Sharpie Professional 250 - Rookie Post-Race Quotes

Unofficial Raybestos Rookie Standings:

Kyle Busch 67
Paul Menard 48
Donnie Neuenberger 41
Stan Boyd 19
Rick Markle 10
J. J. Yeley 9
Billy Parker 8
Kevin Conway 1
Brian Conz 1

DONNIE NEUENBERGER, #77 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND/BG PRODUCTS FORD:

"This is getting a little old. The car had a bad steering bump on it all day but we fixed it and we were looking forward to the race. We passed some of the other cars and we were just holding our own and somebody just decided to be impatient that early on and around we go. I tried to keep it off the wall but we just got the front end too bad. They got us running on the high side and you can't do that here so you might as well park it. If the team doesn't give up on us, there's got to be better days ahead."

KYLE BUSCH IN THE #5 LOWE'S/SHOP VAC CHEVROLET WAS THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE AT BRISTOL. Notes: Busch finished third, his first top-five of the 2004 season and third of his 12 race Busch Series career. He scored the best finish ever by a Raybestos Rookie in the Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol. The previous best effort was fifth by Kenny Wallace in 1989. Busch is the only Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish this season. He has been the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in each of the five Busch Series races this season. Unofficially, Busch leads the Raybestos Rookie standings by 19 points (67-48) over Paul Menard.

"We had a solid car all day, it just wasn't what would keep up with the leaders. We worked on it all day. The Lowe's/Shop Vac guys did an awesome job all day. It was a lot of fun and congratulations to Martin Truex. He's one of us too; he's not been around here long. I'm definitely enjoying watching all the guys argue and fight or whatever. That's temper mental at Bristol. We've had a few our own self here today but I'm glad everybody took it. They know it's Bristol. Ron Hornaday, I messed him up worse in the beginning of the race. I had a lot of fun out there today but hopefully we can come back and do it again in the fall and finish maybe two spots better." WAS THE INTENSE RACING WITH HORNADAY JUST RACING AT BRISTOL? "Hornaday and I were just racing. It was hard racing between the two of us. I've got to thank him for not coming back and retaliating against me or doing anything. Hornaday and I, we know each other a little bit and we know we can bump and grind and we can both take it and go on. I'm sure I'll get it back somewhere else later this year but it was a lot of fun." YOU WOUND UP WITH A TOP-FIVE BUT PROBABLY DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD FINISH SO WELL FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. "No, we really didn't. I figured ninth, it's not what we wanted but I guess that's what we'll take and then you come down to the end of the race and you've got a lot of guys that are bumping and grinding. I knew it was going to be worse than a short track shootout. Again, it was a lot of fun to be out there with all these guys. Some of them, a couple of Roush guys, followed what Mark Martin did here. They came down pit road before they saw the checkered." WHAT DID YOU SEE OUT THERE THE LAST COUPLE LAPS? "I saw the 32 car get in the fence. I thought he cut down the right front but just watching it the 21 hit him a little bit. That's just racing here at Bristol. Everybody was checking up and going every which way so I went high around them all and was able to get underneath Michael getting into turn one here and he kind of chopped us off and I bet that wrecked all those guys behind me; thought I was an idiot. I'm sorry about those guys but I had a fun day here at Bristol. He was just racing, trying to keep his position, but we ended up getting him anyway because he came down pit road too soon. We're also thinking about Papa Joe and Rick Hendrick and all you guys. Take care." YOU HAD A GREAT RUN TODAY. "We're proud of ourselves. We had a great run but we wish we could have been a little bit better. We had a good car all day, just not an excellent car all day to run up front with the leaders." YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF DAMAGE TO THE CAR AND YOU'RE ONE OF THE FEW CALM GUYS AFTER THE RACE. "It's the bad [damage], probably a little bit on the front. It was a pretty fun day and we had a great time racing out there. The guys did an awesome job and I just can't thank everybody enough. We just want to make sure that Papa Joe and Rick and everybody is okay at home. Our thoughts and prayers are with them."

STAN BOYD, #51 EPH/TRI KING CHEVROLET:

"I think we ran okay for what we got to work with. The car was really good on exit but just a little bit tight in the middle. It's hard to get that Raybestos Rookie deal when you're running against guys like Busch. We did well for what we had to do with. The guys did an awesome job and I think this is the first race that this team has finished all year. We need some better equipment but we're working on getting some sponsors and then that will happen when we do that." DOES THE SEARCH FOR SPONSORSHIP LOOK POSITIVE? "The boss says that it does [smiles]. He said he's working on some stuff. We'll hear in the next couple of weeks so I hope it doesn't fall through."

PAUL MENARD, #33 MENARDS/MOEN CHEVROLET:

"We've got to figure out our ductwork or mechanical fans or something. We were running hot from the get-go. The first run we were like 240 and from then on out we pegged it after the first caution. We kind of knew that this was coming but we tried to make the best showing that we could while it lasted. The guys worked hard last night making changes to the car and it paid off. It was a really good car today." IS THIS THE BEST THAT YOU HAVE RUN ALL SEASON? "That was the best car that we've had all season. The handling was a little bit pushy but compared to everybody else we were right there. We were actually mid part of the race running faster than the leader was, I was told. This is a track that we tested at and now we will be going to some tracks that we've either tested or run at before so that's going to be a big advantage for us." DID YOU LIKE RACING AT BRISTOL? "This is a great track. They should run this track 10 times [smiles]. It's a blast. You actually drive the car hard and you can hustle it a lot more than you can at a lot of the speedways which gets pretty frustrating at some of the speedways because you are so dependant on aero and what everybody else is doing wrong. Here you can just drive the wheels off the thing."

BUSCH POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

"We had a great run all day. First off, I just want to first off say that we really have Papa Joe and Mr. Hendrick in our prayers, make sure Papa Joe is okay. He's a little bit sick right now. I don't know exactly what it is but our thoughts and prayers are with him. I guess it was a normal day at Bristol, racing with way it outta be, right? Ron Hornaday and I were just bumping and grinding there in the beginning. I'm trying to get by him and I thought he was holding me up a little bit. We had a few close calls there but Hornaday and I, we're pretty good friends so I'm sure he'll put it behind him. He'll terrorize me somewhere else later on this year and he'll get me back. Nonetheless it was what we had to do to try to make up some spots. He ended up getting away from me a little bit there but later on throughout the race we had a great run going. The guys worked on the car all day and made some awesome pit stops. I just want to say that there at the end it was pretty much mayhem, is all you could say it was. Cars were going everywhere, scattering, and you're just trying to make sure you can find a clean way through it all and make sure you come out of here with the best finish you can." A COUPLE OF LAPS FROM THE END YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE A THIRD PLACE FINISH. "I was a little bit further behind. I didn't see exactly what happened to the 32. I just saw him in the fence and then we came through. Guys were squirting low down the back straightaway and I knew that he was going to bounce off and go low so I just stayed up against the wall and got three cars there. A lap later the one car spun out into turn one and guys were going everywhere. I was looking underneath Michael Waltrip getting into one and I chattered the tires and everything trying to miss him and not wreck him. I had a couple of guys behind me spin, sorry about that, but it was just a mayhem day in the last couple of laps here at Bristol." AT WHAT POINT DID YOU THINK NASCAR MIGHT THROW THE CAUTION WITH CARS WRECKING ALL OVER THE TRACK? "I was hoping that they weren't going to throw a caution because everybody was slowing up so much and we could get through there and pass some more cars [smiles] but obviously you've got to throw a caution some time or another. I figured that the 32 car, when he scraped off the fence, that he was going to be able to continue and either make it to pit road or whatever because I knew he wasn't hurt that bad. But once I saw the 1 car spinning and backing in then I knew that they were probably going to throw a caution for that one and more than likely the cars that I saw spinning in my mirror behind me after I tried to get underneath Michael Waltrip."