Steady qualifying run for Nadeau at Charlotte.

Jerry Nadeau's bid to erase last year's bitter memories when he retired from the Coca Cola 600 with an engine failure started steadily as he qualified the No.25 UAW/Delphi Chevrolet in 23rd spot at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.

In last year's Coca Cola 600, Jerry Nadeau and the No.25 Hendrick Motorsports team looked to have the best car on the track as the ever-improving Nadeau left the rest of the Winston Cup field for dead in the rain affected event. Sadly, Nadeau's luck once again ran out as the car stopped with an engine failure leaving a bitterly disappointed Nadeau in a wholly unrepresentative 38th in the final classification.

This year Nadeau's bid to score his second Winston Cup victory started safely as he qualified the No.25 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in 23rd place at a time of 29.631 seconds. His Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte qualified second and 36th respectively and the team will be looking for a strong three-car finish in Sunday evening's grueling 600-mile event. Gordon will also be going for his second consecutive Winston No Bull Million triumph after winning the UAW/Daimler-Chrysler 400 in Las Vegas.

Despite being unable to match last year's front row starting position Nadeau is still looking forward to Sunday's race. "I know everybody says this, but I really can't wait to get back to Charlotte. We had an awesome car there last year and we led a lot of laps before we lost our engine.

I've always liked Lowe's Motor Speedway and I've run well there, but it seems like something always bites me before the end. I can't let that affect my attitude going into this year's race, though. We're just going to do what we've always done, and that's to do the best we can.

I've seen a lot of drivers come back from tough luck at a track and then do well there for a lot of races. I'm not sure how the new tire will affect us this year, but I'm confident that the UAW-Delphi team is going to do all we can to win this race. We're taking the same car we had there last year, so I really feel good about our chances."

Last May, Nadeau qualified second for the Coca-Cola 600 and led 115 of the 400 laps. The No. 25 Chevrolet was the car to beat throughout the first half of the race, building a nearly three-second lead at one point. However, as the weather worsened, so did Nadeau's engine, which started to skip and lose oil pressure. When the caution came out for rain, Nadeau leading and Team 25 started a rain dance, knowing its engine wouldn't last until the final lap.

Unfortunately, after a 51-minute delay, the track was dry enough to return to racing on lap 259. Nadeau fought to maintain track position, but his engine finally expired, ending what could have been a great night for Team 25. That car redeemed itself later that year, however, by carrying Nadeau to his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway -- with a fresh motor under the hood, of course.