Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 - Terry Labonte Notes

LABONTE TO MAKE 50TH ROCKINGHAM START: Terry Labonte will celebrate his 50th start at North Carolina Speedway this weekend. The two-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion leads all active drivers at the Rockingham, N.C.-based oval with 13 top-fives -- including two victories -- and 25 top-10 finishes. Sunday will mark the final fall event at "The Rock" as the track will stage just one Winston Cup race next year, on Feb. 22. Its traditional fall date has been transferred to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where Labonte won in August.

THE TOP-10 BATTLE: Going into Rockingham, Labonte, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's / got milk? Chevrolet, is currently 11th in the Winston Cup championship standings, just 54 points behind 10th-place Bill Elliott. Despite finishing 30th last weekend at Phoenix, Labonte remains on track to post his best finish in the standings since he wound up ninth in 1998. He has a 70-point lead over Jeff Burton and Michael Waltrip, who are tied for 12th. This is Labonte's first week out of NASCAR's Top 10 since the beginning of September.

STILL GOING: Kellogg's / got milk? Racing has now run to the finish of all 34 races this year, making Labonte one of only two drivers to do so (Kevin Harvick is the other). The last time he failed to finish was last fall at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, giving him an overall string of 40 consecutive races without a DNF, currently the longest streak in the series. The modern-era record is 56 straight finishes, set by Jeff Gordon in 2001-02.

LOOKING FOR NINE: Hendrick Motorsports remains tied with Penske Racing for the most Winston Cup wins this season. Ryan Newman has each of Penske's eight victories, while all four of Hendrick's full-time teams have won at least once. Since 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 117 Winston Cup wins.

PROVISIONALLY SPEAKING: Labonte has extended his streak of non-provisional starts to 13 races after qualifying 19th at Phoenix last weekend, marking his longest such streak since he put 24 straight races together in 1998.

HENDRICK UP FRONT AT PIR: Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Vickers occupied three of the top-five starting positions for last weekend's 312-miler at Phoenix. Vickers led the trio by qualifying second, with Johnson third and Gordon fourth.

LABONTE LOOKING FOR FIFTH: Labonte has four career pole positions at North Carolina Speedway. He swept pole honors in 1985, followed by a third straight in the spring of 1986. Ten years later, he earned his fourth Rockingham pole in the spring of 1996.

HENDRICK CREWS VIE FOR TITLE: The 36th annual Union 76/Rockingham World Pit Crew Competition will be held on Saturday at North Carolina Speedway, where teams will vie for a $30,000 first-place award. The total purse for the event is $100,000, with a $10,000 bonus going to any team that comes away with a new world record. Each pit stop is timed as teams change a full set of tires while emptying 14 gallons of fuel into the car. Hendrick teams won the title in 1992, 1994 and 1996.

TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S / got milk? CHEVROLET: (ON ROCKINGHAM.) "We need to come to Rockingham and make a statement, because we weren't very good last weekend at Phoenix. This always has been a good track for me. We had a good test here a couple weeks ago and I enjoy running at Rockingham. The team is focused on getting back in the top 10 -- that's where we belong and that's where we want to be after we finish up in Homestead (Fla.) in a couple weeks."

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