Bashas' Supermarkets 200 - Rookie Post-Race Quotes

DAVID STREMME, NO. 1 MICCOSUKEE RESORTS DODGE:

Note: David Stremme was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race at Phoenix. Stremme finished 13th and took Raybestos® Rookie honors for the fourth consecutive race. He has been top Raybestos® Rookie in 13 races this season.

"It's not too bad. I'm a little disappointed on the longer runs, how we had run. In all, it wasn't too bad of a day. I'm a little bit disappointed we couldn't finish under green because we took some tires there and thought we'd end up getting in better position. We fought hard. We're getting experience for next year. We've got some notes to go off of. We came here with a pretty different setup. It's not too bad." YOU RACED IN WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT WERE TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING. "It wasn't too bad. We've got something in the car that no matter what we did it was tight center, something in the setup. That's what this year's experience is for, next year, so when we are practicing or doing whatever I can relate to him (crew chief) information that we need to make that car better in the run. We didn't have a winning car today. Did we have a top-five car? I think we did. I know we had a top-10 car but in all it wasn't too bad. I'm gaining experience and I think now with that finish we'll end up taking over the Raybestos Rookie lead and go to Rockingham and try to capitalize on it some more." WITH ALL THE DELAYS AND THREAT OF RAIN, HOW DIFFICULT OF A RACE WAS IT MENTALLY? "It wasn't too bad. I wish it was longer (laughs). A lot of these races we get going and I learn so much throughout the beginning that it kind of hurts to get out of the car. In all, it wasn't too bad. It's just something gaining experience. You can't buy experience and can't go get it from anywhere. It's something that you've got to get. This was definitely something different as far as all the other tracks that I've run on. We've got some good notes and Wolfe and Marc Reno and all of us will sit down, maybe even come test here next year. We've got a good qualifying package. We just need to come up with a race deal." KNOWING THERE WAS A CHANCE THE RACE WASN'T GOING TO RUN THE FULL DISTANCE, DID THAT PUT MORE PRESSURE ON YOU TODAY? "We didn't think it was going to rain. We thought we were going to finish under daylight. The rain is what hurt us. We took tires and I thought we were going to be in pretty good shape coming back up. You can't predict Mother Nature. It's something that we've got to keep working on and again it's a pretty decent finish. It shows all the hard work that this whole team puts into it. I can't wait to get to run the Yellow Dodge some more." WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY TO BRING BACK HERE NEXT YEAR? "A lot of it is basically long run and just some stuff setup-wise. I felt the line and different things was pretty good, it's just something in the setup that we have to get a little more comfortable for me in the long runs so we don't have a problem."

JON WOLFE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 1 MICCOSUKEE RESORTS DODGE:

WAS IT A BIG GAMBLE TO PIT NEAR THE END OF THE RACE? "A little bit, but I knew we were fading fast on our older tires and had some laps to go there. It was the only wise thing to do." DID THE WEATHER CONDITIONS HURT YOUR SETUP? "I think it did for us. It seemed like the track loosened up and we had freed our car up a little bit more this morning because we were still a little bit tight in happy hour. We were just too loose." WAS THIS A GOOD DAY? "Yeah, not too bad. It's in one piece. We were looking for a top-10 and I think we could have got one if the rain wouldn't have come but coulda, woulda, shoulda."

Unoffical Raybestos Rookie standings after Phoenix:

David Stremme 211
Coy Gibbs 207

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