EA Sports 500 - GM Qualifying Quotes

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We ran the same thing we did in practice, just a little slower than Elliott [Sadler] did in practice, so that ought to be pretty good. I just can't thank the guys enough for giving me such a good car. We were top 10 in practice and hopefully we'll stay that way through the rest of it."

KEVIN LEPAGE, NO. 4 KODAK PONTIAC GRAND PRIX: "I don't know what to say. Everybody worked real hard to get this car where it needs to be, and that's where we practiced. I thought we could have picked up a little bit from some of the work that we did. But for some reason, we didn't and we'll just have to see where it stacks up at the end of the day. It's not for lack of work, I can tell you that."

RICKY CRAVEN, NO. 32 TIDE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX: "It's never enough. I don't think anybody is ever happy with their qualifying run with the exception of one person. It was an improvement and I'm certainly happy about that. We were looking to run a little more than that, maybe a .60 or a .70."

ROBBY GORDON, NO. 31 CINGULAR CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We killed our good car down in Daytona, and it seems like we worked on that car for two years and kept making improvements and making improvements on it. We came out of the box with this car and did what we knew, and unfortunately this time we'll have to do a few things to make it better. It's obviously not where we'd like to be or where we are normally. That car we killed had four races on it, and every time we raced that car we were a threat to win. We'll see what happens on Sunday, but right now we aren't very good."

MICHAEL WALTRIP, NO, 15 NAPA CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We're a little disappointed. We slowed down quite a bit from practice, but we don't seem to be able to hit it qualifying here every time. More often than not, we're closer to the front than we'll probably be today, but we're pretty confident that we'll race our way up there."

MIKE SKINNER, NO. 01 USG SHEETROCK PONTIAC GRAND PRIX: "Our troubles started in the inspection room, the 'room of doom' or whatever this is over here. NASCAR decided they wanted us to move our spring buckets forward. We never moved them during practice the whole time and we went through inspection this morning. Maybe it is something they've overlooked. The USG/Army/Jerry Nadeau Pontiac will race really well. They told me not to get discouraged by the way this car qualifies because it races really good. A few years back, Jimmy Spencer had a car like that. He took a provisional about every time he ran it, but in 15 or 20 laps, he'd be up there in the top 10 gouging on you. Hopefully we can get this thing up front and have a good day on Sunday."

JOHN ANDRETTI, NO. 90 AOL 9.0 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "I'm pretty happy with it. The team predicted that I would run about there, and I did, so I think they know their business really well. I just have to go out and drive. I'm enjoying myself, and it's a great opportunity to drive for Richard Childress. Hopefully, we can get AOL 9.0 up front."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DuPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "I ran real high on the first lap to just try and get some momentum built up for that second lap. The guys in the shop have been working hard, massaging on this body to get it as slick as possible for qualifying day. The engine has been phenomenal. We have new rules here, so it is a little bit of a learning curve for all of us. I'm real happy with that. I would like to have gone out a little later, like where we drew, but for the most part we're happy." HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE WOULD IT HAVE MADE IF YOU HAD GONE LATER, AT YOUR ASSIGNED SPOT? "It's hard to say. If the wind dies down, the sun goes down some more and it cools down, there could definitely be some speed there. It's more on principle right now. We drew a late number and we were looking forward to that late run."

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We're a little disappointed. We slowed the car down from practice. The guys are disappointed. We're going to go all over the car and find out where we lost the speed. I feel like, come Sunday, we'll be one of the guys to beat and it will be kind of fun coming up through there."

DAVID GREEN, NO. 60 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "We came here and tested and did some things that helped the Hendrick teams, or at least I hope they did. That wasn't what we wanted to run, but that was what it gave us and we'll be solidly in the field. I've had a great time this year doing the R&D testing this year for Hendrick Motorsports, trying not only to bring the Haas Automation car to the track and be competitive, but to help the rest of the Hendrick teams as well."

NOTE: Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has won five straight races here at Talladega (including a Busch Series race), had his qualifying time disallowed by NASCAR officials following Friday's qualifying session for the EA Sports 500. According to the team, both quarterpanels on Earnhardt's Chevrolet were 1/16th of an inch too low. NASCAR rules state the quarterpanels must be a minimum of 35 inches from the ground on the left side and 36 inches on the right. NASCAR allows teams a quarter-inch tolerance after the car qualifies and goes through post-qualifying inspection. Earnhardt Jr.'s quarterpanels measured 5/16ths of an inch too low in post-race inspection, according to team sources. The No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet driven this weekend by Jason Keller, who qualified 32nd, also had its time disallowed for the same reason. As a result, Keller will start 43rd on the final provisional spot.

TONY EURY SR., CREW CHIEF, NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "This is restrictor-plate racing, and you have to get everything you can get. We were just a little too low."

JIM HUNTER, NASCAR VICE-PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: "The No. 8 car's time has been disallowed. He failed post-qualifying inspection. The quarterpanels were too low. He will receive a provisional starting spot and will start 38th. The No. 1 car also failed post-qualifying inspection for the same reason. He will start 43rd."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: Qualified 3rd: "We wish we could have backed up what ran what we did in practice. I'm a little disappointed. You just come through the room on that last try and NASCAR brings out a new comb with a finer tooth on it. When I walked up to the race car, Chad (Knaus, crew chief) didn't have a big smile on his face like he usually does. I think they didn't like a couple of things in the gray areas and we had to move some stuff around. It slowed the car down a little bit. I think we lost a little bit there and then it was a lot windier this afternoon than any of us anticipated. We thought the late draw was really going to help us. But the wind seems to still be pretty gusty out there and it looked like going early was the way to go."

CAN YOU TELL BY YOUR FIRST PRACTICE LAP WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE A CHANCE AT A GOOD QUALIFYING LAP? "When you unload and make that first run, that's kind of how it's going to shake out. There are some guys playing some games and maybe not showing their full hands. It seems like the Childress cars pick up a tremendous amount every time we go to qualify. There are a couple guys who can get away with that. When we try to hold back, our car it at a different attitude when it's going faster and we end up hurting ourselves. So we pretty much unload with all that we've got. The main thing that drives that is how long it takes to get through the line and onto the race track. Today, we only made four or six laps. So you really don't have a chance to work on the car and try anything major. You're just trying to go out and warm everything up and get a baseline and maybe you'll change a gear or a spring. But there really isn't much we can do because of the way the rules are. All of your magic is in the car when you unload."

HOW MANY THINGS DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE ON THE CAR? "I don't know. As the driver, when you walk up to the crew chief after the 'Room of Doom' (inspection), he's either smiling or he's got a frown. I don't know what it was, but there are little gray areas where you might have been borderline when you come through for qualifying that aren't accepted anymore. In practice, we might have had a few things that were borderline, and when it came time for qualifying they make sure you're not in the gray area."

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE NEW RULES WILL DO TO THE RACING AND TO SAFETY FOR SUNDAY? "I'm real curious to see how it plays out. We put smaller fuel cells in the cars to bring the pit stops into play and separate everyone. Now when you bring in the high drag and a big restrictor plate, it's harder to shake people loose in the draft. So now you're going to have us all back in groups. How that works out and if we have pockets of cars spread out around the track but they are able to pass among those pockets, I guess that's the main goal. Hopefully that will work out. If we have caution flag stops on the first run, it's going to be so easy to stay in the pack. The bigger the hole the car in front of you punches, the easier it is to keep up. On top of that, now we've got more horsepower to run up in that pocket. So I would anticipate a very good race for the fans. There's going to be a lot of passing. The follow-the-leader stuff won't be taking place like it did earlier in the year. It's kind of a trade-off. I know it's a hard job to thin us out while keeping us racing. I think we'll get a better feel for it in practice tomorrow."

CAN YOU HAVE A SAFE RACE AND AN EXCITING RACE AT THE SAME TIME? "I think all of them are exciting. Nobody wants anybody injured. Nobody wants crashes. Nobody wants big pile-ups. I climb in that race car every time knowing I can be injured or killed. Something can happen. But I think we've made huge strides in the drivers' compartments, in the gear that we wear, and the SAFER walls. I think we've made the sport so much safer than it was a year ago, or two years ago. But it's not of concern to me. It seems to be a very popular question. But we all entered into this knowing how dangerous this sport is. It's the same with the pit crew guys going over the wall. We don't want anybody struck on pit road. But they all climb over that wall knowing that they're doing a dangerous job."

ARE THE CREW CHIEFS SURPRISED THAT NASCAR TIGHTENED THE RULES DURING INSPECTION OR THAT THEY DID WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO? "Typically, if you make it through a couple of times pretty easily, you get the sensation that you're going to be golden. We went through tech a couple of times with no issues or problems.

"We came through for qualifying and it seemed like they took a little bit closer look at things. And that's their job and that's what they're supposed to do. Of course I'm disappointed because it seemed like it affected us. But if it would have slowed everybody else down and not affected us, I'd be smiling and thinking everything is how it needs to be."

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ANOTHER TOP PERFORMANCE LIKE YOU HAD HERE IN THE SPRING? "I'm really excited to come back and plate race. I know a lot of people don't like to come. We've been very fortunate and have not been caught up in big wrecks and lost race cars or points. So, I've had a great experience. One thing I'm excited to see is what the high drag with the big restrictor plate is going to do. The Busch Series rules and past Winston Cup rules are very similar. That package with the plate and the drag is very similar. I haven't been in that configuration before and I'm looking forward to seeing what that does. I think it will mix the race up some and there will be more passing and maybe a little different strategy that plays out. I'm just going to have to be on my game to understand where to put myself with these new rules so I don't get left out."

QUOTE FROM RICHARD CHILDRESS ON THE NO. 30 AMERICA ONLINE CHEVROLET NOT QUALIFYING FOR SUNDAY'S EA SPORTS 500 AT TALLADEGA (Ala.) SUPERSPEEDWAY: "Obviously, we're very disappointed that the AOL car didn't qualify. We struggled during practice but thought we would be able to make the race. In the end, though, we shouldn't have been in that position because Steve (Park) and the AOL team are better than that. Fortunately, we'll still have AOL on the track this weekend with the No. 90 AOL/Special Operations Warrior Foundation car that John Andretti is driving. We will just have to regroup and do everything we can to keep from this happening again."

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