Coca-Cola 600 - Rookie Post-Race Quotes

Where the Raybestos Rookies finished at Charlotte:
Busch 25th
Kvapil 32nd

UNOFFICIAL Raybestos Rookie standings after Charlotte:
Busch 157
Kvapil 135
Barrett 42
McClure 18

TRAVIS KVAPIL, No. 77 KODAK/JASPER ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS DODGE: “The Kodak team was doing a great job tonight. I knew we had a fast racecar the last two weeks here at Lowe’s. Out front, the car was hauling butt and it was really good, just back there in the traffic and around other cars it was just way too loose. Every pit stop we freed it up a little bit as the night went on. Actually on that last stop I said ‘Man, we’ve got to snug this thing up if I’m going to run back here in the pack a little bit. We had good track position a few times. It just seemed like we were cycled back and forth from the front to the back on different pit strategies and stuff. We were trying to just maintain and keep working on the car and save it for the end. I just got loose on my own coming off of turn 4 and slapped the wall and I think we cut a tire down and then when I went into turn 1 that’s when we did some damage.”

KYLE BUSCH IN THE No. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLET WAS THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE AT CHARLOTTE. Notes: Busch finished 25th and took top rookie honor for the eighth time in 12 races this season.

MORE NOTES:

The Coca-Cola 600 was the first race this season where TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have led a lap. Busch led twice for 55 laps while Kvapil held the top spot twice for 23 laps.

Busch stretched his lead to 22 points (157-135) over Kvapil in the Raybestos® Rookie standings.

At least one Raybestos® Rookie has now led at least one lap in each of the last SEVEN 600-mile races at Charlotte. The others: 1999: Tony Stewart (three times for 13 laps).
2000: Matt Kenseth (twice for 31 laps).
2000: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (five times for 124 laps).
2001: Kevin Harvick (once for one lap).
2002: Jimmie Johnson (five times for 250 laps).
2003: Greg Biffle (once for one lap).
2004: Kasey Kahne (once for five laps).

KYLE BUSCH: “We finished with a torn up racecar 28th or whatever it was instead of first. In the beginning part of the race we had a car better than the 24, better than the 25, better than the 48. And there towards the middle of the race I was following around the 48 and I could pass him anytime I wanted to but I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do. I might as well let a teammate try to pick some holes for me and stuff like that and not have to put both of our cars in any kind of jeopardy. It’s just a shame. I wish this CARQUEST Chevrolet could have shown what it’s potential was tonight and that was definitely a win.” YOU SEEMED TO KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGING TRACK CONDITIONS. “This thing was bad to the bone all night long. We would go through the corners better than anybody. When you’re down a cylinder, that’s just kind of the name of the game. You’re always able to go faster through the corners than people. It never really got too tight for me where I wasn’t able to drive it still. If we had a motor we probably would have been able to lead the race, pull away, and do exactly what the 25 did, except hopefully not get ourselves into any kind of trouble there towards the end of the race. It’s a really good racecar. It’s a little torn up now because the 4 car got into us in turn 1 and tried to wreck us. That was just stupid.” DID YOU NOTICE THE TRACK COMING APART? “The racetrack was definitely coming up. Down in turn 1 where the cracks are they tried putting some asphalt down, that tar stuff, and it just kept getting peeled up and there was probably at least an inch gap down to whatever was under the main surface there. It was coming up and every time you hit it a little bit you’d get free. If you could hit it right, you’d be just fine.” COMMENT ON THE HUGE NIGHT FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON’S WIN. “That’s cool, man. We’re glad that Hendrick Motorsports is still able to prevail. Everybody ran the same setup tonight and that just showed how good this team is and how good everybody is. It’s pretty cool that we were able to run up front the way we did. We’re glad that at least one of them could prevail. Two of them got caught up in a wreck; three of them did, with Terry and myself having motor issues. It was kind of a shame.” THIS WAS A WILD SHORT TRACK TYPE RACE TONIGHT. “Yeah, it was stupid out there. Dude, there was cautions everywhere and I don’t know what was going on. It was just ridiculous. We couldn’t ever get a long run in besides the beginning part of the race and that’s where we really shined. We kind of messed up on the adjustments there in the beginning. We got it too free where it wasn’t into the racetrack the way it needed to be and then we kind of backed up on our changes and went in another direction, which brought the car back to life for us, and we were able to lead the race a little bit more. Still, it’s a shame that we came out with tore up stuff.” THIS WAS A LONG RACE TONIGHT. HOW DID YOU DO PHYSICALLY? “I’m good. It doesn’t even feel like it was 600 miles. It’s 400 laps and all and it’s long, but I don’t feel that bad. I don’t know if it’s just because I had that good of a racecar which having a good racecar makes it a lot easier on you. I wish the motor had lasted for us.”