Gatorade 125s - Ford Post-Race Quotes

RICKY RUDD - No. 21 Motorcraft Taurus (Finished 3rd) - "It didn't drive quite as well as we would've liked to have it, but that car's great. Those guys worked hard. We got a fast race car, we just got to work on it just a little bit better just to get it to drive just a bit better." IT LOOKED LIKE STAYING IN LINE WAS THE PLACE TO BE. "The outside line, for some reason today, didn't work. It was working in practice for everybody, and anybody that went out there went backwards. I think that kept the race kind of calm, because anybody that went out there went backward, and everybody said, 'I can't afford to get out there,' so nobody did. I think a lot of people stayed in line. It was real important for a lot of these guys to get in this race, that transfer spot, I darn sure didn't want to get back there. I had a couple of runs at the 30 car, and wasn't the time to make a run." WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY? "I learned that the outside line didn't work at all, and the wind kind of got these cars moving around a little bit today, but it was a lot calmer race than I expected, I think, mainly, because the outside groove did not work. Anybody that got out there went backwards and it tended to keep everybody single file." IS YOUR CONFIDENCE SKY HIGH? THIS TEAM HASN'T HAD A HICCUP ALL WEEK. "It's been good. This whole race, the whole goal is to come in and try to win the Daytona 500. We qualified fifth on overall speed and run third today in the 125, right there in the thick of things, and just sort of sneaking up on it, and don't want to peak to early, and getting ready for Sunday. We've got a good race car." YOU GOT TO RUN AROUND UP FRONT. DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THAT? "We've been chasing a little bit of handling problems and we gained on it a lot. We're pretty good. Nobody was really racy out there on the outside. Our goal was to stay in line. We don't need to try and be a superstar and go back to 20th, and that's what it looked like today. If you made a move, everybody was in line enough, that if you made a move and it didn't work, you went to the back, and we couldn't afford that." LEARN ANYTHING FOR THE 500? "Yeah, we learned a little bit. We got a good race car, I know that, got a fast race car. Work on the handling just a little bit, we weren't real good the other day, but each day we get a little bit better with this race car. Fast, but we got to keep it under me all day."

JEFF BURTON - No. 99 CITGO Taurus (Finished 5th) - "We just didn't have a fast car. I think we can make it better after today. I think I know how to make the car based on the way it drove. Just make it a little better, they'll know we're there." LOOKING FORWARD TO SUNDAY? "It's going to be a long race. Handling's going to matter. The car's out there lost the handle pretty good, and being able to get the car to handle well is really important. We handled pretty good, we need to make it better. Start with that, and this car drives no where good as that other car. They were going to know we were real with that other car." HAPPY WITH THE RUN? "Yeah, I'm really happy with that. We fought a lot of adversity this week, and to get a top-five, that's kick-ass. I mean, that's a great effort. Great stop on pit road. This team has been doing a lot the last two weeks. We had a new right-front tire changer that had emergency surgery, so, luckily, we have really good people in our shop, and he went in there and did a great job today. Pit road was big for us. We made up a lot of spots." WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING ON THE CAR FOR AUNDAY? "We still need some speed. But, make that thing handle and try to find a little more speed, and we'll be fine." YOU STARTED TOWARD THE BACK AND MOVED UP. "There were a couple of keys in the race. A great pit stop got us some positions, and there at the end, Sterling stuck in there with me, went everywhere I went, and that was a big deal. It was real close to a wreck on the back straightaway, a bunch of people got crossed up, I could stay in the gas, and got under them. That was probably the biggest point in the week for us."

DALE JARRETT - No. 88 UPS Taurus (Finished 6th) - "We got to where I couldn't keep the car down. I couldn't keep it down through the tri-oval and that's how I got shuffled out to start with. Then I couldn't keep it down in the corners and off the corner I just had to find a spot until we fixed it. Fortunately, I didn't wreck it or somebody else. We made as many big adjustments as you can make on a 10-second pit stop, but we made it better and I was able to work with Jeff Burton and Sterling and we were able to make up some ground. That gives us a little hope." HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SUNDAY? "You can make some passes, but you know you're taking a chance. The only way you can take a chance is to the inside and they're gonna protect that. I thought the other night the outside groove was showing that you might be able to go there, but it certainly wasn't showing that today. Towards the end of the run, if the guys get bottled up on the inside you can go to the outside and make a pass or two, but it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be tough to pass these Chevrolets. I didn't see them get passed all day until they jumped out of line and started trying to make things happen. We were kind of following along, but we'll work and see if we can get better. It's our job to do that. They've worked hard to get their cars where they are and now we've got to work hard."

GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 Grainger Taurus (Finished 14th) - HOW DOES IT FEEL TO MAKE YOUR FIRST DAYTONA 500? "I'm really excited. The car drafts up fairly decent. We just need to get a little bit better. I learned a lot drafting out there with these guys and I'm just excited to be able to start the 500." DID YOU STAY IN LINE? "No, I didn't. I should have stayed in line because if I would have, I would have been fourth. I tried to make a move there at the end to get a little bit better and it cost me some spots. I was getting greedy." YOU WERE CONCERNED AT THE TEST. DO YOU FEEL SOME RELIEF NOW? "The relief was when the 17 gave us one of their cars to bring back. I really appreciate their help and effort by giving us a car. That's what got us into the 500."

MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DEWALT Power Tools Taurus (Finished 16th) - THAT WAS A BIG FIGHT FOR THE TRANSFER SPOT. "Yeah, it was a disappointing race for us. I made a mistake early and got in the back of Steve Park. I feel bad about that. I had a run on him and I thought I was gonna get turned under him and didn't, but then, after that, with this yellow line and out of bounds thing, nobody wants to pull out of line and take a chance. If you do, nobody wants to go with you. If you drive underneath them, they drive you over the yellow line and cut you off. I mean, I was three feet under Spencer and he drove me over the yellow line. It was either stay in the gas and cause a big wreck or let off and not pass anybody, so I guess they don't want you passing anybody."

RICKY RUDD PRESS CONFERENCE - HOW DO YOU FEEL? "I'm real happy that we've got this race under out belt and behind us. You've got to remember the big picture. This is mainly a qualifying race. It's an important race, but it's a qualifying race for us. I think by virtue of our speed, fifth-fastest on the time chart the other day coming into the 500, we were pretty much guaranteed a locked-in spot, so our goal was to stick to the gameplan and try to tag along there. We saw the right opportunity to try to go for the win, but that opportunity never came up. But I'm real pleased with this finish today." HOW DID THE PIT STOP AFFECT THE RACE? "I don't think it was a major factor. We were lucky that we came in and our guys had a good stop. We came back out on the race track about where we pitted. We came back out in that same position. I think we came in third and went out third, so our guys hit their stop really good. I can't speak for the rest of the field, but it really didn't change our outcome any. We debated about getting tires or no tires and right before the race started we decided to put on two tires regardless, just mainly to let a couple of the new guys working in get used to going over the wall together. They had a real good stop. I don't know what it was, but we maintained position and that was really good." WHAT ABOUT COMING OFF PIT ROAD WITH THE 31? "It really wasn't so much Robby, I guess it was Jeff Green. I guess he wanted to get lined up with his teammate really, really bad. I noticed it put a mark on our car and marked his car up a little bit. It was probably a little more aggressive of a move that maybe needed to take place. We didn't need our fenders knocked off and he didn't either. We broke away. It was all gonna sort itself out. I was gonna let the fast guys pull us around there because the main objective at that time was not racing each other, it was racing that pack behind us. That was the main purpose of working together like that. I'm not really sure. That was not a real smart move on his part, but everything else, everybody worked really good together. I think his adrenaline must have been going really, really high. We were sort of on cruise control at that point and it wasn't time to get too excited. But it ended up not being a factor." DID IT HURT YOUR CAR? "No, it didn't hurt it. I thought it might have because it hit pretty good. I thought it might have caved the fender in, but he also had a chance to hurt his fender too. I don't really understand it, but it all worked out and ended up not being a factor." DID YOU PIT SOONER THAN EXPECTED? "I think we talked before the race. I think we could have gone a little bit farther. I think Pat may have worked it out with some of the other Roush cars that were gonna pit around the same time. You wanted to be careful and not pit by yourself. You needed some guys to run with. That was a little early, but the key there was not pitting by yourself and you also didn't really want to pit with 15 guys tripping over each other trying to get into pit road. So that was not a factor for us. But that was set before the race, that number. I guess anywhere after lap 15 or so you could have pitted, but a couple of them got together and decided about lap 32." WHAT ABOUT THE GREEN FLAG RACING WITH THE SMALLER TANK? "It looks right now like it's here to stay. I guess it can be a factor. You guys saw it, I didn't. Did anybody have a problem or get left behind? It still looked like the same big pack that was there the time before. It does tend to put pressure on the pit crew. I kind of like the format, especially in the 125. Will it be a factor in the 500? Will it change things? It's really surprising me that we've been able to put two tires on these cars and have the cars still handle well. I really figured when we came in with the small fuel cell that guys would be putting on four tires at a time. At Talladega, everybody did two tires just as we have seen at Daytona. If the track continues to get greasier like it normally does by the time the 500 gets here, you might see four-tire stops. I don't think the small fuel cells seem to be breaking the fields up like maybe everyone anticipated, unless we go to four-tire stops. That's yet to be determined. Right now, the track has got good grip and we haven't seen a need for it. Sunday might be a different story. If your car is not handling, you've got to put four tires on, but nobody can afford to it now because they'll get a half-lap behind. It hasn't changed things a lot yet, but it may still be a factor in the 500." WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO RUN WITH DEI AND RCR ON SUNDAY? "I think there are two DEI and three Childress cars, so I guess we probably need five cars to break down so we can win. They all seem to be pretty good. I'm sure they've worked hard. They've come up with some kind of a combination that works. Their cars are really racy. They look like they drive good and they're definitely fast in the straightaway. We haven't seen Michael run yet, but I think he'll be a carbon copy of how good Dale, Jr's. car is. Gordon's car, he doesn't seem to be the powerhouse that he's been in years past. That's what maybe surprises me a little bit. I don't think we've seen a whole lot of Jimmie Johnson just yet. Terry Labonte looked pretty strong in the shootout, but it seems like the dominant cars are the DEI cars and the Childress cars." DO THE CHEVYS HAVE AN EDGE? "To be honest with you, I'm just so tickled to finish and to be running like we are down here this week. I had my fill of controversy last year. I'm gonna leave this up to Dale Jarrett or somebody and let them argue that point a little bit. The results are what they are. Is it because they're Chevrolets or is it because those teams have hit on something? At this point, I don't know. I'd be real interested to see what Dale Jarrett or Jeff Burton had to say." WERE PIT STOPS PRE-DETERMINED? "Like I said, our guys kind of got together and I think it's like, 'If we're running out there together, let's pick some lap that we're gonna pit on.' Like I said, our number was set before the race - 32. I don't know if we knew half the field was gonna pit about two laps later. I don't know if we knew that or not, but it worked out pretty good. It kept pit road from being too busy. If it worked like that on a plan, it went awfully smooth, but I don't think it was planned. I think everybody set some number." IS IT HARD TO PASS? "I pretty much played defense. I didn't really get a big chance to make an offensive run - maybe twice that whole run did I have that chance. I think the biggest thing you saw was the outside line did not move forward when cars tried to pass on the outside. That tended to keep the race more single-file. I think it has something to do with that tremendous wind down the backstretch. I think it's a pretty big headwind. If anybody got in that outside lane, it looked like they went backwards. We'll see. It really was a strange race. It was a lot different than I expected. I thought it would be three-wide and two-wide. It got like that at times, but this race is kind of tricky. You've got a short period of time, you've got that transfer spot in mind, and you look in your mirror and you've got 12-14 cars all running together. If you make a move, you go back to 14th and nobody wanted to do that. I think it kept people more in line today than in year's past."

ELLIOTT SADLER - No. 38 M&M's Taurus (Finished 9th) - "We had a really good race car, but I just wanted to make it through the day. Everybody used their head and everybody did some good, clean driving. It was a good job. We had a good car and it passed well. The handling on it was neutral, so we think we've got something to build on for Sunday." WHAT ABOUT SUNDAY? "We learned what we needed to do to get our car working a little bit better in the middle groove, so we'll work on that a little bit. At least we made it the whole run. The guys had a great pit stop. I messed up a little bit on pit road, but they had a great pit stop. We'll take that finish right there."

DAVE BLANEY - No. 77 Jasper Engines Taurus (Finished 21st) - WHAT HAPPENED ON THE PIT STOP? "I don't actually know if it ran out of fuel or if I just stalled it when I took off. All I know is it just quit running as I was trying to take off. Before that the car was fair. It would run along the outside pretty good, but we were way too aggressive on some of the shocks and springs. It was just all over the place anywhere but on the top of the race track, so we were just seeing what we could get and it was nothing."

TODD BODINE - No. 54 Army National Guard Taurus (Finished 3rd) - "That's great. I tell you who I'm happy for - all the guys back at the shop - the guys here too - but we came down here and tested and had two cars that were just terrible. We went home and the fab shop worked seven days a week, 14 hours a day and built this car. It didn't qualify that well, but we knew it was gonna run well in the draft and it did." THIS IS SPECIAL ISN'T IT? "I felt like we could be competitive. That was the main thing, just to be competitive and be in there and get in the 500. To run third against those DEI cars, that's pretty good. We're pretty proud of that." WHAT WILL YOU CHANGE FOR SUNDAY? "It's a little too tight up off the corner still. We fought that in practice and could never get it out. It was a little better and we think we know the right direction to go with this National Guard Ford. We'll be starting at the front, this is pretty cool." WHAT ABOUT YOUR DAY? "My spotter just kept saying, 'Keep it low, keep it on the bottom.' I watched the first race and the bottom was the place to be. I'll be darned if I was getting off of it. Even if they were in there, I wasn't gonna try anything. I was happy where I was." WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SMILED THIS BIG? "At Kentucky last year when I beat Greg Biffle (in a Busch race). This is a pretty big lift for this whole team. After what we went through last year, losing a sponsor, getting a sponsor and then losing a sponsor. To have Sam Belnavis to come on with a sponsor such as the National Guard, we feel like we're representing the thousands of men and women around the world that are protecting our country. We really feel that way. We've got the red, white and blue on our car and we're serving our country the best way we can and that's by trying to stay up front for the Armed Forces."

KURT BUSCH - No. 97 Rubbermaid Taurus (Finished 24th) - "A lot of events led to the final outcome. The only real thing that we need to explain is that I'm sorry for making the mistake that I had made. And, I hope that all of the people on pit road are safe, and that everybody that deserved to be in the show are in the show. So, I'm sorry to have that outcome."

TODD BODINE PRESS CONFERENCE - IS THERE SOME WEIGHT OFF YOUR SHOULDERS? "It's definitely a big relief. When you don't have a good qualify speed, like we didn't, when you finish 36th in points the year before like we did, you have to race your way in. Fortunately enough, we had a good car to do it. We caught a few good breaks along the way and stayed on the bottom of the track. I got a good push from Jimmie Johnson when they came up with that draft and here we are starting the race."

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