Ford 400 - Dodge Qualifying Quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge) – Qualified Third

“Our ALLTEL Dodge was top five in practice and top five again. We just didn’t pick up enough. I thought in practice we were capable of running a .17 and we ran a .15 in qualifying. It just wasn’t quite enough. That’s the only goal we have. We’ll try to win the race. If we can’t, we’ll try to get a top five and if we can’t do that we’ll try for a top 10. To win is the ultimate goal. This is the same car we had at Atlanta and it’s capable of winning.

“We didn’t end up on our lid at any point this year, but we’ve had a lot of goofy things happen to us. We were going for second at Charlotte and had a wreck in front of us. We had a shot at the win and ended up 17th. That hurt us in the last 10 races. We’ve had some crazy things happen to us this year. We struggled for a part of this year, maybe the second third of the season. The final third of the season has been great, maybe the last half of the season has been great as far as performance and running good. We just don’t have the numbers and results we need.

“(This season) was not as successful as it could have been or should have been. When you win nine poles and two races, some people struggle to get a pole or a win, so you have to consider it successful. Compared to last year, it’s not as successful as we wanted it to be.

“There’s not one single thing. We struggled a little bit adapting to the new tires and performance overall and I guess a little catch up from the racecar standpoint and engine and bodies and things like that. We’ve had some goofy things happen to us. To start the second Michigan race, we ran over a valve cap on pit road before the green flag ever dropped. When things like that happen it makes you scratch your head.

“I might put myself on the line but I don’t think it (new qualifying procedure) is going to affect qualifying at all. The cars that qualify well will still qualify well for obvious reasons. Some guys can qualify well and some can’t. Some teams can put a qualifying package together and some can’t. We can still work with tire pressures and things like that, at least to my knowledge, and that’s one of the biggest things that change from qualifying to the race. We’ll just have to see. We’ll cope with it.

“Kurt will have an opportunity to get five points for leading a lap and potentially 10 points. Gordon qualified well and Johnson struggled, so he’s got his work cut out for him. I guess you can’t forget about Mark and Dale, but I think the championship is going to come down to those three guys. (Busch, Johnson and Gordon).”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) – Qualified 4th

“That’s the best we’ve been all day. We were pretty loose, but hopefully we’ll end up in the top five. It was better than it was in practice this morning. It was up out of the racetrack a little bit, but I think everyone will be for a little bit. The track is pretty hot, and it’s a little different. This is a great racetrack for me. I enjoyed racing here last year. We’ve got the Busch car tomorrow and the Cup race Sunday. I should have plenty of laps before Sunday’s race, and hopefully we’ll be able to park the Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge in victory lane.

“We were sliding around pretty good, but I imagine it will for everybody. I don’t think it matters when you go out. We were the third car, but after three or four I think the track will be as good as it’s going to get. It was a pretty good lap. We carried more speed than we did in practice. We made some changes that definitely helped. If we hadn’t made those changes we wouldn’t have been anywhere near that. I think it will be a decent lap. I think everybody is going to slide around some.

“I think a lot of tracks suit us pretty well. We haven’t won at any of them yet, but we’ve been close a lot. Hopefully we’ll come close again this weekend and maybe get a win. The track has lost a little bit of grip. It’s not quite as grippy as it was, but it’s going to move around and get better after the Busch race. I think you’ll be able to race anywhere you want Sunday.

“I don’t feel like we even have the rookie strip anymore. It doesn’t make any difference right now. Earlier in the year it did, but it’ll be a new year next year. Right now I think we’re just another NEXTEL Cup team. I think this time or three weeks ago or any time in the past six months would have been a good time to win a race. We’re running out of time to win. In fact, Sunday will be my final chance to win as a rookie and we’d really like to do that.

“Everybody talks about luck and this and that. I don’t know if it’s luck or it’s just not our time yet or whatever it is. Sooner or later we’ll win. I don’t know when that will be, but I don’t think we’re missing much. I think we have a great race team. A lot of times when we didn’t win it wasn’t because of a bad pit stop or out on the track. It’s because of things you just can’t control and things that went wrong. It’s part of racing. It’s part of the ups and downs. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year. We’re ready to win.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Dodge) – Qualified 17th

“We’ll take it and see what we can do with it. Maybe it’ll end up in the top 15. I wish we could have got a little bit more out of it. I lost a little bit of time in three and four. This track is a fun place. The Miami sun has taken its toll on the grip, but I hope we can start in the top 15. If we can, we’ll take that right to the bank.”

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge) – Starts 41st

“The car just jumped sideways. It was a little bit free in practice. You have to come to the green hard to sit on the pole, and that’s what we were trying to do. We just didn’t have enough rear grip. I got in the gas early to try to get a good run at the green. It just jumped sideways. It was stuck and boom, it released. I couldn’t save it. It’s too bad because I thought we had a good shot at the pole, but that’s why I was trying so hard, too.

JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Chex Party Mix Dodge) – Qualified 31st

“That was pretty good. We need to be better, but I think we’ll race well. We tested here, and all we worked on was race stuff. I think the heat has probably hurt the grip, and the pavement has had another year of wear, but we’ll be all right. I think we’re going to have a good race.”

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge) – Qualified 18th

“I was pretty happy with that. We made one qualifying run this morning, and we really weren’t worried about qualifying. Donnie (crew chief Wingo) kept making changes and the car was good. I think we were one of the better teams at the end of last season, and we ran well all season long. We had some motor problems and got caught up in some wrecks, but we’re going to keep the same group of guys around for next season, and I’m ready to get going.”

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) – Qualified 10th

“It was a good solid run. The track is slower, but I thought I could run a little bit better than that. We’ve got a good starting spot, and with a little luck maybe we can get another win here Sunday. Another win would cure a lot of problems.”