Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Terry Labonte Notes

SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME FOR '5': Kellogg's Racing will run its first special car design of the season this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway -- a black-and-red paint scheme featuring Delphi on the hood and quarter panels. The No. 5 Kellogg's/Delphi Chevrolet will carry the same colors in three additional races this year: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway in August and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October.

'TEXAS TERRY' AT TMS: In seven years of competition at Texas, Hendrick Motorsports has one victory and one pole position -- both coming courtesy of Terry Labonte and Kellogg's Racing. Labonte, had his Lone Star fans on their feet March 28, 1999, when he bested Dale Jarrett down the stretch for his 21st career win. One year later, the Corpus Christi, Texas, native earned the pole position on the 1.5-mile oval and went on to finish the race in eighth place.

LABONTE LOOKING FOR SECOND TMS WIN: A victory Sunday would make Labonte the first repeat Cup Series winner in Texas history. Seven races have produced seven different winners: Labonte, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jarrett, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. Labonte's winning average speed of 144.276 mph still stands as a track record.

LABONTE AHEAD OF '03: Through the first six races of the 2004 schedule, Labonte is ahead of the pace he set a year ago when a late-season rally lifted him into NASCAR's Top 10. Last season, the two-time Cup Series champion was 30th after six events -- 425 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. This year, Labonte is 21st -- but only 260 off the pace heading into this weekend's Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at his "home track."

1.5-MILE TREND: This weekend's 334-lapper at Texas will mark the third NEXTEL Cup event of the season at a 1.5-mile track. During the two previous races (Las Vegas and Atlanta), the GMAC team recorded qualifying efforts of third and second, respectively.

STREAK RUNS TO 48: By running to the finish of the March 28 Food City 500, Labonte extended his series-high streak of consecutive races without a DNF (did not finish) to 48. The last time he failed to complete a race was in October 2002 at Talladega. The modern-era record is 56 in a row, set by teammate Jeff Gordon in 2001-02.

IMPROVEMENT CONTINUES: Labonte is the only driver who has finished in a higher position than he started in all six races this year.

HENDRICK UP FRONT: Hendrick Motorsports has both qualified and finished in the top 10 in all seven Cup Series races held at Texas, with the exception of April 1998 event. Labonte finished fifth that year, but no HMS team qualified in the top 10.

ANOTHER STREAK FOR '5': Labonte has now gone 21 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/DELPHI CHEVROLETS: (ON RACING IN HIS HOME STATE OF TEXAS.) "It's the first race I circle on the calendar every year. There are so many great fans down there and you don't want to disappoint any of them, but maybe the down side is that it creates a little extra pressure to perform well. The team has met that challenge and we've had some great races in Texas, including the win in 1999."

LABONTE: (ON THE TIMING OF THIS YEAR'S TEXAS RACE.) "This is a perfect opportunity for us to step out and get that first top-five of the year. We tested at Texas last week and came away happy with those results, and we're starting to get a little better handle on this softer tire. We honestly thought that both Bristol (last weekend) and Texas would be good races for us. But we missed it by a little bit at Bristol, so Texas has become even more important if we're going to stay close to that top 10."