RUSTY GRABS 4TH STARTING SPOT FOR SUNDAY'S SUBWAY 400

It was beautiful spring-like weather here at North Carolina Speedway today for the practice and qualifying leading up to Sunday's Subway 400 on this 1.017-mile track.

Rusty Wallace and his Larry Carter-led Miller Lite Dodge team seemed to have some extra spring in their step all day long. Perhaps it comes from the fact that Rusty has done so well here - he is the leading active statistical player here with five career wins and two poles.

Maybe it's the fact that Rusty and the team are using the exact same car they had here for this race last year - a race in which Rusty dominated almost two-thirds of the event before falling back to finish sixth.

Or maybe it was because of the great test the team had here last month in preparation for this weekend.

"All I know is that we all feel good about this weekend - really good," crew chief Carter said in the garage area prior to the start of the 11:20 a.m. practice session. "Rusty loves this old place and he's ready to really get up on that wheel this weekend. We should be a threat for the pole and I think we'll be really good for the race here on Sunday."

His words proved prophetic.

After making several adjustments during the two-hour practice session and meeting twice with his chassis guys up front in the transporter, Rusty returned to the track a final time in the waning minutes to clock in with a 23.887 lap, which was fifth fastest overall.

Rusty was 25th of the 45 drivers to challenge the clock in qualifying. Jeff Gordon had turned in a fast lap of 23.725 seconds (154.318 mph) when Rusty took to the track to qualify. His first lap of 23.675 seconds (154.644 mph) turned heads and gave promise for a top starting spot.

However, Penske teammate Ryan Newman, who was fastest in practice, was the very next driver out and he blistered the track in 23.398 seconds (156.475 mph). Before the session was finished, Jamie McMurray (23.583 seconds) and rookie Kasey Kahne (23.649 seconds) would also jump in front of Rusty.

"We picked up a couple of tenths from practice," Rusty told Dodge's Ray Cooper after he saw Newman's run. "We've got a real hot rod for this track. We had to make some big changes to the front springs when we first got here. The track has tightened up so much from when we tested. Ryan laid down a heck of a lap. I expected that. I didn't expect it to be that fast, but I did expect a good lap. Right now we've got both cars on the front row and it looks pretty good. It is a game of inches, there's no doubt about that. We've got two good cars. We both tested. We both ran good. We tested to try to figure out the softer tire and shorter spoiler. I felt like it was necessary we did that, and now it's paying off. I think I'm going to win Sunday, I really do. I feel really good about it. We ran good in practice, and we've got a great car."

When the dust had settled, it was Newman on the pole, with McMurray second, Kahne third, Rusty fourth and Gordon fifth. Jeremy Mayfield starts sixth, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh, Jeff Green eighth, Dale Jarrett ninth and Greg Biffle rounding out the top-10 starters.

"We wanted the pole bad, that's for sure," Rusty said later, while changing clothes back at his coach. "But the way things have been going, that's a pretty good place to start. We have a great race car and we'll just have to get out there and prove it come Sunday."

For the record, the fourth-place starting spot is Rusty's best location on a starting grid since starting second last June at Dover, Del.

Sunday's Subway 400 features live flag-to-flag coverage by FOX-TV and MRN Radio beginning at 12:30 p.m. EST.