Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 - Terry Labonte Notes

SHOOTING FOR TWO: As he rolls into Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for this weekend's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series 400-miler, Terry Labonte is bidding to become the first driver in five years to win back-to-back races on the 1.366-mile oval. Labonte was victorious in last year's Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend, posting his 22nd career win. Jeff Burton was the last to win two consecutive events in Cup Series competition at Darlington, sweeping both dates in 1999.

LABONTE MAKING PROGRESS: Through the first four races of the 2004 season, Labonte is one of only three drivers who have finished in a higher position than they started in each event. Despite an average start of 36th, the two-time champion has three top-20 finishes and is 20th in points heading for Darlington. The only others who have improved from start to finish in each of the first four races are Ward Burton and Matt Kenseth.

KELLOGG'S TEAM KEEPS IT CLOSE: Labonte, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolets, trails NEXTEL Cup points leader Kenseth by 250 markers, but is just 46 behind his brother, 10th-place Bobby Labonte. Only drivers in NASCAR's Top 10 and others within 400 points of first place after 26 events of this year's 36-race schedule have been run will be eligible to participate in the "Chase for the Championship" over the final 10 weeks of the season.

LABONTE DNF-FREE FOR 46 STRAIGHT: By running to the finish of the March 14 Golden Corral 500, Terry Labonte extended his series-high streak of consecutive races without a DNF (did not finish) to 46. The last time he failed to complete a race was in October 2002 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The modern-era record is 56 in a row, set by Jeff Gordon in 2001-02.

HENDRICK AT DARLINGTON: Car owner Rick Hendrick is currently second on the all-time win list at Darlington with nine, just one behind leader Junior Johnson. With the exception of 2001, Hendrick Motorsports teams have either won a race or pole at the 1.366-mile oval every year dating back to 1995.

MORE HENDRICK AT DARLINGTON: Hendrick has seven wins in the last 17 races at Darlington, with Gordon or Labonte accounting for each of those. Gordon has scored six victories and 13 top-10 finishes in his last 17 starts at Darlington, while Labonte has one triumph and four top-10 finishes in those same events. Gordon led at least one lap in 15 of those 17.

HOLD THE PROVISIONAL: Labonte has now gone 19 races without the need of a provisional starting position, his longest such streak since he put 24 straight races together in 1998.

TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLETS: (ON THE INSTALLATION OF SAFER BARRIERS AT DARLINGTON.) "I don't really think it'll make a big difference in how we drive that track. At Indianapolis, we use almost all of the race track between (turns) one and two, and three and four, and when they added the SAFER system, you hardly noticed the difference. I think you just have to adjust to what you've got to work with. We need to install those barriers at every track we race on."

LABONTE: (ON GOODYEAR'S SOFTER TIRE.) "There are some teams that have it figured out and some that don't. We're probably in that second category, but gaining on it. The biggest thing we have to do now is pay more attention to tire wear and tire temperatures during practice sessions. We've gotten away from that the last few years because the tires were much harder, but those two factors have become very important again."