Banquet 400 - Terry Labonte Notes

LABONTE READY FOR OCTOBER: Terry Labonte is poised for his third visit to Kansas Speedway as the Banquet 400 kicks off the month of October, a 31-day stretch that usually brings out the best in the two-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. Five of Labonte's 22 career wins have come in October, most recently in 1997 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

PROVISIONALLY SPEAKING: Just as Labonte's race finishes have improved this year, including his Labor Day weekend victory at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, so, too, have his qualifying statistics. If Labonte makes the 43-car field on speed at Kansas, it would be Kellogg's / got milk? Racing's ninth straight race without having to rely on a provisional starting spot -- Labonte's longest such streak since he went 24 races in 1998.

HENDRICK GOING FOR THIRD WIN: Hendrick Motorsports is seeking its third straight win at Kansas, where Jeff Gordon has visited Victory Lane in two consecutive events. He won the inaugural Winston Cup race in 2001 and followed with another triumph last fall. In NASCAR's history, no driver has ever swept the first three Winston Cup races at a track.

STREAK UPDATE: Labonte has now run to the finish of all 29 races this year, pulling within one of matching his single-season best of 30 races completed, a mark set just last year. He is one of only two drivers who have completed every race this season, the other being Kevin Harvick. Labonte has extended his overall string of consecutive races without a DNF to 35, currently the longest streak in the series. The modern-era record is 56 straight finishes, set by Gordon in 2001-02.

LOOKING FOR LUCKY SEVEN: A victory on Sunday at Kansas would lift Hendrick Motorsports into a tie with Penske Racing for the lead in Winston Cup wins this season. But while Ryan Newman has single-handedly given Penske the lead with seven victories, Hendrick drivers have shared the wealth this year. Jimmie Johnson has three wins while Labonte, Nemechek and Gordon have one each.

LABONTE CONTINUES IMPROVEMENT: With his 22nd-place finish at Talladega, Labonte now stands 10th in the series standings, trailing ninth-place Tony Stewart by 60 points. In the last eight races, and 10 of the last 11, Labonte's finishing position has been higher than his 2002 results for the same stretch of races.

HOMECOMING FOR REXFORD: Ondre Rexford, engine tuner for Kellogg's / got milk? Racing, is going home this weekend. The Dodge City, Kan., native is currently in his fourth year with the team.

TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S / got milk? CHEVROLET: (ON RETURNING TO KANSAS SPEEDWAY.) "We struggled out there in the first race, but came back last year with a better car and had a good finish (12th). If we make the same type of gain this year, we ought to be in pretty good shape. It's one of the top tracks we race on and I'm looking forward to the weekend."

LABONTE: (ON PAST SUCCESS DURING MONTH OF OCTOBER.) "This is really my favorite time of the year. Drivers are racing for points all the way up and down the standings and it's also the part of the schedule where some of my best tracks come up -- Charlotte, Rockingham, and Phoenix. We've worked hard to get this team back in the top 10 and our intention is to stay there for these last seven races."

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