Subway 400 - Ford Qualifying Quotes

GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 Grainger Taurus (Qualified 13th) - "I just knew the lap times picked up a bunch and I knew I had to be conservative. I was being too erratic out there on my practice runs, so I laid down what I felt was a pretty conservative first lap. I got a feel for the race track and I had a beautiful second lap going. I'm telling you, it was nothing but nice and I got into turn three and got it sideways and lost a couple tenths. I'm pretty disappointed with myself. I'm excited about the guys because they did a great job. The Grainger Ford ran really well in qualifying trim, but I left at least two tenths on the table down in three and four. That kind of gets me because maybe a .50 would have been the pole, but we'll see."

KURT BUSCH - No. 97 Rubbermaid Taurus (Qualified 27th) - "We thought we had a good handle on it. We unloaded like we thought we needed to and made just two small adjustments and that completely threw the Rubbermaid Ford off. I don't know why. It's just qualifying, though. It's no biggie." HOW IMPORTANT IS PRACTICE TIME HERE? "You need time here. You just can't go get a feel with four or five laps like you can at other places. The car feels like a million bucks here for 10 laps and then it feels like you've got banana peels under you from lap 10 to lap 60. After lap 60, you want to come in and get tires, but you still have to go a little bit further so you don't short yourself on fuel and create an extra pit stop throughout the race." THERE'S TALK OF ROCKINGHAM POSSIBLY LOSING A RACE IN THE FUTURE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? "I really enjoy racing here. It does have a unique feeling about it. We come here the second race of the year and then not until the third race from the end, so there's a wide spread between races. It's a great race track to race on because you have to conserve your tires, you can race three-wide, pit strategy really comes into play and it's close to home. I really can't pinpoint a track that deserves to lose a date, so I've just got to say that this is a great place to race at and it would be tough to see them lose a date. It seems like all of the tracks we're creating lately are just single-groove type race tracks that are tough to break in, so it would be tough to lose this one."

DAVE BLANEY - No. 77 Jasper Engines Taurus (Qualified 1st) - "We had a really good car in practice. We went out for the first 30 or 40 minutes in race trim and we were good. Then we made a sticker run in qualifying trim right at the end of practice and we were as good as anybody's second tire run, so I knew we had a shot at it. Hopefully, that ends up in the first three or four rows and we'll be good." ARE YOU PLEASED? "We're really pleased. We were a little bit scared coming in because we had a brand new car that we had never tested or did anything with, and we had a lot of different stuff than we're used to running. Everybody did a great job on it. We ran a lot of race trim stuff early this morning and I was really impressed with that, so it was a bonus to get a good qualifying lap." IS IT GOOD TO BE HERE AFTER DAYTONA, A PLACE THAT MIGHT SUIT THE TEAM MORE? "Yeah, it's more fun for us. When you drive it, you're lose, you're tight. You can sling it around and it's a lot more fun."

JEFF BURTON - No. 99 CITGO Taurus (Qualified 43rd) - "I honestly, really and truly cannot tell you what just happened. I was coming up to speed and wasn't going hard when I lost the rear tires. The rear tires starting spinning so I got off the throttle and I just couldn't catch back up with it. I don't know." YOU SURVEYED THE DAMAGE. "It didn't hit that hard, I don't think, but it hit hard enough in qualifying to where the wheels are bent and I'm sure the ball joints are bent. I just don't know what else to say."

RICKY RUDD - No. 21 Motorcraft Taurus (Qualified 28th) - "We worked on race setup most of the morning. We started the morning with a qualfying attempt and the car was too tight. They freed it up when we did make our qualifying run and that helped put some speed in it, but we needed a little bit more. It was just a little bit too tight and that probably hurt us a tenth in each corner, which is two tenths and that's a bunch today. But I feel pretty good about deciding to go on race setup. I think half the field worked on race setup, so we learned some things on that which will help us if we don't get a chance to run because of the rain tomorrow."

MARK MARTIN - No. 6 Viagra Taurus (Qualified 3rd) - SPARKS WERE FLYING OFF THE TURN. "Yeah, we were going fast enough to drag. We got a real nice lap. I scared myself the first lap, probably a little bit too much because I was about shook up by the time I got done with the second lap. I was really surprised the second lap was faster. It's real fun for me to go after it all the first lap. I like one-lap qualifying. I like doing that to myself. That's how I do my deal. As cold as it is, the tires are not really in so I had it on the knife edge for sure."

DALE JARRETT - No. 88 UPS Taurus (Qualified 9th) - "We picked up a lot in qualifying. These guys did a great job working on the car and making changes. I think it just shows the communication between the two teams with Brad and myself and Chris Hill. Everything is going really well, so I was glad to see it picked up. When I first went out this afternoon I couldn't even drive this thing, so we're pretty happy with that. It will be a decent starting spot and I think the race package will be really good Sunday." QUALIFYING IS PRETTY CLOSE HERE. "Yeah, I've never seen it this close. I'm sitting there in ninth and it's only eight-hundreths off what the pole speed is right now. That's generally more of what you would see at a half-mile track, but not at a place like Rockingham where it's so hard to get around. It might be a pretty incredible race come Sunday."

MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DEWALT Power Tools Taurus (Qualified 18th) - "I'm really happy to be 17th. That was a great job by the DEWALT team. I think we've got a good car. We didn't do any qualifying practice at all and the way NASCAR had tech today and we were in the tech line and got out there so late, I was just out of sorts. I tried to get too much and screwed up my second lap or else we probably could have been a little better, but, overall, it was a great effort for us."

ELLIOTT SADLER - No. 38 M&M's Taurus (Qualified 11th) - "I'm so happy with that. We were really worried about qualifying here. We didn't really test down here, but the M&M's Ford Taurus was very good. I'm proud of these guys. We were only 20th-quick in practice. They tuned the motor up a little bit and made a few changes and they definitely went in the right direction on every step. I messed up the second lap going for it, but they did good." ANY PROBLEMS GETTING TO THE LINE? "I think everybody was slow there at the end. I think NASCAR is just trying to be so thorough with this being the first time at a short track with these body rules, so they were just being thorough. We went through OK."

DAVE BLANEY POLE WINNING INTERVIEW - "It feels great. I just feel so good for the whole Jasper team. They put in so much work this winter. We've got all kinds of new guys come in on top of the guys we had and we're really excited about the whole year. We thought we'd come out looking good. We didn't think we'd come out and get the pole, but it is definitely a great deal. I thank Bootie and everybody back at the shop for building these cars. It was a great day." YOU MADE A LOT OF CHANGES. "Yeah, we have different kinds of cars, different people building them. We just have a whole bunch of new things. We're just trying to improve our team a little bit everywhere. On paper I was real excited because I felt we did that, but you never know until you come out and race."

MARK MARTIN PRESS CONFERENCE - "With the new templates we had to put a whole new body on it, so we went into race trim and that's given us a little bit more a time. We've got a little bit of homework to do on the thing to make it as good as it was last year. I think that'll be a great challenge, but it was a great run for us. We hit it just right. I had a great lap, the second lap especially. The first lap I thought I was getting all there was there and I had to hold my breath. I just about ran out of breath by the time I got done with the second lap and I was glad it was over with when we finished. When I was in the middle of three and four I thought, 'Man, I better just slow down and rest here a minute,' but we made it all the way to the line. It was a lot faster than I thought it would be. When he said an .82 the first lap I thought, 'Well, maybe we'll run an .80 or a .78,' which is what we ran in practice, but I guess the car hooked up better than I thought and hit it just right." WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE IN RACE TRIM? "I do know about a lot of these other guys, but for us we have lost a lot of downforce compared to last year and we miss that a lot more in race trim when you take the tape off the radiator. It's gonna be more difficult for us to get the kind of performance we got last year with our cars right now because we've suffered quite a bit of a loss based on the '03 templates. We have known this since mid-November, so we're gonna have to go to work. We saw it more today in race trim than ever." WILL IT MATTER WHERE YOU START? "I'll just say that not many people worked that hard on qualifying today. This is not a typical day and this is one of the greatest race tracks there is for racing and for passing, so I don't think anyone was concerned about having to start in the back here like they would be at a lot of other places. I think it has to do more with ease of passing and the safety issues. We don't run over each other a lot here and the passing issue and the weather and what have you." ARE YOU SURPRISED THE FASTEST CHEVY WAS 10TH? "I'm very surprised. It may just be a coincidence. The weekend's not over with yet, but, yeah, I noticed that. I'm sweating that. That crowd is awfully happy - a lot happier with their cars than they were with their cars last year and we are not as happy with our cars as we were last year, so that, obviously, is something that I'm watching and concerned about. This is racing, man. There are all kinds of coincidences, although I don't think Daytona was a coincidence every single time. We saw those guys really consistently dominate, but this is great, man. We're back racing and we're gonna learn a lot of stuff the next few weeks here and we'll all be able to talk a lot more intelligently about those kinds of issues after we get a couple of these races under our belt."

DAVE BLANEY PRESS CONFERENCE - "I was so pleased with our car the first run of the day. We went out and did some race trim and went out and made 15-18 laps and I was just so impressed. I was a little apprehensive coming down. The guys just built this thing brand new. It was a different kind of car, type of body, everything from what we've been used to and we didn't do any testing with it, so I didn't know what we would have. I was very, very happy with it and then it was more of a bonus that it qualified well. Right now I know it will race well Sunday, regardless of what happens tomorrow, so we're thrilled. Bootie has just re-energized our whole team. The owners did a great job bringing new people in this winter all through the shop, and the pit crew, and Bootie's got a great attitude instilled in them. I thought we were a greatly improved team on paper, but you never know until you come out and race."

BOOTIE BARKER, Crew Chief - No. 77 Jasper Engines Taurus - "I feel great about the race car. The race setup, I was really happy with, it did what Dave and I wanted it to do so I guess I'm more pleased with that."

MARK HARRAH, Co-Owner - No. 77 Jasper Engines Taurus - IS THERE ANY CONCERN ABOUT THE PENSKE-JASPER ENGINE SITUATION? "Actually, it was not a question at all about it because Jasper owns 33 percent of Penske engines - call it Penske-Jasper South. We talked about it and there was no question and no doubt in my mind that Penske-Jasper engines could do the job this year. They've done a great job over there. We've got a lot more horsepower. We went down to Daytona with a lot and we're looking forward to this year with the engine program we've got."

DAVE BLANEY CONTINUED - "I don't know, maybe we had one of those Ryan Newman qualifiers from last year."

MARK HARRAH CONTINUED - COULDN'T IT CREATE SOME PROBLEMS, THOUGH? "If you ever get a chance, Penske-Jasper South down in Concord is an awesome facility. It's second to none. If you ever go by there, you'll understand why we can do both and still be on top of the horsepower game. They've done a great job. Scott Corrier has replaced Larry Wallace. Larry retired and he's obviously doing a good job for them."

DAVE BLANEY CONTINUED - HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE IS RACE AND QUALIFYING SETUP? "There's a good amount of difference, but everybody kind of knows how much they need to change it to get the setup right. The main thing we were looking at is we had new equipment and had never been on the track before, so we wanted to get a feel for what it was gonna take for us to get going Sunday and not start the race way off, so that's the main reason we did it. A lot of guys didn't do it, so we kind of did what we needed to do for us." HOW IS IT TO WIN YOUR FIRST POLE? "It's pretty cool. Sunday is when it really counts, that will be really cool. Man, like I said, I knew we were gonna be a lot better team this year, but I sure didn't expect to come out and win the pole at Rockingham. It's gonna be fun. We've got a lot better team this year and we're gonna do some damage I hope." IT MEANS A LOT DOESN'T IT? "It does mean a lot. Anytime you can get one of these things, it puts you in that group for (the Bud Shootout) and it's a big deal. These Jasper guys have had a team for a long time. They deserve some poles and wins and we're gonna get after it." DO YOU CARE WHERE THAT FIRST WIN COMES? "I don't care where that happens. Here is fine. Anywhere would be fine for me to get that first one and get over the hump. Man, that's a huge hump to get over, but I think once you do it comes so much easier. I know I've been through that in different forms of racing. I don't know what it is, but it's in your head and you just can't get over it until you win one." IF THERE IS NO PRACTICE TOMORROW IS THAT GOOD FOR YOU? "Like I said, we feel good about our race setup. We're good enough to start and comfortable to start where we're at, so it's probably good for us. I don't know how many guys ran race trim today - 10 or 12 - so we feel good. Either way we feel good." AFTER YOUR RUN WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE RAIN? "Yeah, I was worried. I knew it would rain with five guys to go and start me 19th on points. I knew it, but then all those guys were messing around at the end and wouldn't run, but that's alright - a little stress does you good."

MARK HARRAH CONTINUED - THIS IS THE TEAM'S FIRST POLE. "I think it's a surprise to everybody but ourselves. Dave and Bootie and I worked hard through the winter time with our team to get it where we were and we have high expectations for ourselves. I don't think this will be the last time you see us here. It was obviously no surprise to us that we came here and unloaded well. We had the confidence to pass several tests the last couple of weeks. We came here with a brand new car and knew that we would probably do good. The choice of getting Bootie here has been awesome. He's done a great job this winter and the guys at the shop have been working 16-hour days getting cars done, so we felt like this was probably our weaker car of the cars we have done, so we're getting real excited about Vegas and Atlanta now that we've shown what we can do at Rockingham."

DAVE BLANEY CONTINUED - IS IT A RELIEF TO GET HERE AFTER DAYTONA? "It is for me, basically because we didn't have a very fast car at Daytona, so it was a struggle. Daytona is cool too, it's such a big race, but you're there for such a long time that it gets you down a little bit. Here, you get after it. You race the car. You're tight, you're loose, you work with your crew and you fix it. It's just back to racing and I think all the racers enjoy it."

BOOTIE BARKER CONTINUED - HOW TOUGH WAS TECH TODAY? "We actually went and got our sticker last night. Pat built it with Mike and the rest of the guys and it fit the templates pretty well. There were just a few minor things Billy made us fix, but, like I said, last night we had a sticker."

DAVE BLANEY CONTINUED - DOES THIS POLE MEAN A LOT FOR SUNDAY? "The pole means a lot to me, but it probably won't mean a lot as far as what happens Sunday. I'm in total agreement on that, but, to me, it just means our race team is going in the right direction. We've got better race cars and I think a better mix of people throughout. That's what's exciting to me."

©Copyright 2003 Race 2 Win