MBNA America 400 - Dodge Post-Race Quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL/WEGA Dodge Intrepid) -

"We started off really, really, really fast. When I cut that right-rear tire down that was the first time I've ever been in the stock car and cut a tire down. Actually, it was the second time - the other time was here in a Busch car. Either way, it was the first time in a long time that I've had to deal with cutting a tire down. It kind of took me by surprise. I about spun the car out. After that it was just a battle of track position, and working through track position as far as strategy and doing what we could do to get our lap back.

"There were a couple times that we were the first car that was a lap down, and then the leader would go and lap a few cars and they'd be the first car a lap down. We weren't fast when we needed to be at certain times. Finally, we got it together and we were able to get our lap back. After that, it was just a fuel mileage race of sorts. I think it was us and the No. 17 car who had the potential to go the rest of the way because we were the only ones to come in and pack our fuel cells with about 120 or 115 laps to go. After that we were just trying to save some fuel, pass some cars and not get back down a lap again because the leaders were coming. Once we got back in that clean air, the car was a lot better speed-wise. From there on it was just a matter of holding off the No. 19, No. 20 and No. 29. Jeremy raced me really clean, and I thank him for that. We got into it once as we were coming off turn two. But he never cut me a fender when he could've, and that goes a long way.

"We were in position to be able to make it on fuel the whole way. So, I asked Matt what he wanted to do. I had told him before, when we had 120 or whatever to go, to think about fueling. He and the guys did an awesome job to give me a good, balanced car. Being able to save fuel from the driver's seat is not really easy to do when you're trying to go fast. We were just doing the best we could with a car that was decently balanced and trying to stay out front and log some laps and get a couple cautions, and it worked in our favor.

"We finished with a little bit more fuel than I thought we would've had, but I was able to save quite a bit. He's (Matt Borland) definitely on the radio, because his job is to make sure that we finish first, and we need to finish in order to finish first. That's part of his job to make sure that we have enough fuel to get to the end from a team perspective and a sponsor's perspective.

On caution flag rule-revision... "I still believe what I said. I guess the reward part of it, from my perspective, is still opinionated. It always will be opinionated if the rule stands the way it is. If there's 42 cars on the lead lap and one car's way off pace and he gets his lap back then he got a free lap for basically nothing. He didn't come close to earning his lap. Where, our situation we were working our way forward and finally were the first car that was one lap down. You could call it 'earning' your lap back of sorts. In the past, there might have been a leader who would have given me my lap back today. That's highly unlikely in my opinion, but we dealt with what rules we had to play with today. That won us the game.

On Dale Jr., crash... "I guess I had just passed him, or was in the process of passing him. He must have been right alongside of me, and he just lost it. The way it looked like he just lost it, spun around and laid the left door into the wall. I never saw anything until I came back around. In fact, I was kind of surprised to see it was him because my spotter said, 'Crash in two,' and I was down in three already. I think he watched it happen and anything else. I don't know if he's alright, but I saw it took him a little bit of time for him to get out of the car.

"Our tires were just about 35 laps older than theirs. We just had a good car and track position. You've got to count on the guy behind you running you clean when he's close to your bumper.

"It looked like he (No. 19) was running higher tire pressures than us. He was just flat fast, and he got up on me. I had a really good restart there. He was able to go right around the No. 77 and a couple of other guys, because I think when he came across the line he was behind the No. 77 and he was behind it. He looked like he was running some higher tire pressures, and that made him fast for the first little bit. Obviously it cost him a little bit later in the run. But again, I've got to thank him for racing me clean.

"It's just chemistry. Before I got into the sport I never really understood what true chemistry was when it comes to people. Having 200 people at Team Penske - that's communication. We've learned and grown as we've been together for the last three years.

"I think it was about four or five laps to go when I came over the radio and said, 'I hope we don't run out of fuel, because that was a hell of a race we just had (with the No. 19).' That was a really fun part of the race for me to be able to hold him off and run away from him. I've got to thank the guys for being able to keep the fuel in our car.

"The one race we had for Sony last year we were running away at Pocono and we had a fuel pump failure, and that basically took us out of contention for the win. To be able to come back and get the win in the one race we have them as a sponsor as the car is kind of gratifying for them and for us.

"We had a really good car from the start, obviously. But when our tire blew out, we got caught back there in traffic. The car got really tight. We tried staying out on old tires one time just to get the track position. It was good, but it also hurt us. That's pretty much it. It was up to us getting back our track position.

"I knew that if we could get back on the lead lap that we'd have a good shot at the win. When we did get back on the lead lap we had the opportunity to come in and get fuel at the end. With about 110 or 120 laps to go I told Matt (crew chief, Borland) to take fuel and we had enough in the end.

"This was satisfying to win the spring race and the fall race. I guess Jimmie Johnson and I aren't showing any flukes about our rookie runs last year.

"We benefited from it (the yellow-flag rule revisions). The No. 17 was on the same pit strategy as us too. He decided to come in and fuel up with 75 laps to go. So, we weren't the only ones to have the opportunity to win.

"Jeremy raced me clean. I've got to thank him for that. We've got Dodges coming home one-two, so that says a little something there. We're just looking forward to the rest of the season. This was our seventh win, and we've got seven poles. That's really awesome.

"In the first part of the race our car was awesome until we cut that tires. That put us back a little bit - both our track position and our speed. We fought lapped traffic for awhile and fought getting our lap back. Once we did that I knew we had a pretty good car. Before that it was just a matter of getting our balance back."

JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Intrepid) -

"Well it sucks in one way, but it's great in the other. We had a good car today and the guys did a great job. Our Dodge ran good all day. The motor ran good. We had great pit stops, and great calls by Kenny (crew chief, Francis) and all of the guys on the team. It was just a good day for us. We came up from 25th, and this was probably the best car that I've ever had here. It's a shame that we couldn't get the win. We just got tight at the end. That's kind of what we seemed to do all day. The car just got tighter and tighter as the day when on. Overall, it was a good day for us.

"This team has made progress, and it shows. This is a great race team. You hear a lot of rumors and all of that stuff, but whoever would tear this race team apart is crazy. That's all I can say, and I'll say it straight up. This is a good race team. Everybody works together good, and we're just now starting to get going. It's just a shame that we couldn't have brought a win home today. Overall, it was just a great day for us. Our Dodge ran good all day. We had a chance to win the race again, and we came up short. We started 25th and worked our way up there. We just kept battling all day, and it was just a good day for us.

On whether or not he rubbed with Ryan Newman fighting for the lead... "A little bit. It was just racing. I thought we put on a good show. That's part of it. You've got to go out there and race hard. Ryan and I raced each other at Richmond, and it was the same as here today. My was tight, and I got into him a little bit. He was loose and came down into me a little bit. But, we both respect each other and didn't do anything crazy.

"Our tires were pretty good all day. Ours stayed consistent all day. We didn't really have what you'd call a bad set. It seemed like they worked good for us. I know Tony looked like he got a bad set one time. Other than that, I didn't notice anything different on ours.

On whether the race should have been stopped during the 28-lap caution... "I think it was early in the race. I had seen what was going on right there, and I think they thought that they could fix it sooner that what they did. The good thing about it is they did fix it instead of leaving it like that. I'd hate to see them stop the race so early if it would only take a few laps to fix it. It did take quite a bit of time, but I don't think it affected the outcome of the race.

On the caution rule-revision... "Unfortunately, it turned out that the guy won the race on the first day that we did it. I'm sure NASCAR has their hands full with that. Overall, I thought it was a good thing. As they said yesterday in the meeting, there might be some adjusting going on. It just so happens that the No. 12 car was part of that deal, and he was still a good enough car to win the race. I don't think that that's what won the race for him. He would have made his lap up anyway, probably. It's just part of it. It just so happens that the first time we've ever done it, the guy won the race. NASCAR will take care of that. But my thoughts on it are that it's a good thing. It's still the safest way to go. I think NASCAR had a good judgment on that. We'll see what happens in the future.

On taking his second place finishes to the next level... "Well, that's part of it. I feel like you've got to do that before you start wining races. We could've hooked up in one race, and then fell off in a couple of others. This shows that we're consistent, and that we're here to stay, hopefully, week in and week out. I think the worst we've finished in the last four or five weeks is 11th. That shows our team is on its way to good things in the future. You know, you've got to finish second a few times and get beaten real bad... I was telling the guys earlier, 'You finish third and it's not too bad - you're pretty happy. But if you finish second you're madder than you know what.' It's weird. We should be happy to finish second, and we are, but you only get the opportunity once in awhile and when you get it and you come so close it just makes you mad. But you've got to go through that before you start winning."

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid) -

"We were just too tight - too tight in the center all day. One time we got it about right, but other than that it was just too tight in the center. (On a driver getting an automatic lap back on yellow flags.) I think it's bullcrap, really. I mean, if you're a lap down I don't say you give them a lap back. You know, if you got a lap down you need to stay a lap back unless you can race your way back into it and earn it. So, I don't like it the way it is."

BILL WILBURN (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid) -

"We were just too tight to really make a move up through the field. We hung on and got a top-10. We've just got to finish in the top-10 every week from here on out, and get as many top-fives and a couple wins like I've been saying. We were just too tight all day to really make a run at it like we needed to. We freed the car up all day long. We made an adjustment every pit stop. On a couple of stops we made some big adjustments. Still, we were just too tight at the end.

"When the last caution came out we pitted for two tires. I think the No. 48, the No. 20 and No. 16 got by us on four tires. But we got by the No. 88, 21, and we probably should've gotten by that No. 17 to get a ninth or an eighth place finish. We might have done a little better if we had taken four tires on that last stop, but I doubt it. Track position is still critical, as we know. So, we got a top-10. That's all we can say that's good right now.

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Intrepid) -

"There at the end we just got really loose and couldn't go nowhere. We ran good for the guys early, but we just couldn't keep it going."

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