GMAC Racing Leads HMS in Dover Qualifying

DOVER, Del. (June 4, 2004) – Brian Vickers drove his No. 25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet to the third-best lap in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series time trials at Dover International Speedway on Friday. The Thomasville, N.C., native was the top rookie qualifier and best of the four-driver Hendrick Motorsports stable. "There are so many good cars out there -- to sit on the pole you have to have a perfect lap,” said Vickers, who was clocked at 160.521 mph (22.427 seconds). “We were one-hundredth of a second close to a perfect lap, but not perfect.” Jeff Gordon, who has four career victories at Dover, will start 13th in the No. 24 DuPont Chevy. He’s also posted a pair of poles, 11 top-fives and 15 top-10 finishes at the track. Jimmie Johnson was close behind his teammate with the 14th-best lap. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Monte Carlo is coming off a successful run at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where he won from the pole position on Sunday. Terry Labonte will line up 34th on the Dover grid in the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevy. The two-time Cup Series champion has 15 career top-10 finishes at the one-mile oval. Pacing the NEXTEL Cup qualifying session was Jeremy Mayfield, who posted a track-record lap of 161.522 mph in his No. 19 entry. In NASCAR Busch Series qualifying at Dover, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Busch was 14th overall in the No. 5 Lowe’s/Shop-Vac Chevy (156.345 mph, 23.026 seconds). David Green was quickest at 157.915 mph (22.797 seconds).