UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - GM Qualifying Quotes

JEFF GREEN, NO. 30 AOL CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"The car drove really good. We tightened it up just a touch. We didn't really know what the racetrack was going to do. We got it just a little bit tight, but you can go faster tighter than you can loose. That's a good lap for us."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"Our focus right now is to really start qualifying in the top 10 and the top 15, and hopefully this qualifying effort will do that for us here. We race really well, but I've forgotten how to qualify. Something is going on in qualifying, so we're looking forward to getting that back on track."

(ON BEING A FACTOR SUNDAY) "We had a great test out here. Race-wise - I've got the rhythm and understanding for the race and Chad (Knaus) knows exactly how to put a setup under the car to save the tires, so we're in good shape. It's just that in qualifying we're having to dig ourselves out of a pretty big hole. We're working hard on getting away from that hole so we can race for the win instead of racing for top fives."

ROBBY GORDON, NO. 31 CINGULAR CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"I'm kind of disappointed. I honestly thought we'd be a lot better than that. Everybody else picked up and we made some adjustments on our car that just loosened us up way too much. We were actually better before. The track changed also, so we didn't stay with the track change."

TONY STEWART, NO. HOME DEPOT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

(HOW WAS YOUR LAP?) "It was pretty animated. I wrecked in one and didn't hit anything; went down into three and missed the entry. It should have run a 'teen' probably - it probably should be on the pole right now. I told them, 'If you guys ever get a driver that can qualify you'll win a lot more poles. But, like they said, it doesn't pay a dime to qualify. The big money is on Sunday and I think we're pretty good to go."

JERRY NADEAU, NO. 01 USG PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"We should have been a little bit better than that. We had a good race car. I think between the dampness - I couldn't see out of the windshield - no excuses - it was just hard to see.

"I could have had the pole, I think, pretty easy. Maybe if I had gone out a little earlier and had tightened up the car a little bit, but I'm happy with top 10s."

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

(YOU TOOK A SHOT AT THE POLE...) "I wanted to get it. I'm kind of disappointed. I made a lot of mistakes out there, but we've still got a good car.

"The car was a little bit free-er than it was earlier today, so I should have been able to figure it out and get a better lap. I couldn't keep the car on the bottom like I wanted to. A little bit of time - that's it.

"If you don't reach down there and grab it, you ain't going to get it. I should have gotten the pole. I should have gotten it."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"That was a great effort by us. It was a heck of a lap. We tested well out here. It's a little disappointing, but heck - I'm just glad to be up toward the front. It seems like it's been a little while since we've qualified up front.

"Obviously, we learned a lot while we tested here. It's good to get that new Monte Carlo. It's good to have one on the pole. Bobby (Labonte) put a heck of a lap together. We can't be disappointed with how well we ran today."

(DID YOU REALLY THINK ANYBODY WOULD RUN AS FAST AS BOBBY DID?) "I think because of the conditions is why we ran so fast. When it's this cool and dark and you've got the lights on, you're going to have some really fast speeds. I did think when we ran some '20s' in practice that somebody would go faster. I actually thought we would go even faster than we did. I was surprised when we ran that '25' that it hung on as long as it did."

(DID YOUR VISOR WANT TO FOG UP?) "It can get pretty cool out there - the air and your breath - when you breathe it will fog up the shield. But, I've got a pretty good de-fog system in the helmet that I use, so I didn't have a problem. When I left pit road I closed my shield and the first breath I took, it fogged and cleared right up. Then I wondered if I should open my shield and crack it a little bit. Then, I remembered that I was going to be holding my breath a whole lap anyway, so it doesn't matter."

(DID THE RAIN DELAY AFFECT YOUR PLANS TONIGHT?) "Unfortunately, it did. I had a fan club meeting today at 5:30 (p.m.) and they were on hold, on hold. I said, 'Well, if I don't qualify good then I'll be right over. If I qualify good I've got to stick around and go to the media center.' Especially with as good as things were looking there for a potential pole, we had to stick it out to the end. We called over there. I know how my fans. I'm sure they're excited on one side that we had a shot at the pole, so I'm going to do it tomorrow after practice is over."

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"It was pretty fast. It was good. We rolled off the truck today - the Interstate Batteries Chevrolet was good from the first lap on. We just had to tweak on it today and we did that about two or three times. We made a couple of adjustments before qualifying and the car was really good.

"It took the first lap to get going because, to me, the tires were cold. But, I'm really pleased with the way the lap was. It was just a good fast lap. I knew it was a good lap. I just didn't know how fast."

(DOES THIS HELP GET THE TEAM PUMPED UP FOR SUNDAY?) "It really does. When we came out here to test we never made any qualifying runs out here during the test. We just practiced race stuff because I don't consider myself a very good driver here at this track because I can never really seem to be as smooth as I need to be. But, we worked on it a lot and that probably helped out a lot for today. Hopefully, it will carry on until tomorrow."

(HOW DID THE RAIN DELAY AFFECT YOUR SCHEDULE TODAY?) "I got a few things done that I probably wouldn't have gotten to if we were practicing. But, I did have an appearance tonight. Me and Ricky Rudd had a Coca Cola appearance, so we're not going to be able to make that now, so it did affect us a little bit. Obviously, I'm glad we got qualifying in because we were going to start 17th or 18th if we hadn't. I felt like after practice that we had a good enough race car to start better than that. We kept working on it, and making it better and better, so I was glad that the rain didn't come back in and held off for us to go qualify. So, it did screw up the day in some ways, but it helped us out a lot, too."

(ON BOTH HE AND TONY STEWART QUALIFYING IN THE TOP 10) "We both tested out here in January. He was better than I was in race trim, so I had to really count on him a lot because his car was better than mine was and has been the past two or three years here, so I was kind of leaning on him a little bit trying to figure out what I was doing wrong and try to get my car better - watching his driving style, looking at computer data - stuff like that."

(ON GETTING A POLE IN A CHEVROLET IN JUST YOUR THIRD ATTEMPT THIS YEAR) "It's a great little race car. We've got some new race cars in our fleet. I think just about all of them will be brand new chassis with the new body style on them. I've got to thank 'Fatback' (Michael McSwain), too. This is our first year together. I think we've clicked really well since we've started off testing the day after Homestead last year. It's just really been good. I think I'm fortunate just to get to drive this race car because it's the people behind the car that make it all happen --- the guys that build it back at the shop -- Jimmy (Makar), Fatback, and Zippy leading the thing, getting all the parts and pieces right, the bodies - whatever you can do to it to make it the best that we can make it - Mark (Cronquist) and our motor room to make the horsepower - those guys. So, it's important for me to drive it, but it's really important for those guys to be able to have the stuff there, so I've just got to really thank them.

"It's a good little race car, but it all starts from the pieces back at the shop. They form it and fabricate it and make it really fun to drive and makes me look better than what I probably am."

(WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF RACING HERE?) "The corners - just being wide and sweeping corners, I feel like. Qualifying tonight is one thing, but I feel like I'll have a different line for the race. Qualifying is pretty much wide open. You're in the gas, turning a lot...where the race setup, we'll probably be on the bottom. Some guys will be on the top. It's just a different characteristic from qualifying to the race. Qualifying, you're just hauling butt. You're using up all the racetrack. In the race, you want to be able to get your car to turn in the center of the corner after 30 laps because the tires do give up grip. That is a big challenge for me during the race part is to get your car freed up in the middle without getting it too loose on entry and exit."

©Copyright 2003 Race 2 Win