You just have to stay out of trouble all day, and that ain't easy at this place. It makes a big difference what kind of ride you have. The guys at the shop had the car all geared up. Labonte was close behind in a Pontiac at 197.488, followed by the Ford of series points leader Jeff Burton at 197.252. They just keep making the cars slicker.
Nobody backs up.
The numbers don't mean much. If it's 193 or 196 or 199, it's fast. Jeff Gordon, the two-time defending Winston Cup champion, was a little disappointed after qualifying 13th at 195.880. We're starting further back than I'd like to. We ran about what we tested here, but we thought when it came to qualifying we'd pick up.