Johnson, Labonte Quick in Darlington Time Trials

DARLINGTON, S.C. (Aug. 29, 2003) – Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte posted two of the three quickest laps during Mountain Dew Southern 500 time trials at Darlington Raceway on Friday. Driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Johnson chalked up a lap of 168.862 mph (29.122 seconds) around the famed 1.366-mile oval, good enough for second overall. Labonte, a two-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, will start one spot behind Johnson in third, on the inside of Row 2. His No. 5 Kellogg’s / got milk? Chevy was clocked at 168.538 mph. Jeff Gordon was 14th in the No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo (167.493 mph), followed by Joe Nemechek in the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevy in 26th (166.862 mph). Ryan Newman earned his sixth pole position of the 2003 season with a 169.048-mph speed.