Federated Auto Parts 300 - Rookie Qualifying Quotes

REED SORENSON, No. 41 DISCOUNT TIRE DODGE: WHAT DID YOU DO DURING THE RAIN DELAY? “Not much, look at the radar and pray that it’s got a little gap somewhere. Basically, we’ve been hanging out, waiting to see what’s going to happen. I’ve been looking at the Weather Channel for about three hours, getting tired of seeing half the United States covered in green so I stopped watching that. The ARCA race was on and we watched a little bit of that. I just pretty much went back and forth between racing and the Weather Channel.” COMMENT ON IF CARL EDWARDS CAN’T RACE HERE AT NASHVILLE. “You want to race people. You don’t want the competition to not be able to be there because of rain. That’s not really a good deal. If you beat somebody you definitely want to have the opportunity to beat them out there on the track. I think we’ve got three weekends in a row here where they’re separated and hopefully he’ll make it to all of them and be able to get points at every race.” HOW DIFFERENT WILL THE TRACK BE NOW THAT THE RAIN HAS WASHED IT CLEAN? “I think the track will be fine. Once we get 30 or 40 laps on the track, it will be just like it was yesterday, I think, so it won’t be a big deal. This track seems to be pretty consistent every time I’ve gone out on the track. You make a change and the track really hasn’t changed. You can really adjust your car to it because it stays pretty consistent so I don’t see where it will be a big problem.” COMMENT ON THE UNIQUE TROPHY HERE AT NASHVILLE. “I gave my first one away to my crew chief and had to get a replica made so I didn’t get to see it for awhile. I think if we win this one I might keep the first one and give him a replica. It is a unique trophy. You can always have that at your house and look at and it’s not just a regular trophy. Sam Bass does pretty cool stuff. I actually went into his museum not too long ago and looked at all the stuff there and it’s pretty cool, all the stuff that he does. It’s pretty unique.” ON THE RAIN DELAY. “I want to race tonight because looking at the weather, it’s going to be worse tomorrow. It’s not fun sitting around for two extra days waiting to race but I think everybody would like to get it in tonight. There’s been talk that they’re going to wait all the way to late tomorrow night to try to get it in. It’s definitely not fun, especially if you have a good car and you’re just sitting there waiting to race. You’re ready to get out there on the track and see if you can win the race so it’s not very fun waiting around here. It looks like it’s raining harder now so it’s even worse.” WHERE DO YOU KEEP THE TROPHY FROM THE MARCH RACE? “I live in an apartment so I don’t have much room on my walls. I’ve already got two or three pictures up. I’ve got an old bumper from one of the wrecks I had and I put that up on the wall. I guess I’ll wait until I get a house and put it in a case and put it on the wall [laughs].”

CARL EDWARDS, No. 60 CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS FORD: “We were just speaking with Joe Balash, the Busch Series director, and it sounds like if we don’t get the race in tonight, we’ll fly back with Jack to Pocono tonight and we’ll start the race which is pretty fast in race trim and I’m pretty excited about that race and then we’ll come back here as quickly as we can and hopefully be able to participate in this race. Maybe it will rain a little bit tomorrow and delay the race and it will work out for us. We’re really hoping to get it in tonight which it looks like it there maybe an opening. It would be awesome to race this thing tonight. I’m pretty excited about this race.”

JACK ROUSH, CAR OWNER, No. 60 CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS FORD: WITH CARL RUNNING BOTH SERIES, THIS WAS A SITUATION THAT MIGHT PIN YOU AT SOME POINT. “We considered the fact that weather could get us. It could get us at either end of these weekends that we have races in two different locations. We’re extraordinarily lucky to be where we are in the points with the Busch Series right now. We’ve had mechanical problems and we haven’t been as good as I’d like for us to be at a few places on account of not Carl and Brad. They’ve done a really nice job but my hardware has let them down a couple of times so it’s pretty amazing we’re still there but we will get what we deserve if we miss a race or two or have it screwed up because of weather. We’re taking a big chance and we shouldn’t be that lucky.”

EDWARDS: “We’ve had a couple of weeks of bad luck which everyone has that. We’ve lost about 200 points in the last two weeks and other than those two weeks, we’ve had a pretty great season so far and missing a race I don’t think would take us out of the hunt by any means. I plan on building that lead back up. That’s what we’re out there to do, you know? I’m lucky to have good enough cars and equipment and things and we’ve got a little bit of a cushion at least.”

ROUSH: “I haven’t talked to Brad yet. I don’t know what his plan is. I don’t have a plan. I just got here, just come into town.”

EDWARDS: “We tested with Hank Parker Jr. here and he did a good job testing for us. It depends on what day we race I’m sure what the options are.”

ROUSH: WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT HANK PARKER? “John Riser made the selection of Hank Parker based on being close to he and his dad and having a good feeling for them. I look to managers to make decisions like that for I don’t have firsthand knowledge or experience with the people and that was John Riser’s decision and it was a good decision based on the way the testing has gone.”

EDWARDS: “We just hope for the best. It’s like Jack said, we’re relying on a lot of luck with the weather and scheduling. Everything has to work out perfectly for us to not miss any of these races. I looked on that weather radar and everything is green for the whole country so we’ll see how this goes. I’m real excited. It’s like Jack said, it’s kind of an adventure. We’re flying around the country and living out of suitcases and hopefully getting to race a lot. We’re kind of winging it here and see how it goes.” IF THE RACE IS RAINED OUT HERE SUNDAY, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO COME BACK MONDAY? “Absolutely. If today’s race is rained out, we’d just hope for some more rain here in Nashville tomorrow; not for the racetrack or the fans, but it would be the best case for us. We want to race tonight.”

ROUSH: “If the rain would hold things up to six o’clock tomorrow, we’d be back on track. For us, it’s either race tonight or after six o’clock tomorrow. If they started it at 10 o’clock local time tomorrow [morning], there’s a chance he could start the race but my understanding is from Joe that their first chance to try to start it tomorrow would be at Noon. And if they wait until Noon, that puts us right on top of the start in Pocono so we’d have to make that decision.”

EDWARDS: “He did bring up a good point. If we did start the race earlier, around the 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. mark, we would be able to start the race as well and then still make it to Pocono, possibly.”

ROUSH: HOW LONG OF A FLIGHT FROM NASHVILLE TO POCONO? “It depends on how fast you peddle. We had a 50-knot headwind coming down and it took about two hours. I figured we’d be an hour 35, 40. We were in the clouds a lot. The whole country is covered up with weather but we had a 50, 55 knot headwind just about all the way and it was just about two hours enroute. Going back, we’d be probably an hour 10, 15 going back.”

EDWARDS: “To be honest with you, I think Jack likes flying in the bad weather and stuff. We had a good time coming over. He did a carrier landing. It was pretty exciting, pretty neat.”

ROUSH: “Carl kept eating. I kept chucking the food to him. I was watching to see if he’d get green because we were bumping all over the sky.” COMMENT ON GREG BIFFLE. “Greg is doing a great job. Carl and I talked about Greg coming down here. Somebody asked him, one of the other drivers, asked him a question that it didn’t seem like he was having much trouble getting through the corner at Darlington. He talked about how many times he got on and off the gas and he where he patted the gas and where he made it turn and how he made it turn. The guy shook his head, like a dog that had a snoot full of pepper. He wasn’t believing all that was going on and he said ‘I only do that because I have to.’ That’s Greg Biffle. Greg’s 36 or 37 years old. He’s the only rookie you know of that probably uses that Grecian on his hair to keep it looking right. He’s just doing a great job. Carl got his chance at 24. Greg got his chance at 28. It’s wonderful to watch how Greg has suited up to the opportunities that NASCAR has made to him and our sponsors have made for him to be able to do what he’s dreamed of doing his whole life. He’s taking care of business. He will not miss the opportunity to achieve greatness if something does not get in his way.” YOU ARE IN POSITION TO WIN THREE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN A ROW. “I’ve got five bullets in my gun if anybody is counting, including the one sitting next to me here. It takes three things to do these programs successfully. It takes technology that is competitive for the time, it takes a team that can support an effort, and it takes a driver that can and will. Greg arrived on the scene able and our technology was pretty good but it took me two years to build a new team around him for that 16 team as we moved him up. So that really handicapped his first year and frustrated everybody. And with Doug Richert at the helm we were able to get it organized middle of last year so that we were ready to really kick the thing off this year. The technology part really comes from the manufacturer making the submissions of those surfaces that they will let them change, make submissions of those surfaces that wind up being the best compromise between downforce and drag. Of course, NASCAR cuts the templates off of it and you can lose the rabbit in that and once you get past that, then the teams have to come back and interpret it and get all that’s their in ways that they interpret in the templates and negotiate for approval as they do everyday when the go through the tech line. Greg’s program is mature and Doug Richert is doing a great job and Greg understands certainly more than he has in the past, and enough to be a factor in this championship. There are Cinderella stories out there too and I’m sitting nest to one of them right here. The fact that Carl was able to beat Jimmie Johnson at Atlanta was an impossible dream that was realized that day and it’s not out of reach that he could be a factor in this championship as well as any other other guys.” DO YOU HAVE A DRIVER FOR THE No. 6 CAR FOR NEXT SEASON. “No. Jon Wood is certainly getting the consideration that’s being talked about at this time. Ricky Craven is on the list. There are a couple other drivers that I wouldn’t name that are on the list because they are driving for other people right now.” DOES GREG’S SUCCESS OPEN THE DOOR FOR OTHER DRIVER’S THAT AGE? “The short answer to that is yes, but I don’t like short answers. Mark Martin came at 28, Greg Biffle came at 28, Jeff Burton came at 28, so there is nothing wrong with 28-year olds. There hasn’t been in the past and there isn’t going forward. A 28-year old coming in needs to be ready. He needs to have a core of fundamental racing knowledge and experience and judgment that he needs to have been working a decade on to be ready and Greg has had that. And any other 28-year old that comes can certainly make an accounting for himself, but the ones that start at 14 and get their opportunity at 20, have got an advantage over the ones that start at 18 and have to wait until they’re 28 to get it. There’s a point where the curves cross over and for the additional experience you get you don’t get much more ability out of it. The size of the fight in the dog has more to do with how big he his than how old he is at that point.”

EDWARDS: HOW DOES YOUR MINDSET CHANGE GOING THROUGH THIS RAIN DELAY? “During the rain delay, Jack was talking about going somewhere and getting something to eat. That’s all he’s been talking about. I may have an advantage here at this point. We had a great test up here with out Charter Ford and Hank Parker and Brad Parrott have done a great job getting the car ready to race so essentially all I have to do now is sit down with Brad and talk about the setup and plan on how to race. I’ve got Pocono on my mind and maybe that’s good to come in here and not really have much down time.” DO YOU WATCH TV OR PLAY VIDEO GAMES? “Cedar Ridge RVs gave me a motorhome to use this year and that’s been one of the neatest things that’s helped me a lot. What we’ve done with that motorhome is that I’ve made it my mobile office and rest area. I’ve got my computer there with my steering wheel mounted on the table. At Pocono before qualifying today, I know it didn’t show with our 28th or 30th- place qualifying effort, but I spent time running laps there trying to use that to prepare. I don’t have something like that here but I think that helps me on the Cup side having that motorhome with the video game.”

BRAD PARROTT, CREW CHIEF, No. 60 CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS FORD: THIS IS AN UNUSUAL SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES. “How many more torches can I take, you know? We knew going in when Jack [Roush, car owner] chose Carl Edwards to drive this No. 60 Charter car. This was going to be the forgiving circumstances that we have to abide by and Mother Nature is Mother Nature and God willing, he will do what he feels needed. The team’s prepared. Hank Parker is prepared to race this racecar. If we can give up 200 points in two weeks then we can gain what Carl loses if he doesn’t get to start this car. We’ll go under a different mindset and we won’t be leading the point anymore. We’ll be running for second or third or whatever it ends up point-wise. It all depends on how the 8 and the 41 and the rest of those guys do. This is the circumstance that we have to race under and we knew it going into the season. We didn’t have to find out until June 11 to see it happen. I was worried to death last year with Greg [Biffle]. The percentages are going to work against you sometimes and right now they’re working against us. If we race tonight, then Carl will be in the car and if we race tomorrow, Hank Parker will be in the car. That’s what we’ve got.” CAN CARL MISS A RACE AND STILL WIN THE BUSCH SERIES TITLE? “Yes he can. The owner points are still there and it goes by owner points. We’ve gave up 200 points to Reed Sorenson in driver points the last two weeks so if he goes and wins a race and he gets 190 points on us, so that only puts us 100 points behind Reed. Not a problem. We just don’t need it to happen two or three times.” THE CHAMPIONSHIP DREAMS DO NOT DIE HERE. “No, not at all. If we would have finished last week at Dover we can still be leading the points when we come out of here tonight. If Reed were to finish third, then Carl Edwards would still be leading the points buy missing a race. That’s the way the points deal goes, and unfortunately for Carl, he’s a nervous wreck because of the weather. We just go with the flow. It will make Carl Edwards more hungry so they better not let him not race.” WHY DID YOU PICK HANK PARKER? “The most experienced. He’s won races; he’s been in Busch cars for a long time. He hasn’t had a Busch ride this year and he has some talent. He’s definitely a driver with the most experience and the right size. We do not have to change anything in that driver compartment for Hank Parker to drive our car, except maybe the mirror. But other than that, Hank feels real comfortable in Carl’s seat and he said he’s ready to go racing.” CAN PARKER WIN? “Look how Hank Parker won other races. He’s won by having the best car, he’s lost races by having the best car, and he’s won by having the best fuel mileage, so yes, Hank Parker can win in the 60 car.” HOW DOES THE RAIN DELAY AFFECT THE CREW? “They’re over there eating right now. They’re not worried about it. As long as they’ve got food, they’re happy. They’re ready to race and we’re ready to race with Carl. But if something happens and Mother Nature doesn’t allow that then we’re ready to race with Hank. He practiced the car for 66 laps yesterday one set of tires and we got him prepared if he did have to drive. He done a great job yesterday even though the times didn’t show it, he did what he needed to do.” DOES THE DELAY HELP THE TEAM BOND MORE TOGETHER? “Yes, in some ways. In other ways, they’re resting because if we don’t get to go until 8 or 9 o’clock tonight, then I want them to be fresh. When the food runs out, that’s when we are in trouble. They’re all pumped up. We’ve got a point lead that we need to keep. It’s not the first time that it’s ever rained.”

EDWARDS: “I don’t really think of it like that. Jack and I were just talking about that there were some cutoff times where if we don’t run tonight we either have to run first thing in the morning, which doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, or we have to hope that it’s delayed until at least 6 p.m. tomorrow and those are really the only numbers that matter to me. If they dropped the green flag right now I could race as long as we had to race. I don’t care what schedule they create as long as we can race. As far as sleep and things like that, once it gets to race weekend, I’m devoted to the race and don’t really worry about it. I haven’t thought about sleep or anything like that. We’ll just get whatever we can. I’m definitely watching the radar, that’s for sure.”