FULL-TIME FAREWELL:
This weekend's event at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be Terry Labonte's final race as a full-time NASCAR driver. The two-time champion announced last month he would run partial 10-race NEXTEL Cup Series schedules in 2005 and 2006.
'ICEMAN' IN SOUTH FLORIDA:
In five starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Labonte's best-ever result is 11th, which came in 2001. He has been running at the finish of all five events, completing more than 99 percent of total laps run, and has banked more than $330,000. Labonte, driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolets, is one of only 12 drivers who have been running at the finish of all five races contested on Homestead's 1.5-mile oval. Teammate Jeff Gordon is included in that group.
POINTS FINISH ON LABONTE'S MIND:
Labonte's 28th-place finish in last weekend's Mountain Dew Southern 500 has him 25th in series points. While NASCAR's "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" will wrap up this week, Labonte is locked in a tight duel with Ricky Rudd further down in the standings. The 26-year veteran never has finished worse than 24th and enters Sunday's race 28 points behind 24th-place Rudd.
'5' CHASSIS INFO:
The chassis that will be entered this weekend by the Kellogg's Racing has been run six times previously this season, with three top-10 finishes -- including sixth-place runs at Chicagoland Speedway in July and Pocono Raceway in August.
LABONTE'S LAPS:
Entering the final race of the season, Terry Labonte has run more laps this year than any Hendrick Motorsports driver, completing 10,019 circuits through the first 35 events. He is followed by teammate Gordon with 9,849. Labonte can protect his No. 1 status by completing just 98 of the 267 laps in Sunday's NEXTEL Cup event.
TERRY LABONTE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLETS:
(ON BATTLING RICKY RUDD FOR POINTS POSITION.) "We went to Homestead last year trailing Kurt Busch for 10th place and had a good finish that helped us get that spot. I think we were about 50 points behind him, so Ricky (Rudd) is a little closer and I think our team will be up to the task."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Labonte was 11th in the standings last year entering Homestead weekend, 56 points behind No. 10 Busch. He finished 15th in the race, 21 spots higher than his Roush Racing counterpart.)
