Pop Secret 500 - Terry Labonte Notes

DARLINGTON ANNIVERSARY: This weekend marks the year anniversary of one of Terry Labonte's most memorable wins. The two-time champion put an exclamation point on Labor Day weekend 2003 by claiming his 22nd career victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. California Speedway assumed the date this year, with Darlington's longstanding spot on the calendar moving to mid-November.

PROVISIONALLY SPEAKING: Labonte has now gone 39 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. Labonte is one of only six full-time drivers who have made the field based on their qualifying speed in every race since last year's Brickyard 400 -- the others being Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray and Tony Stewart.

IMPROVEMENT FOR '5': This weekend marks the fifth of 13 return trips to tracks that host two NEXTEL Cup Series races in 2004. In three of the four previous return visits, Labonte's finishing position was higher than his first race, including last weekend's 15th-place effort at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway -- an improvement of three spots over where he finished in March. Labonte, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolets, placed seventh in this year's first stop at Fontana, Calif., on May 2.

SECOND TIME AROUND: This year's first trip to California resulted in Labonte's best points performance of the 2004 season. His seventh-place finish four months ago enabled him to gain 40 points on first place while advancing from 23rd to 21st in the standings.

LABONTE AT CALIFORNIA: In eight career starts at California Speedway, Labonte has four top-10 performances. His best showing has been a second-place finish to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon in the track's inaugural Cup Series race in 1997.

TOP-10 CAR FOR CALI: The chassis entered by Kellogg's Racing for this weekend's California 500 has been run in three events during the 2004 season and finished in the top-10 all three times: seventh at Pocono Raceway in June; sixth at Chicagoland Speedway in July; and sixth in the return trip to Pocono five weeks ago.

TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLETS: (ON RACING OUT WEST THIS WEEKEND, RATHER THAN AT DARLINGTON.) "It's really going to feel strange, not being in Darlington on Labor Day weekend. But change is usually good and when I look back at last year, the victory in the Southern 500 seems even more special than it did at the time."

LABONTE: (ON RETURNING TO FONTANA.) "I really like that track and we had a good package for the first race out there this year. We're running a different car (Chassis No. 225), but it's one of my favorites. It's been fast everywhere we've taken it this year and California should be no exception. We're looking for a good weekend because that's a long way to go and come back empty-handed."