Texas Motor Speedway pre-race notes

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 13, 2005) - More than 200,000 fans will be at Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Samsung/RadioShack 500 on Sunday, April 17. Green flag for the race is 12:25 p.m. (CT) on FOX. Radio coverage provided by Performance Racing Network (PRN)

TEXAS IS BIG PAY DAY
People used to come to Texas to strike it rich in oil exploration. For NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers, the trek to the Lone Star State is a hunt for one of the richest purses on the circuit. Elliott Sadler took home $507,733 for winning the Samsung/RadioShack 500 last year, the third biggest payday in the Nextel Cup Series behind only the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. Consider this, the 2004 Samsung/RadioShack 500 paid more to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($227,653) for finishing fourth than what was paid to the winners of 14 other races.

JUNIOR LOVES TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Dale Earnardt, Jr., has scored two straight top-five finishes at Texas Motor Speedway, including his fourth-place showing last year. He has posted four top-10 finishes in five starts at Texas, including his career- first victory (2000). Junior also posted his career-first win in the Busch Series at Texas Motor Speedway (1998).

"I've always said that when I'm an old man, I'm going to bore my grandkids to death with racing stories, and I'll tell 'em once a week how I shocked everybody my rookie year by winning the Texas race," Junior said. "They'll probably be like, 'You told us that yesterday.' Texas will always be a special place to me. I love going there. We've had some really good races; even races we haven't won were pretty good. It's a really, really fast track, which I love."

TEXAS TERRY LABONTE HOMECOMING
It is a big week for Terry Labonte at Texas Motor Speedway. The native of Corpus Christi, Texas, will have family and friends at the track earlier than normal. Labonte is being inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame tonight (Wednesday). On Sunday in the Samsung/RadioShack 500, he hopes to continue the success he has had at Texas Motor Speedway. He has scored five top-10 finishes in the eight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races, more than any other driver.

ROUSH DOMINANCE AT TEXAS
Jack Roush-owned cars have scored three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series victories at Texas Motor Speedway, the most of any car owner. Each win has come with a different driver: Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth.

COMING FROM THE BACK
Sadler won the Samsung/RadioShack 500 from the 19th starting postion in 2004. Three years ago, Matt Kenseth came from 31st-on the starting grid to take the checkered flag in 2002, the deepest that a race winner has won from at Texas. Six of the eight races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a starting position of seventh or better.

LAST LAP.
The No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet driven by Mike Bliss and owned by Haas CNC Racing will carry a special decal in Sunday's race in honor of Terry Labonte's induction into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame...There has been no repeat race winner at Texas.No driver has ever won from the front row on the starting grid. Dale Jarrett will make his 350th consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start this weekend and has led more laps (407) at Texas than any other driver and won the 2001 race. Bobby Labonte is the only driver to post five starts of fourth or better in the eight races at Texas Motor Speedway and is the only driver to sit on the pole twice at Texas (2003, 2004).

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