Hershey's Kisses 300 - Rookie Qualifying Quotes

PAUL MENARD IN THE #33 MENARDS/PITBULL/PITTSBURGH PAINTS CHEVROLET WAS THE TOP RAYBESTOS ROOKIE QUALIFIER AT DAYTONA. HE WILL START 12TH IN SATURDAY'S RACE.

"We were hoping to run an .80, to tell the truth. It looks like everybody has kind of slowed down from yesterday. Our goal is to start in the top-10 and it's going to be tough with that. We will be happy with a top 15." DID THE COOL AND CLOUDY WEATHER HELP YOU OR HURT YOU? "You'd think it helps but the time is a little bit slower than what we expected we'd go, with it being so much cooler. It's hard to say. This track is not very sensitive to the heat so it's probably about the same, to tell you the truth. If we get a top-15, it's a good way to start off the season. The battle for Raybestos Rookie of the Year is going to be a tough battle this year. If we get out here with a clean race car and good finish then we can go to Rockingham and run strong." HOW BIG OF A FACTOR WAS THE WIND DURING YOUR RUN? "There's definitely a headwind going down the backstraight, where yesterday we had a tailwind going down the backstraight. It kind of swapped it from the frontstraight to the backstraight. I don't think that affected us a whole lot. The car is real stable and drove really well so we'll have a really good race car." HOW MUCH DRAFTING EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE? "I've run two restrictor plate races so far but it's a lot different aero packages than what we have with this. I'm really looking forward to getting out in the draft this afternoon and see how well these cars suck up. I know it's going to be a great equalizer between all the cars with the roof fins and the spoilers the way they are. Hopefully we can get this Menards/Pittsburgh Paints car up front and keep it up there all race long."

KYLE BUSCH, #5 LOWE'S CHEVROLET:

ARE YOU A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE LAP? "I think we'll be all right with that run. We're really looking forward to getting out there in the draft. That's mainly what it's going to be about. Qualifying doesn't really matter. Getting the pole is just kind of prestigious. We had our chance last week in the ARCA race and we missed that by just a little bit. I'm looking forward to the race." HOW WILD IS THE RACE GOING TO BE HERE ON SATURDAY? "I hope that we have the best car that sucks up because we have Shop Vac on the side of the car [smiles] so that's definitely going to help us a little bit. Hopefully the car runs pretty decent and the Lowe's Chevrolet should be able to run up front. We'll just have to play it by ear and see who will draft with us." DO YOU THINK YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE GETTING SOMEONE TO DRAFT WITH YOU? "More than likely, yeah. If I get a good run on someone and I pull out, more than likely they are not going to pull out. It's going to be kind of hard. I'm going to have to follow somebody and do more following than more of doing my own moves. Hopefully I can tag up behind [Dale Earnhardt] Junior and if he falls back to 42nd I'll be 43rd. We'll just have to wait and see for the race." HOW NERVE-RACKING IS THE RACE GOING TO BE? "It won't be too bad. I think you are going to see a lot of two and three wide racing and hopefully the tires will be in our hands because we have the wicker bill and the roof spoilers. They should be able to put more downforce on the cars and help us turn a little bit better." IS TIRE WEAR GOING TO BE A FACTOR? "We're going to find that out later today. We haven't been able to go out there and run some long runs with different cars in the pack and be behind cars and see how bad it's going to push. We'll definitely try to work on the chassis setup and make it the best we can."

DONNIE NEUENBERGER, #77 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND/JENKINS & JENKINS FORD:

"We practiced on old tires and once they get a cure in them they get a little harder. We were hoping the new tires helped us and they actually probably hurt us. We're a couple of tenths off where we practiced. We'll put it in race trim and if it will draft good then we will be there with them. It's just going to be tough."

RICK MARKLE, #68 YAHOO CHEVROLET (Note: Markle's application for Raybestos. Rookie of the Year is being reviewed by NASCAR):

"We were hoping to at least backup what we did yesterday afternoon. It sounds like a lot of the big guys had the same thing: they lost a tenth or two. I think it's going to put us right on the hinge point; it's going to make us sweat it right to the end [qualifying for the race]. That's pretty typical of our runs here lately [smiles]." WHAT IS YOUR SCHEDULE FOR THE SEASON? "A lot of it hinges on what happens here to us. If we make this race it's going to lead into more. This was a one-race sponsorship through Jay Robinson for the 39 car that's going to run the rest of the year. That just helped us get here right at the end. It just depends on what happens here [smiles]." HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR A SMALL TEAM TO COMPETE AT THE RESTICTOR PLATE TRACKS LIKE DAYTONA? "The reason why we like the speedway races is that we don't have the budget for the engine programs or to go to the wind tunnel but I hang bodies for a living for NEXTEL Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck teams. Our forte is body hanging and chassis building so this kind of plays into our hands here. It takes the driver out of the picture and puts more emphasis on the car. The engine program, on the other hand, that's a little bit shaky for us. T&L did a motor for us this week and did the best they could do on short notice. It's pretty decent I just think we were a little off on our chassis and our aero just a little bit and without the funding, that's what you get." WILL THE NEW AERO PACKAGE HELP YOU IN THE RACE? "We went to the aero test in December. We were one of the few Raybestos Rookies that went there and we were actually the only un-sponsored, not-organized-with-a-NEXTEL-Cup-team that was there, I believe. I wasn't all that impressed with the suck-up and all that stuff. What I do have a problem with is that the cars push around a lot more and I'm concerned that once we get in the packs there's going to be a lot of jockeying because of that push-off. I guess they say they needed to do something. We ran Talladega last year and finished 12th and we were pretty happy with what they had. The aero-package, the way I see it, put an even bigger spread between the guys that have-not and the guys that have. It became so much more important on the aero situation and the engine program so I think it's actually going to separate. Now once the race starts flowing, this package is going to cause you to wear tires more and you're going to have to be a little more aggressive at times but you are also going to have to be passive to keep tires on the car so that may help. But I'm also concerned that in the long run some of the lower budget guys that are going to stretch their tires and stretch their fuel and what kind of trouble is that going to create."

KEVIN CONWAY, #51 CREDITEL POWERSWIPE DODGE:

"We knew coming down here we were a little off on horsepower. This is just a one-race deal with Ware Racing. Ernie Irvan and myself are making an announcement in Las Vegas about a new team and we're real excited about that. It's going to be a great opportunity for us to compete for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award with a great team. We're going to have a new sponsor on board and a new team that we're starting from the ground up. We'll start in Charlotte [in May] and it will carry us through the rest of the season."