EA Sports 500 - Terry Labonte Notes

THREE-YEAR ITCH: Terry Labonte and Kellogg's / got milk? Racing will arrive at Talladega with hopes it will be their turn to win on the sprawling 2.66-mile oval. Hendrick Motorsports' two most recent wins at the 2000-acre facility were three years apart -- Labonte in 1997 and Jeff Gordon in 2000.

SECOND-HALF SUCCESS: Labonte, currently ninth in the championship standings, has accumulated the fifth-highest point total during the second half of the season, which began July 20 at New Hampshire International Speedway. In the last 10 races, the two-time Winston Cup champion has amassed 1,266 points. The only drivers who have earned more during that stretch are Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson.

LOOKING FOR LUCKY SEVEN: A victory on Sunday at Talladega would lift Hendrick Motorsports into a tie with Penske Racing for the lead in Winston Cup wins this season. But while 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.

STREAK UPDATE: Labonte last failed to finish a Winston Cup race nearly one year ago -- at Talladega -- and remains one of only three drivers who have completed every race this season, the others being Harvick and Kenseth. Labonte has extended his overall string of consecutive races without a DNF to 34, currently the longest streak in the series. The modern-era record is 56 straight finishes, set by Gordon in 2001-02.

LABONTE TO TAKE 'VICTORY LAP': NASCAR's "Victory Lap" tribute continues this weekend at Talladega with Labonte paired with 1983 champion Bobby Allison. The program salutes R.J. Reynolds Tobacco's 33-year sponsorship of the Cup Series by highlighting past champions. The No. 5 Chevrolet that Labonte will drive in Sunday's race will be emblazoned with the "Victory Lap" logo and feature a silver hood, roof and rear deck lid to go with the familiar blue and orange paint scheme on the lower half of the car.

'TEXAS TERRY' HITS 50 AT 'DEGA: In this year's first visit to Talladega in April, Labonte started 28th, worked the draft masterfully and came away with his first top-five finish of the season by placing fifth in the Aaron's 499. Sunday will be Labonte's 50th start at Talladega, where he has two victories (1989 and 1997) and one pole position (1995).

TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S / got milk? CHEVROLET: (ON THE "VICTORY LAP" TRIBUTE.) "Winston did great things for NASCAR in its 33 years of sponsorship and I'm honored to be paired with Bobby (Allison). He was a great champion and it'll be a lot of fun to share the weekend with him at Talladega."

LABONTE: (ON THE TEAM'S SECOND-HALF SURGE.) "It had been going pretty smoothly up until New Hampshire. We've had a bumpy ride the last two weeks and need a good finish at Talladega to get us back on track. We're taking a brand new speedway car that we think will be better than what we had in the spring when we finished fifth."

(NOTE: After his win at Darlington, S.C., and an eighth-place finish at Richmond, Va., Labonte has placed 18th and 20th in his last two starts.)

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