Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Motorsports

Labonte sets qualifying mark under Vegas lights

LAS VEGAS -- Cool track conditions helped Bobby Labonte set a qualifying record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he waited out a long rain delay before winning the pole Friday night.

Labonte ran a lap at 173.016 mph around the 1 1/2-mile oval to take the top spot and bump fellow Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon to the outside of the front row.

Labonte's lap beat Todd Bodine's mark of 172.850 set last year.

"The car was very comfortable, it was two good laps for us," Labonte said. "The car was good right off the truck. We just had a great day and a good little race car."

Gordon, the third driver to make his run, was the leader until Labonte went out 37 cars later. He just shrugged when he saw the No. 24 Chevrolet slip to second.

"That was a great effort for us," Gordon said. "A little disappointing, but heck, I'm just glad to be up front. Bobby put a heck of a lap together."

Ryan Newman was third in a Dodge, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fourth in a Chevy and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch fifth in a Ford.

The garage spent most of the day waiting out the rain after storms pushed everything back more than five hours, meaning cars qualified under the lights on a cool track surface that was opposite from how it will be in Sunday's UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400.

It was the third straight week poor weather plagued NASCAR. The season-opening Daytona 500 was shortened 91 laps after two rain delays, then all but one practice session was wiped out last week in Rockingham, N.C.

BGN SAM'S TOWN 300: Stanton Barrett won the pole for the Busch Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when rain washed out qualifying.

The 43-car field for today's race was set by 2002 car owner points, and Barrett was the biggest beneficiary. Barrett drives for Roush Racing in the Ford Greg Biffle won the series championship with last year, which gave him the points for the pole.

"We had a really good car here for the test. You have a new driver with the team and I haven't had a lot of track time the past few seasons, so any testing is an advantage," Barrett said

Jason Keller, second to Biffle in points last season, starts second. Winston Cup driver Kevin Harvick is third.

TOYOTA INDY 300: The IRL's new chassis and engine combinations got a passing grade in the first practice for the season opener.

"We're pretty pleased with how quickly we got up to speed with the new car," said Scott Sharp, fastest at 204.132 mph in a Toyota-powered Dallara.

"For one, we're really pleased with the way the motor is running. As far as the new chassis, Dallara has always been pretty aggressive and they're always looking for more downforce and less drag. This is a good combination."

There were two practice sessions for the 22 entries in Sunday's opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The fastest laps came in the morning, before temperatures rose to almost 90 and the 1 1/2-mile oval became slick. Qualifying begins today.

Helio Castroneves, second last year to two-time defending champ Sam Hornish Jr. in the IndyCar Series, was second-fastest at 201.967.

His Toyota-Dallara was followed by the Honda-powered Dallara of rookie Roger Yasukawa, who went 200.294.

"I'm pretty comfortable with the package the way it is," Castroneves said, then qualified the remark. "The biggest difference I feel in the new car is it's having a lot more understeer. At times, it's scary."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright