START NO. 810 FOR 'TEXAS TERRY': Sunday's EA Sports 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway will mark Terry Labonte's 810th career Cup Series start, giving him sole possession of fourth place on NASCAR's all-time list. The only drivers with more starts are Richard Petty (1,177), Dave Marcis (882) and Ricky Rudd (831). Labonte has 51 of those starts at Talladega, with 23 top-10 finishes -- most among active drivers. That includes victories in 1989 and 1997, as well as three second-place finishes. Labonte also has one Talladega pole position to his credit (1995).
VICKERS MAKING SEVENTH SUPERSPEEDWAY START: Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolets, will be making his seventh career NASCAR start at a superspeedway this weekend at Talladega. The 20-year-old has notched two career top-10 finishes at restrictor-plate tracks, both of which came at Daytona Beach, Fla., in NASCAR Busch Series (July 2003) and NEXTEL Cup (July 2004) competition. Vickers led at a superspeedway for the first time in his NASCAR career in April at Talladega, taking the top spot for two laps.
FEESE, REID RACING ARCA AT TALLADEGA: As part of Hendrick Motorsports' driver development program, Blake Feese and Boston Reid will each enter the Oct. 2 Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) season finale at Talladega.
DELPHI COLORS AT 'DEGA: The No. 5 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports will carry a special paint scheme at Talladega, featuring the red and black colors of Delphi.
'25' LOOKS TO IMPROVE 'DEGA QUALIFYING: Back in June, the GMAC Racing team spent two days testing at Talladega, focusing solely on qualifying setup. In three superspeedway starts this season, the No. 25 team's average starting position is 29.33.
LABONTE LEADS HMS LAP COUNT: Through the first 28 races of the 2004 season, Labonte has run more laps than any other Hendrick Motorsports driver, completing 7,746 circuits with Kellogg's Racing. Jeff Gordon is next in the Hendrick stable with 7,579 laps completed.
HMS LOOKING FOR SUPERSPEEDWAY REPEAT: During the last superspeedway event, held at Daytona International Speedway in July, each of Hendrick Motorsports' four NEXTEL Cup entries finished inside the top 10. Gordon won the race, while Jimmie Johnson, Labonte, and Vickers finished second, eighth and ninth, respectively.
HOLD THE PROVISIONAL: Labonte, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's/Delphi Chevrolets, has now gone 43 consecutive races without the use of a car owner's provisional to access the starting field. The last time he failed to qualify for a race based on speed was the 2003 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, making him one of only six full-time drivers to do so -- the others being Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.
NEW CAR FOR GMAC RACING: For the first time this season, Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 2561 will serve as GMAC Racing's primary option for competition at Talladega. It's the second week in a row the No. 25 team has carried a brand new primary car to the race track.
FEESE IN NO. 94 AT 'DEGA: Feese, an accomplished sprint-car driver from Saybrook, Ill., has earned top-10 finishes in each of his three ARCA starts this season, including an April 9 victory at Nashville, Tenn. The 22-year-old will pilot the No. 94 CARQUEST Chevrolet at Talladega, with veteran crew chief Gary DeHart heading up the Hendrick effort.
MR. OCTOBER: This weekend's EA Sports 500 is the first of five races during October -- a month that's been very kind to Labonte throughout the years. The two-time champion has posted five of his 22 career victories in October, including a 1997 triumph at Talladega. Other October wins came at Rockingham, N.C., in 1983; North Wilkesboro, N.C., in 1987; Phoenix in 1994 and Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1996.
HMS OUT FRONT: There have been two races this season in which every Hendrick Motorsports team (Nos. 5, 24, 25, 48) has led at least one lap in the same event. The first such feat occurred at Talladega in April and the second at Pocono Raceway in June.
NO. 7 CHEVY FOR REID: Making his fourth ARCA appearance of 2004, Reid, 21, will drive a Bobby Gerhart Racing-prepared No. 7 ditech.com Chevrolet at the high-banked 2.66-mile Talladega tri-oval. The Logansport, Ind., native has posted three top-10 finishes on the circuit this year.
TOP-10 '5' CAR FOR 'DEGA: The chassis entered by Kellogg's Racing for this weekend's event has been run twice this season. It finished eighth both times: in the season-opening Budweiser Shootout at Daytona Beach, Fla., and again at Daytona under the lights in the July 3 Pepsi 400.
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TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLETS: (ON HEADING INTO THE HOME STRETCH OF 2004 SEASON.) "There are tracks coming up where we should do well. We've won before at Talladega, Charlotte and Phoenix. We'll go to Darlington as defending champions of the Southern 500. We may be 23rd in the points, right now, but this is not a 23rd-place team. I think we'll show that over these last eight races."
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BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES CHEVROLETS: (YOU'RE STILL RELATIVELY NEW TO RESTRICTOR-PLATE RACING. WHAT'S YOUR COMFORT LEVEL NOW AT THE SUPERSPEEDWAYS?) "I look forward to the restrictor-plate races because they're fun. I'm still learning and I learn something new each time we go to the plate tracks. There's not much that can prepare you for racing at places like Daytona and Talladega. The best way to get that experience is going there and racing. Maybe over time my opinion will change. You either hate superspeedway racing or you love it. I happen to love it."
VICKERS: (IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO AVOID GETTING INTO TROUBLE AT TALLADEGA?) "Some guys prefer to stay in the back of the field until the big wreck. Others like to be as close to the front as possible. I'm the kind of person that wants to be up front, but I'm probably not the best person to provide comments because I've experienced my fair share of troubles at the restrictor-plate tracks, whether its been my fault or not. A lot of it is just luck, putting yourself in the right position at the right time and not being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
VICKERS: (HOW DIFFERENT OR HOW SIMILAR ARE DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA?) "There's a big difference. I realized that when I went to Talladega for the first time. Talladega is fun because you can run three-wide easier, and don't have to worry as much about handling because it's more about the draft. Daytona is a lot about handling, especially when it comes to the race."
