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By KEVIN KELLY
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 24, 2001
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Greg Biffle, last season's Craftsman Truck series champion, won the pole position for today's Alltel 200 with a record lap of 156.368 mph. It is his first career Busch Grand National pole.
"We came to Rockingham and tested for two days," said Biffle, who drives the No. 60 Ford. "I think I learned a lot in those two days without any other drivers helping me. I had to figure it out on my own on this track, never having raced here before."
Ryan Newman qualified second, followed by Todd Bodine.
The top three surpassed the track record (154.383 mph) set by Mark Martin last year.
"Greg obviously has a lot of experience," Bodine said. "And Newman's got a lot of experience, too. They're both good racers. We just need to try to get a better balance in the car before (today). This place is so different as far as what you qualify with compared to what you race. It's almost like starting over."
NOT ME: Reports swirled around the Winston Cup garage that a prominent driver would retire in the wake of Dale Earnhardt's death.
Terry Labonte's crew chief said it wasn't the two-time Winston Cup champion.
"I've heard the rumors that a few of them are talking about not wanting to drive anymore," Gary DeHart joked. "Terry's too far in debt to quit. No, that's not true."
Labonte finished 24th in the Daytona 500 on Sunday. He has not finished higher than 12th in the standings since 1998. STICKER OF SUPPORT: The five cars associated with Earnhardt -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Park, Michael Waltrip, Mike Skinner and Kevin Harvick -- carried a sticker remembering the late driver.
The round sticker has a black background with a white No. 3 in the middle. Above the number printed in white, "In Memory Of." Earnhardt's signature crosses over the number and is outlined in red. Below the signature in white: 1951-2001.