Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Ford Qualifying Quotes

STANTON BARRETT-60-OdoBan Ford Taurus (Qualified 32nd) - "We were really good in one and two and I went into three and four and, man, that thing tore up loose. As soon as I lifted I thought I was coming around reminiscent of this same race last year in qualifying. The same thing happened last year and I crashed the car and it felt the same way that time. Fortunately I saved it and the next lap I kinda screwed up one and two and was a little bit tight, but on the second lap, three and four were pretty good. I didn't go in quite as hard, but I didn't think I went in that hard on the first lap either. We're making improvements and I think we're going to be good in the race. I like this track and I think we'll get the setup all right." YOU HAVE A TEAMMATE THIS WEEKEND WITH GREG BIFFLE RUNNING THE NO. 9 CAR. HAS HIS PRESENCE HELPED YOU THIS WEEKEND? "Not really. They're separate than us. We kinda go back and forth with who has what, but it's a different deal. It helps when people are running week to week and you can compare what you're doing. One race is hard because you don't know what the differences are where you can kind of compare."

DAVE BLANEY-31-Whelen Engineering Ford Taurus (Qualified 11th) - "These Whelen cars have been fast every time that I've gotten in them. I'm really impressed with their stuff. We were probably a little bit too conservative there and a little too tight, but it's going to be a decent start and it's all about running good tomorrow." YOU HAD A GOOD QUALIFYING RUN IN YOUR CUP CAR TODAY. HAS THERE BEEN A SHARING OF INFORMATION BETWEEN THESE TWO CRS TODAY? "Today we have been doing the same things with the two cars. We got to test this car here a couple of weeks ago and we got to run the Jasper car last week in The Open so we've got a little it of time to improve things, but so far so good."

JASON KELLER-57-Albertsons Ford Taurus (Qualified 22nd) - "We had to go to our back-up car for qualifying because we wrecked in practice and that left us with a lot to do before qualifying. It was unfortunate. We had a radiator bust on us in practice. It's unfortunate. You just take a shot in the dark when you have to unload your back-up car like that. We'll just work on it and get it better for tomorrow." DO YOU HAVE THE SAME SETUP IN THE BACK-UP CAR THAT YOU HAD IN THE PRIMARY CAR? "We tried the same setup and it was pretty close. Each car is just a little bit different and it takes a little bit of a different setup. It was just one of those shots in the dark in qualifying today."

BOBBY HAMILTON, JR.-25-Team Marines Ford Taurus (Qualified 19th) - YOUR TEAM IS IN THE MIDST OF SOME CHANGES THAT INCLUDE A NEW CREW CHIEF, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S BEEN A DISTRACTION THIS WEEK? "Harold (Holly) has really picked the program up right off. He knows a lot of the wind tunnel stuff. We've got some new cars that he has built that are coming. It's going to take us a couple of weeks. Our first new car should be there at Nashville. He came to the shop and set this thing up. It's one of those cars that is just superior on race stuff. We tried it this morning. Once again, we just taped it up and qualified. If we can get in the top 10, we'll be happy. We haven't missed anything this week, and if anything, we're already making gains." WITH HAROLD FINISHING OUT FOR TEAM AMICK THIS WEEKEND, HOW MUCH WILL HE ABE ABLE TO HELP YOU? "It's one of those deals and it shows his loyalty. He didn't want to hang out Jeff (Green) and Team Amick out. We know that we get our turn with him on Monday. Newt Moore and my dad took time out of their week to come up here and go back to old times where we used to run Late Models together. It's working great. Newt and Harold have been working together hand-in-hand, and so far they've got the car perfect. I can't wait until the race because that's the type of race car that we've got." WHO WILL MAKE THE CALLS FROM THE PIT BOX TOMORROW? "Newt because it's his deal this weekend. Harold has some responsibilities with the other car, so this is Newt's deal this weekend. We're here to win the race. We have the stuff to do it."

KASEY KAHNE-38-Great Clips Ford Taurus (Qualified 6th) - "This team has given me a lot of good qualifying race cars and we've been qualifying in the top 10 a lot. When Harvick ran that lap I thought we might not have a shot at the pole anymore but on that first lap I thought we did. We were real close and we have a good ca for the race." YOU RUN REALLY WELL ON THE MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS THIS YEAR. "I've enjoyed them this year. Last year they were the places that I struggled at the most out of everywhere. I told Wes (Ward) that at the start of the year and that's where I wanted to test. This year we've had our best races at those kinds of tracks and bigger. It's been fun. I enjoy qualifying. It's fun to really go for it all taped up and have all of that downforce and go for it."

SCOTT RIGGS-10-Nestle Nesquik Ford Taurus (Qualified 3rd) - "It was pretty hard there. That wasn't an easy run. It was against the grain there to put the throttle back down. The car was pretty uncomfortable feeling but I had confidence in it and I had confidence in the guys. We were in pretty bad shape in three and four in practice. I was getting through one and two so good, but I just kept losing the front end across the bumps in three and four. We made a little bit of a shock change and some air pressure adjustments and it ran pretty good. We picked up a half of a second and that's good for us. It's a good solid run for us." YOU HAD A RIGHT-SIDE TIRE GOING DOWN ON PIT ROAD. DID YOU FEEL THAT ON YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? "I don't know if that was making me so uncomfortable on that second lap. The first lap felt really stable and it started getting a little free with me in three and four coming to the white. Then on that last lap, it was a handful. The front end wanted to slide and the rear would come around pretty quick. I'm just glad that we got a good lap in before it went down." DID YOU THINK YOU HAD A SHOT IN THE POLE AFTER YOU SAW WHAT HARVICK RAN? "We picked up a half of a second and that was great for us. I don't know where those guys got that. That's an awesome job by them and they're in a different zip code right now for qualifying. A different zip code in qualifying is only two positions for us and when the race comes it should be a lot more equal ground." THE GUYS WHO RAN IN WINSTON CUP OR ARCA TODAY WERE AT THE TOP OF THE SPEED CHART IN QUALIFYING. ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO QUALIFY IN THE TOP FIVE? "We came here in qualifying mode because we thought that our practice was going to be rain shortened. We worked on qualifying and we talked about it after practice and we agreed that it was our worst practice ever. We didn't learn anything. We didn't get to make a lot of changes and we weren't very fast. It was not our kind of practice. We like to unload in race mode, get a good feel for everything, get a good baseline and then go qualifying. It wasn't good for us it, but it just shows how good our communication is right now and how everything is clicking on this team right now." DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE PUTTING YOURSELF IN A POSITION TO MAKE A RUN A THE CHAMPIONSHIP RIGHT NOW? "I feel like I have the best the team. There may be some teams that we're equal to, but I don't think there's anyone better. I feel a lot of confidence in my team. All of the guys are focused and they're stronger than they've ever been and I feel like we're stronger than we've ever been. We struggled a little bit in the beginning of the season with some bad luck, but everything is starting to come together now. It's making it a lot of fun. Everybody is having a good time and everybody is smiling more and everybody is working hard and that's what it is all about."

MATT KENSETH-17-Aleve Ford Taurus (Qualified 9th) - "That's fine. We just work on race setup in this car. With just one hour this morning we worked on race setup first and then we got interrupted by rain. We didn't work super-hard on our qualifying stuff and I'm just happy with that lap I ran. That was much better than what we were in practice. We made improvements to the car so I'm happy with that. If we start in the top 10, it's long race, so that's good."

GREG BIFFLE-9-Uh-Oh! Oreo Ford Taurus (Qualified 12th) - "I felt really good to be back in a Busch car. The car just bottomed out pretty hard; I wasn't expecting it. It upset the car real bad and it jumped all over the place. Everyone ran so much faster than we practiced we didn't know what to expect. That's good. A top-15 starting spot for me is going to be good." THIS IS A DIFFERENT TEAM, A DIFFERENT CAR AND A DIFFERENT CAR NUMBER FROM LAST YEAR. "The only thing we have from last year is our notes, but we've got a really good car. It's one that Jeff Burton ran in Vegas. These guys are really working good. This is the first time that I've worked with John (Monsam) and we're hitting it off pretty good so I'm having a lot of fun."

SCOTT RIGGS PRESS CONFERENCE

"I thought that we had a 60 in the car. Of course, that was a half of a second off of where we practiced, but we were really struggling through three and four. I sat down with my crew chief and all of the guys and talked it over. It just goes to show how god our communication level is and how we're able to tear everything down and diagnose what the car is doing and why I feel the way I feel in the car and what the car is doing to make me feel that way. I told them that I thought I had a 60 in us if we could get through three and four like the way I needed to. I knew it was not going to be the pole; those guys are in a different zip code right now it seems like. That's just for qualifying and it's a good, solid starting spot for us and all of the guys on the Nesquik Ford Taurus. We deserve a good starting spot because we've been working really hard."

WHAT WILL YOU LOOK FOR IN HAPPY HOUR? "Just some consistency in the car. We came here realizing that weather was going to be a threat and would probably shorten our qualifying session. We came in qualifying mode and only got to make eight or nine laps on the track in qualifying mode. Now we'll put it in race mode for the first time and see if the car feels stable and consistent to me. Of course, a place like this is so temperature sensitive. To practice when it's so cool and overcast the way it's been all day, and we'll come out here tomorrow and the sun will be shining, the birds will be chirping and everybody will be glowing with sunshine and then it will be a totally different race track. Just to go out here and get a good balance under the race car and get some laps under our belt."

"Nesquik and all of the people at Nestle are going to pull out from motorsports once again. It was not because they wanted to. It was because some things changed around in the upstairs office and they are not going to be with us next year. We feel strongly about finishing out this year as good as we can. Right now we're talking to a lot of other sponsors. Greg Pollex, who is the owner of this team, is talking to a lot of people trying to secure something next year and for the next few years. There are a lot of things on the table, but right now we're wearing the yellow and blue colors and we're trying to finish out as strong as we can."

©Copyright 2003 Race 2 Win