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QUALIFYING DAY REPORT
UAW-CHRYSLER 400 ­ LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FRIDAY, FEB. 28, 2003

PRACTICE INFORMATION:

After enjoying two straight days of brisk but pleasant weather out on Las Vegas area golf courses, Miller Lite driver Rusty Wallace was ready to get down to work.

Rusty has been very vocal that he thinks he has his best chance yet of winning a Las Vegas race with his new Dodge Intrepid. Needless to say, he was eager to get out on the race track.

But just as was the case two weeks ago in Daytona and last weekend at Rockingham, adverse weather conditions again played havoc on the NASCAR Winston Cup tour.

A relatively small band of rain showers converged on the Las Vegas area early this morning and a steady rain drenched the teams as the entered the garage area here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this morning. The big problem was that it was a fairly stagnant front, with little movement.

The scheduled morning Busch Series practice was scrapped and the 11:20 a.m. Winston Cup practice fell victim to the weather. However, the rain had stopped just after 10:40 a.m. and the track drying process had begun. NASCAR officials had issued an amended schedule which fell by the wayside when another band of showers hit the track at 1:20 p.m.

The brief rain stopped just 15 minutes later and the track-drying process began again. Officials decided to cancel Busch Series qualifying altogether. The new schedule called for Winston Cup practice from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., with final Busch practice from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m., followed by Winston Cup qualifying.

The track drying procedures took longer than expected and it wasn¹t until 4:15 p.m. when the Winston Cup cars took to the track.

The Jack Roush teams are known for their great performances here at this track and they certainly shined in the practice session as Jeff Burton was fastest (with a 31.267 lap ­ 172.706 mph) and local favorite Kurt Busch second (with a 31.297 ­ 172.540 mph). Rusty¹s Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman clocked in with the 12th fastest lap (31.510 ­ 171.374 mph) and Rusty was 27th (31.813 ­ 169.742 mph).

The much awaited qualifying session finally got under way beneath the lights and with cold track conditions at 6:30 p.m.

Sterling Marlin was first out and he turned in a 31.970. Ken Schrader, next out, ran a 31.864. Gordon was third out and he turned in a lightning-fast 31.255.

He then had to watch the remaining 41 drivers take their shots at knocking him off the pole. Rusty turned in a 31.838 (169.609 mph). Ryan was a big threat with his 31.270 (172.701 mph).

It wasn¹t until Bobby Labonte, fourth from last to make his run, that Gordon lost the top spot. Labonte won the pole in record fashion, turning in a lap of 31.211 seconds (173.016 mph) to grab the pole.

Gordon starts second, with Ryan third, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fourth and Kurt Busch fifth. Rusty will go from the 25th starting spot.

Sunday¹s race has a 12:00 noon (3:00 p.m. EST) starting time and features live coverage by FOX-TV and PRN Radio.

* * *

Unofficial results from Friday's qualifying for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with position, car number, driver, car make and speed:

1. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 173.016 mph.

2. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 172.772.

3. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 172.701.

4. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 172.474.

5. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 172.441.

6. (43) John Andretti, Dodge, 172.194.

7. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 172.013.

8. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 172.007.

9. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 171.991.

10. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 171.980.

11. (01) Jerry Nadeau, Pontiac, 171.881.

12. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 171.865.

13. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 171.707.

14. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 171.005.

15. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 171.005.

16. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 170.859.

17. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 170.605.

18. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 170.347.

19. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 170.116.

20. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 169.870

21. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 169.758.

22. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 169.731.

23. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 169.657.

24. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 169.646.

25. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 169.609.

26. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 169.603.

27. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 169.507.

28. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 169.470.

29. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 169.417.

30. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 169.364.

31. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 169.115.

32. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 168.961.

33. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 168.951.

34. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 168.908.

35. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 168.908.

36. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 168.813.

37. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, provisional.

38. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, provisional.

39. (1) Steve Park, Chevrolet, provisional.

40. (4) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, provisional.

41. (66) Hideo Fukuyama, Ford, provisional.

42. (0) Jack Sprague, Pontiac, provisional.

43. (37) Derrike Cope, Dodge, provisional.

RUSTY'S QUOTES: