effort into this, more than they ever have, and it's really paying off. I'm awful happy about the way we ran."

"I knew Bobby had something for us," said Terry Labonte, who is still seeking his first Daytona NASCAR Winston Cup victory. "I figured we would be close. We're real excited about next Sunday." The younger Labonte will be in action today in the Bud Shootout At Daytona, an all-new all-star race featuring 25 green flag laps of racing for 1997 Bud Pole Award winners. The field takes the green flag at noon EST, following an 11 a.m. qualifying race for 1997 second round qualifying leaders to set the 17th and final position in the Bud Shootout At Daytona.

The best of the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series is set for today's 35th running of the FirstPlus Financial 200, starting at 1:30 p.m. (EST). Bill Baird and NASCAR Winston Cup rookie contender Kenny Irwin will lead the 40 car field from the front row.

Ken Schrader was third fastest in qualifying for the Daytona 500 with a lap of 191.787 mph in a Chevrolet, followed by Dale Earnhardt, 191.006 mph in a Chevrolet. Both Schrader and Earnhardt will start one of Thursday's Gatorade 125-Mile Qualifying Races from the front row, which set positions three through 30 for the Daytona 500. The rest of the field will be determined through times trials and provisionals.

John Andretti was fifth fastest in a Pontiac, 190.828 mph, while eighth qualifier Rusty Wallace was the fastest qualifier in the new Ford Taurus with a lap of 190.444 mph.

Grandstand and infield tickets are still available for today's running of the Bud Shootout At Daytona and FirstPlus Financial 200. For reserved seat tickets to the Gatorade 125-Mile Qualifying Races or Saturday's 40th Annual NAPA Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Busch Series race, visit the Speedway ticket office or call (904) 253-7223.

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