Southern 500 - Dodge Qualifying Quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge Intrepid)

NOTE: Newman captured his circuit-leading sixth pole of the season and 13th of his career. He won seven poles in 2002, his Raybestos Rookie of the Year season, and captured the Bud Pole Award in the process.

"The guys did a great job with the car. We were struggling through two hours of practice, and we finally got a decent lap in. It wasn't a good time lap, but it was a good run and I really enjoy this racetrack. I've got a good team, and I've been able to keep it out of the fence here. That's a pretty good combination.

"The guys did an awesome job. We weren't the greatest when we unloaded. The team did an awesome job to make the car better and better. We cut a good enough lap to beat Jimmie (Johnson). He had a good car, too. We just look forward to the Southern 500. It's a big race and neat to be on the pole for the last one. It's definitely special. I want to thank Buddy Baker for all the things he's done to help me, especially get around this place. It's definitely an historical place, and I had some legendary help with our team."

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

"We've had a great car all day. It was going to be really fast. We were going for it. It's the last Mountain Dew Southern 500 here on Labor Day. We wanted to get the pole for 'em. We were going hard and trying hard and came off turn two and brushed the wall a little bit. I think we'll be all right. We've got to go to a backup now."

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Intrepid)

"This morning the car was pretty loose, especially in one and two. We tested here about two weeks ago, but this is my first trip here to race. We made the car better the whole practice session and made a big change for qualifying. That made a big difference. I went about three tenths quicker, so I'm pretty happy. The fact that I haven't been involved a long time with NASCAR, it's hard for me to realize, but from what people tell me this is definitely a great place. On Sunday, I guess I'm supposed to race the track and not the other cars."

JIMMY SPENCER (No. 7 Sirius Satellite Radio Dodge Intrepid)

"We got in the corner and got a little loose. We put the power back to it and headed back up the track. It was a little hot and slick, and we got loose. It's pretty special (recent fan support). I can't believe how supportive they are of the incident that happened in the past. All in all, I can't thank them enough for their support. We're not worried about that now. We're at Darlington. We had a really good car. We're going to a backup now. We tore it all to pieces. We made a mistake."

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge Intrepid) - Pole Interview

"I didn't get everything out of the racecar in turns one and two. I was a little tight in turn one. I knew if I could push it through I could carry the speed through one and two. I think the track was in good shape for everybody today. The track seemed to be a lot better as far as the bumps go. I think they've been able to fix that. I think my strong point today in qualifying was getting through three and four. We were really fast there and the car felt really good. This is one of the toughest places to qualify, but it's definitely fun when everything happens right.

"It's a great racetrack. It's a driver's racetrack. No two ends of the racetrack are the same or neither end of the racetrack is the same. To me, it's a lot of fun to drive on. Obviously your car has got to be handling and everything else, but it's disappointing the things that are happening to the racetrack itself and the market that it's in. I wish somebody would take notice and build a racetrack like this, the walls in the same place and put it some place else in a better market if it were possible.

"No special rivalry (with Jimmie Johnson). We go out there and compete against each other. That's a rivalry if you want to call it that, but we're good friends on and off the track. We've been fortunate enough not to step on each other's toes, basically the year and a half we've been racing against each other. That makes it a lot of fun.

"It goes without saying it's going to hurt the tradition. If you look up tradition in the dictionary it's got something to do with the same thing happening year after year, and it's not going to happen year after year. Without a doubt, yeah, things change, times change and people change, but I'm glad we're still going to compete at this racetrack. Like I said, I enjoy it. It's a great racetrack. It's one of the few races we don't have to worry about fuel mileage, necessarily. We'll see what happens on Sunday. Everybody in here knows the best race of the year was the one with Kurt and Ricky (earlier this season at Darlington).

"I can't say what's bad or good for the sport. I don't know enough about it from the financial standpoint and a marketing standpoint and everything else. From a racing standpoint, I really like driving here and that's where I'll leave it.

"It's a tough track no doubt, but good drivers should be able to adapt to any situation, and I think both Jimmie and I have done an above average job when it comes to rookies at doing that. Obviously we've got great teams and great people behind us and great sponsors, but we've got to run the laps and keep the car out of the wall, and it's something that's fun to do here. "

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Havoline Dodge Intrepid)

"That's not bad. It could have been better, but starting 17th at Darlington isn't that bad. I think our Havoline Dodge will be good in race trim. We just haven't figured out the qualifying stuff yet. The race Sunday is very long, and we'll be fine. We survived Bristol and got a good finish, so hopefully we can do that again this week."

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid)

"We definitely did much better at qualifying today than we have been doing the last few weeks. The Coors Light Dodge crew has been working really hard today in the hot sun to get the car where it needed to be. I am sad this is the last Southern 500 on Labor Day Weekend, but I feel good about my chances of winning on Sunday."

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid)

"Well, if I didn't tag the wall, we could have had a lot better starting position. The car just got away from me in turn two for a minute, but we pulled off a pretty good starting spot (21st) for almost wrecking."

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