Gibbs drivers have disparate results in 500 quals

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Gibbs Racing teammates Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart could not have been farther apart after Monday's Bud Pole Qualifying session for the Daytona 500.

Labonte qualified eighth, but defending Winston Cup champion Stewart had mechanical problems during his first stab at qualifying in the new season.

JOE GIBBS RACING  •  Gibbs gunning for third title in four years  •  Stewart's Driver Page  •  Labonte's Driver Page  •  Labonte's Official Fan Club

Labonte's No. 18 ran a fast lap of 48.664 seconds, 184.942 mph. That was .434 seconds off pole winner Jeff Green's No. 30 Chevy.

"It was a good lap for our little Interstate Batteries Chevrolet," he said. "All the guys did a great job. They picked it up about four tenths from what we practiced, so I'm real excited about that."

Stewart has had a trying Speedweeks thus far, finishing 15th in the Budweiser Shootout before his incomplete Daytona 500 qualifying run.

"I'm not real sure -- (it was) something in the motor," Stewart said after he took the green flag but came immediately back to the pits. "When we came around and crossed the start/finish line it made a pop and then it took off again.

"But at the same time, after it did that it started laying down. Coming off the backstretch there it was about 700 revs lower than it should have been, so I knew we had a problem.

"There wasn't any point in blowing the motor up and messing up the race track and making these fans wait. They've waited long enough to see all of us qualify. I wasn't going to mess up the race track for everybody else."

	Bobby Labonte had the eighth fastest speed during Daytona 500 Bud Pole qualifying. Credit: Autostock

Stewart ended up 50th and last on the qualifying list and will start shotgun -- 25th -- in Thursday's second Gatorade 125-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Labonte will start fourth in the same race.

A year ago Stewart started 10th in his 125 and finished second. Two days later, in the 500, the engine of his Pontiac blew up after only two laps and he finished 43rd.

"If that's the worst thing that happens to us, we'll be all right this year," Stewart said. "It's not the way we wanted to start off Speedweeks.

"Last year we started off Speedweeks great and finished up bad, so maybe we're starting off bad and we're going to finish up good."

For many drivers, poor qualifying performances began a process of dread building up to Thursday's qualifiers, when only the top-14 drivers in each race -- excluding the pole starter -- make the 500.

As the defending Winston Cup champion, Stewart has no worries since he's guaranteed a provisional starting spot.

"I like racing -- I hate this qualifying stuff," Stewart said. "I like the racing a lot better. This will be fun -- coming from the back."