Pepsi 400 - Chevrolet Qualifying Quotes

Tony Stewart #20 The Home Depot Chevrolet Pole Winner

Note: First Bud Pole at Daytona.

PIT LANE COMMENTS:

GREAT LAP OUT THERE Yeah, but it wasn't due to me. Everybody-Zippy and all the guys on The Home Depot team-it wasn't anything I did to get us where we are. Those guys. And really, in particular, those guys in the engine department and the fab shop. They put the body back on the thing after the Daytona 500. It was an awesome run there-whether it stands or not, we'll see. If it just stays in the top 5 or 10, I'll be happy with it.

HOW GOOD IS THIS RACE CAR? It drove really good today. You know, the thing you'll hear a lot of us talking about tomorrow night is having to get out of the gas. Running the 500, pretty much we can run it wide open around here. But it seems that in July with the heat and the extra heat, it's a little harder to handle and becomes more of an issue than it does in February. Our car drove really good today in practice. All in all we're going to have a good day tomorrow, hopefully.

COMMENTS ON RUNNING THE PONTIAC DAYTONA PROTOTYPE LAST NIGHT IN THE GRAND-AMERICAN RACE I loved it; I just wished we wouldn't have had the problems. I know at the end of the race my teammate Andy Wallace was turning laps as quick as the leader and it if we wouldn't have won I think we'd have been in the top-three for sure. We made progress; yesterday at the start of the race was the first time I had run in wet conditions with slicks. And starting on cold tires, nonetheless. It was a learning experience for sure. We had a good run once the track dried up.

DO YOU PLAN ON DOING MORE ROAD RACING? Of course-I've had so much fun with the Pontiac brand and everyone at GM has been behind me running a Pontiac even though I'm with a Chevrolet in the Cup side. They are excited to see me back and it's neat to see how everyone at GM rallies around each other like that.

PRESS CONFERENCE EXCERPTS:

REMARKS ON YOUR LAP. HOW IS YOUR CAR IS RACE TRIM? I guess it feels pretty good. We ran the whole setup this morning-no drama. No headaches. Everything was pretty smooth. For the most part, pretty excited. Normally when we come to practice here we complain about our cars not having grip because it's so hot, but you know, we went out this morning and had pretty good balance so hopefully it will be that way for tomorrow.

IS RACE TRIM DIFFERENT FROM QUALIFYING TRIM? I don't know. I'm not sure if it is or not. I'd love for this to be an indication because that means we'd have a good day tomorrow. But, at the same time, you know, it's a situation where having all those tricks and stuff.maybe it's what we've been missing for qualifying all this time-all those tricks.

DOES THIS POLE MEAN AN EQUALISER WITH ROUSH AND HENDRICK? I don't know if that puts us as an equal. If you look at where Jeff qualified, he's not going to race that way tomorrow. So, with that being said, I doubt this is a true indication of how everyone is going to race tmorroow. I think handling is still going to be a big factor like it always is. I think everyone is going to drive well for one lap in qualifying, but when you get 10 laps into a run tomorrow night, I think things are going to be a bit different, especially when you get into traffic where the air is moving. It's a little different.

COMMENTS ON PROGRESSION THIS YEAR; VS. ROUSH AND HENDRICK I'll be honest. You know, if you look back to Michigan where we ran second-it was a place where we kind of finally hit on some stuff. We think we may have closed the gap with the Hendrick and Roush teams on some stuff. Then we go to a road course and you pretty much throw all that out-just road course setups. Now this week with a pole, we're here at a superspeedway, so it's totally a different package again. I'd love to believe that we are, but we are all realistic that we had one good week at Michigan, from that side, and I think that's something we have to build off of. This week and last week are just two odd weeks. Don't fit into the total picture of the scheme of things. Even if we're lucky enough to win here tomorrow night or have a second, I'm not going to say we're back on track to where we need to be. It's just two odd races that we would have had the luxury to win, and we've still got to run off that second place finish in all reality.

WHAT WOULD WINNING AT DAYTONA MEAN FOR YOU? I mean, this one's no different from any of the other of them on the schedule, in all reality. If I had to trade a win and only get one of them, I'd rather trade it for a February race obviously. Anytime you can win a race, whether it's here or Indianapolis or anywhere else, it's big. Right now, with the competition as tough as it is, a win is a win. You know, it's not going to be any more significant than anything else this year.

ANY CONCERNS WITH DRIVERS WHO AREN'T HIGH IN POINTS, STARTING UP FRONT? Not really. I mean, it makes me thankful that we qualified on the pole obviously, but you know, the crème of the crop usually finds a way to get to the top here. Normally find a way of working with each other to get through some of those guys who you may not be as comfortable with. There's not that many of them up there where I feel they are guys I don't want to be around anyway, so it won't take long and it will be the normal cast of characters up front fighting for the win, like usual.

DO YOU TAKE ANY PERSONAL PRIDE IN YOUR VERSATILITY IN THE SERIES? Somewhat, yes. It does make us feel that we're not just a team that's found one particular idea or theory of setups on a particular type of track and we're struggling on the rest of them. You know, we've always taken a lot of price on running well in all aspects of the series. But we're not the only ones. Even though Jeff Gordon didn't have a good weekend last week, you've got to take guys like Jeff and Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle and guys that may not have had the last two weeks like we've had and the weekend we're having now, but you can't say that Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle aren't versatile drivers. I'm not the only guy that's a versatile driver on the series. The group does kind of narrow down on the road courses. It's not a place where all of us run good, obviously. It's a handful of the ten of us that run really good on road courses on a given weekend, and those same guys. You guys are the kings of stats in there-look at who has run-Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, we've run really well. It's the same guys all the time that seem to be running well all the time, as far as the regulars. There's a handful of guys that run well on all of them. There's only two road course races on the schedule and the rest is just normal stuff.

AFTER FEBRUARY DID YOU LOOK AT THE TAPES TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY Yeah, you always wonder what you could have done. To be honest I thought I did everything I could do, to hold Jeff off. I ran it through my mind, watched it on tape and tried to figure out if there was something I could have done different. One idea that came to mind, but I wasn't sure that was going to be the deciding factor. He was real good on restarts. As long as we could keep him behind us for two laps, we were in good shape. From lap 3 on from a restart. But those first two laps of a restart, that was his strong suit. If he got to the lead there, it was going to be hard to get back by.

Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe's Chevrolet 3rd position

Scott Riggs #10 Valvoline Chevrolet 2nd position

PRESS CONFERENCE

JOHNSON I'm very happy with this lap. I'm happy with everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. We built a new car and didn't test it. The only laps it has on it are the ones we put on it in practice. I'm proud of the guys for their hard work and effort. I have to admit we really didn't think we'd be in the top 10. We were hoping for a top 15. We made a qualifying run in practice. It felt like we were fair, but nothing for the top five. We were pleasantly surprised to see that lap. It's a great starting spot and a great pit road pick for us. I'm happy for the Lowe's team.

RIGGS (ON STARTING ON THE FRONT ROW) We were really in the same boat as Jimmie. We were hoping for a top 10 or 15. We never made a qualifying run and didn't know what our car was capable of. This is the car we did our drafting practice with at the January test session. And we were just hoping that the other car that we brought back as our primary for the 500 would draft as well as this car, which it did. Unfortunately, by losing that car at Talladega we had to go back to this car. I knew it was going to be slower than the other car by itself. But we didn't know what it would be like around other car or in the race - especially with the impound. So it's a pleasant surprise to be on the front row.

JOHNSON (HOW WILL THE CARS RACE?) Everybody had some grip problems with the heat in practice. Some guys were loose, but the majority of them were tight. Scott and I both had a tight race car and were trying to figure out how to make it turn better. The car that was fast was the No. 20 (Tony Stewart, pole sitter). His car was glued to the yellow line through the corners. It was really amazing to see how well his car would stay in the bottom. I feel fortunate to have all our other Chevy guys (with Hendrick motors) to work with during the race.

RIGGS Yes, Hendrick horsepower always helps. We've been very fortunate to have great engines everywhere we go. I ran with Tony out there in practice and he seemed very strong. I think Jeff (Gordon) was pretty strong too. Seemed like both Jimmie and Jeff had strong cars. I just hope I can be right there with them and not collected in the big wreck.

RIGGS (ON THE MBV / MB2 SUCCESS) Oh they've done a great job. Everyone at the shop has done a great job building these cars and being able to duplicate what they built the first time. I know that Boris Said's car is brand new. Same with Joe Nemechek's car. His was actually supposed to be my new car to replace my primary. But when they took them to the wind tunnel it seemed like the two cars they ran were pretty good. We felt good about our back-up car and knew it drafted well. Since this was an impound race, we felt we could just bring our back-up car down here. But they do a good job - not just building the cars, but duplicating them. And I can't say enough about having a good water heater under the hood helps. Hendrick always gives us good horsepower too.

JOHNSON (ON IMPOUNDING VS. NOT, AND IS THE NO. 20 ON PAR WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?) I think this qualifying effort shows more. When the race starts and the draft starts, there are a lot of other thing that take place out there and the best car doesn't always win. It's really about the guy who understands the draft the most and knows how to position himself how to pass and not be passed. So I think what we see here on the board shows us a real speed chart versus what we have in the 500 when everyone has their magic stuff working. We really had our race set-up in the race car. It sounds like Scott Riggs did as well. And Tony Stewart is not one to chase a pole - he's all about having a good race car. I really feel the top three cars are going to race.

I do think that Tony Stewart is one of the better plate racers out there. He's done a great job with it. He's been a runner up quite a few times and close to winning. He's gong to be one of four or five drivers who is going to be very tough tomorrow night.

RIGGS (WITH THE UNUSUAL SCHEDULE, IS IT MORE OF A GUESSING GAME WITH SET-UPS?) The extra heat we were in today is just going to magnify whatever kind of trouble you car is going to show. Of course in the race, once you get a lot of rubber on the race track and heat in the cars, everyone usually fights a tight condition. It's the same kind of thing we had today. Some were talking about having their cars loose today during night, but I'd rather have a loose car and tighten up versus having a car that's tight and trying to figure out how to free it up rather than slow it down.

JOHNSON (DIFFERENCE IN NOT HAVING A POINTS LEAD GOING INTO THIS RACE) It doesn't change too much; we still need to go out and collect points. I would rather be leading the points than being in second, so we're going to try to do what we can to get back on top. There's still a lot of racing left between the chase start and now, and then once the chase starts it's a whole different game then. I think that leading the points gives the team experience with the pressure.

Boris Said #36 Centrix Chevrolet 4th position

GREAT LAP OUT THERE I think so, but I didn't have a whole lot to do with it. Everyone I know at Centrix Financial Team, US Army, Valvoline, they build me a great car. I think a chimp could have drove that car around, it drove so good. Still, it feels great to qualify good at Daytona and to be in the race. I'm really excited to be here; I mean, for a guy who grew up road racing, to be racing at Daytona. the 500 was my dream come true and I didn't get the best finish but at this point and with the week we had last week I'm really excited for tomorrow night. I can't wait.

REGARDING TEAMWORK Yeah, even though it's MB2 Motorsports and Joe Nemechek Motorsports and Scott Riggs Motorsports, it's confusing for the public but we're one three-car team and we work really good together. We share all the information; all the crew chiefs. Its pretty neat to be able to get advice from those guys on how to drive around here. Plus, Danielle bought me dinner last night and said if I don't produce she'd never buy me dinner again so I need to really stand on it.

Joe Nemechek #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet 5TH position

Yeah, it's definitely a good start for the U.S. Army team. We've got a brand new car. Ten days ago they were putting this thing together and it had never been tested until we got down here. Just like so many other people, but we crashed our car in Talladega and they wanted to build a new one. And, we brought one and it's good. I think all the team guys have new cars, so we're looking for some good things tomorrow night.

Kevin Harvick #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet 7TH position

Yeah, we've been fortunate to have a couple of good runs. I doubt that the Cup car (qualifying time) will hold up. It's all race trim and no tricks or anything. It's still a good lap for our GM Goodwrench team. We've just got to hope to race good, and it always does. That's our goal right now.

THE RCR CARS HAVE A GOOD RECORD HERE We always run good here. #29 and the #33 are on totally different objectives right now. We want to race good and they want to make the race. They don't have a whole lot of problems on restrictor plate tracks. We just have to race good and not make a lot of mistakes.

Kerry Earnhardt #33 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Chevrolet 10th position

Well, it's pretty much the same thing we ran in practice. We did back up to what we ran in practice. I mean, we ran in practice what we did in our qualifying lap. It just shows the guys are consistent. Yeah, I feel like we are top 25, maybe. As long as I'm in the show is all I'm worried about.

Robby Gordon #7 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet 11th position

Wow. After missing the first two (plate races this year - Daytona 500 and Talladega) it's a sigh of relief more than a sigh of speed. I'm just really pleased with the guys and the work they're doing. The Menard engines are obviously getting better and oh, I was nervous, I'll be honest. I'm just really happy about this.

Bobby Hamilton, Jr. #32 Tide Chevrolet 12th position

IS THIS A SITUATION WHERE YOU KNEW YOU HAD TO QUALIFY ON TIME, DID YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT HERE IN THIS QUALIFYING? Well, we gotta get in, they don't. We made about three runs this morning and a lot of those guys didn't, they just went out on race setup. So there was a difference. All we had to do was beat two or three cars to get in which I think we're fine on that. We'll probably pay for it in the morning a little bit.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRACKS COMING UP WHERE YOU FEEL YOU CAN HAVE GOOD RUNS? Well, I don't know. I like a lot of them. There's a few that I really enjoy. I like Dover, we got to get all of our stuff together first. We got to be there at the end as far as ??? and when we do that we'll be a top 20 or 25 car. We're in the hole that we are now because of stuff at the beginning of the year like motor stuff. But we just got to keep building and maybe we'll get some good finishes.

Mike Bliss #0 Net Zero / Best Buy Chevrolet 14th position

This lap down here at Daytona. Nobody knows how good what is down here. You don't know if it's good or bad, or whatever. We've got a good car for the race and we're excited about it.

HOW MUCH IS THE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU RAN IN PRACTICE? Yeah, we didn't do a qualifying run in practice. It was so short that we didn't have time. We just did race and we didn't have any idea about qualifying.

Jeff Gordon #24 DuPont Chevrolet 15th position

COMMENTS ON YOUR LAP Yeah, I thought we were going to be a little bit better than that, but you know, we really focused on the race. I feel we've got a really well-balanced race car. Under these conditions, first time under impound rules, I feel pretty good about it. To be inside the top 14 and we're probably going to be right around there.

THE CAR YOU HAVE HERE NOW, DO YOU EXPECT ANY DIFFERENCE GIVEN CHANGING CONDITIONS FOR TOMORROW NIGHT AS OPPOSED TO WHEN YOU'VE PRACTICED AND QUALIFIED? Well, you know, we practiced this morning and conditions weren't as hot as they could be. But, I think track temperatures should come down a little bit at nighttime. We're working on handling, just trying to make sure we can run wide open the whole time. The car has plenty of speed. Obviously some guys focused more on qualifying than we did and got some speed out of it for qualifying. We're focusing on racing and thinking that's going to pay off for us tomorrow night.

Brian Vickers #25 GMAC / ditech.com Chevrolet 16th position

It was pretty good. The GMAC Chevy team did an awesome job. It's a new car for us. We've been real happy with it in race trim. We were a little tight. We made some adjustments in practice. We never made any qualifying runs. We don't really know where we're going to be there. But it was a pretty good run and I think it'll be a solid starting spot and that's what we're looking for right now.

The car was drafting well. We were really happy with that. We still want the best starting spot we can get. But I'm proud of these guys. They gave us a good car. The Hendrick engine department and aero department are working really well together.

Michael Waltrip #15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 17th position

Tony Jr and all the boys have got us a car that we qualified enough to tell people we'll be able to win the race. They'll have to listen to us, because we're right in there. Also, I have something to say to everyone listening out there: Go to NAPA, you can get this beautiful hat I have on for $3.99 and you can enter a contest to meet me, Michael Waltrip. That's what Spencer the PR geek made me say.

Bobby Labonte #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet 22nd position

COMMENTS ON YOUR LAP? Well, it was allright, pretty uneventful. I just made two laps, came in and finished it off. We'll see where it stacks up. Usually when you go out third and you come in third it's not usually a good sign. Maybe it won't be too bad. Anyway, that's all we have. We're worried about racing. We're worried about racing all day today and not really worried about qualifying obviously. You don't worry about it; you're in the show anyway so you just worry about racing.

LOOKS LIKE THE TRACK HAS CHANGED A BIT. HAS IT CHANGED FOR YOU? Well, we did a qualifying run at the very end of practice just to put it together and try to do what we could do on the car rules-wise. Basically it feels about the same as that, obviously the qualifying speeds are slower than practice speeds because of the draft and stuff like that but we're getting ready to race now.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. #8 Budweiser Chevrolet 42nd position

Not sure what to say other than we've got ourselves a helluva handful tomorrow night. Maybe we'll make it interesting, I don't know. The car actually felt like it accelerated better during my (qualifying) lap than it did in practice. Just disappointing, really, that we couldn't get anything better than that.

YOU'VE BEEN FEELING UNDER THE WEATHER ALL WEEKEND. ARE YOU FEELING ANY BETTER? I thought I was, but after that lap, I'm probably feeling sicker now than I have all weekend (laughing). I'll be OK.