UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - Dodge Qualifying Quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Mobil 1/ALLTEL Dodge Charger) – Pole winner. 28th career pole, first at LVMS.

NOTE: This is the first pole for a Dodge Charger since Richard Petty won the No. 1 starting spot at Ontario Speedway on Nov. 18, 1977.

“We’re really happy. We unloaded really fast with our ALLTEL/Mobil 1 Dodge Charger. It felt like we had a car capable of the pole right off the truck. I don’t think we had an advantage by any means going out when we did with the track cooling off, especially in turns one and two. Never the less we were able to pull it off. I was really worried about Greg Biffle going out later and was P2 in practice, but I’m happy to get my first pole at Las Vegas for sure.

“That was a different deal. We only had 10 sets of tires to work with (during winter west test at LVMS) and we cut a couple of tires from debris of pit road and stuff. We thought it was safer not to use those tires and go out and try to knock down the wall. We were pretty happy with the balance at the test. We brought back the car we raced at California. We’re trying to make all the right decisions at the right time at the right place. Today it worked out. Hopefully when we get this racecar in race trim it’ll be just as competitive.

“It was a great deal. We went to see the Hoover Dam yesterday. People think it’s neat to see on a postcard or something like that, but it’s really awesome to see in person. To think 70 years ago by hand and by manpower they built that dam. To think about how much life it supports it’s really cool to think about it.

“We’ve lost more races on luck and won more races on talent. Hopefully talent will take over. We’ve had great racecars the first two races this year. We look forward to having another opportunity to get to victory lane. It’s definitely easier for anybody to qualify than to race because there are less variables. You don’t have pit stops, you don’t have traffic. You don’t have a lot of things. You don’t have to worry about the car balance changing over 40 or 50 or 60 laps. For me it’s a lot of fun to go out and compete against the racetrack.

“You’ve pretty much committed to your package. I don’t think anything was exchanged or could have been.

“I’ve always said when we’ve won the pole we have no excuse. We’ve admitted we have the fastest racecar. If we can make it drive good for 60 laps, which it usually takes here, especially with the softer tires, it tends to fall off a little bit more than it did in previous years. I think that’s the most important part right now. Obviously we’ll have a good pit and track position to get our bonus points, but just being there for 267 laps is going to be the ultimate goal. I think the race will be a typical track position, flat race track type of race. It seems like the more we come here the wider the groove gets in the corners and we can race a little bit more.

“Historically, obviously, the Roush cars are dominant at this track. I think if you look at the top 10 in points the past two years and right now it’s usually the same basic group. Matt Kenseth has had two wins here the past two years. We’re just going to do our best and see how we stand up.”

BOB WILDBERGER (Senior Manager, NASCAR Operations – Dodge Motorsports)

“The Charger is here with performance on the track and performance in the showroom. We just proved it in our third race out. We’re at the front of the pack going into the Las Vegas race. I think we’re ready to win a race now.”

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Mobil 1/ALLTEL Dodge Charger)

COMMENT IMMEDIATELY AFTER QUALIFYING LAP “So far, so good. That was pretty impressive on my part as far as just getting speed and everything. I felt like I pretty much nailed everything. If somebody else beats us, it’s because they beat us. I’m really happy with the way this ALLTEL Dodge Charger unloaded out of the box, and I look forward to racing in race trim.

“I didn’t think we could pick up half a second from practice, especially with it being hotter out. I think the sun’s definitely changing its angle a little bit, and it’s not any cooler out.

“It wasn’t a nerve-wracking lap. You hang it out there as far as you can and this is a place where it’s relatively flat compared to most racetracks, so when you’re on the edge you’re on that much more of an edge. It was a great run.

“Track position is always important no matter where you go. You get a good pit selection when you qualify up front and you get good track possession, too. I’m not sure if it will hold up. We’ll just have to wait and see. Greg Biffle going out third from last will be interesting.”

COMMENT ON THURSDAY TRIP TO HOOVER DAM “Hoover Dam was cool. The most astonishing part of it to me was how in 1931 they did what they did with the technology they had then. People say it’s an engineering marvel and it is, but they didn’t have much engineering back then. It was all about horses and buggies and cables and manpower. It’s really cool to think about if you could put yourself back 70 years ago what it would be like.

“It was more of a sightseeing trip. Obviously we have engineering minds, but like I told Matt (crew chief Borland) afterwards, it’s maybe not a big deal today but 40 years from now we can say we did it and nobody else had the opportunity to because it is an off-limit environment now. It was through the speedway and NASCAR. They were looking for somebody to do it and knew we were interested because of the coolness of it.”

ANY OTHER MEMORABLE TRIPS BEFORE RACES? “I got to fly an F-16 fighter last fall out of Luke AFB. We got to do a refueling mission on a KC-135. We got to basically lay in the back of the plane and watch ‘em refuel F-16s in midair.”

COMMENT ON DIFFERENT QUALIFYING SCHEDULES “I think NASCAR is trying to figure out what they’re doing (with qualifying procedures) and trying to be consistent. I guess they gave the officials the day off on Saturday (next week in Atlanta), so we’ll take the day off, too. Actually I’m going to go fishing.”

COMMENT ON FIRST TWO RACES “We’ve had a car for the first two races that was capable of winning the races in my opinion. I feel pretty confident going into the next five or six that we’ll have a top-five car. There are a lot of changes this year with the new aero package, the new Dodge Charger, the new tires. We’re kinda restarting at zero.

“I think the aero change is probably the biggest for everybody. That’s for sure taken some downforce off the cars and made the cars looser, but I think you’ll still see the same teams performing like they’ve been in the past and making up the top 10 in the points. We brought the same racecar from California to here. From a consistency standpoint we felt we were a good car in the corners there. I think we can do the same thing here considering this track is almost all corners, so that’s pretty much it. The aero package is different. We’ve got a different situation with pit road and the way it’s being managed. I think it’s good for the sport.”

COMMENT ON DODGE CHARGER “People keep talking about the new Dodge Charger and how it’s more susceptible to trash and everything else. I think the ideal situation is to get the trash off the racetrack and then we can just go out and race. Trash got on the grille in California, and we had to come in and went a lap down and had to fight back.”

COMMENT ON A BALANCED CAR “It’s got nothing to do with the tires. It’s all about the aero package. I like a car that’s balanced perfectly. No driver likes a loose racecar and no driver likes a tight racecar. They can go fast with it, but a perfectly balanced car is the ideal. The ideal car is four tenths of a second faster than everybody else when you hang it out and when you slow down it’s still two tenths of a second faster and you don’t have to go out of control to do it.

“We had a really good car at Loudon and Dover last year, and at Darlington we had a perfect racecar. We blew an engine at Darlington. We had a hose clamp break at Loudon and won at Dover.”

COMMENT ON DIFFERENT TRACKS “I like mountains, but I don’t like these kind of mountains. I’m not a big fan of a lot of traffic and a lot of people. I’d rather be in a fishing boat relaxing or driving an old hot rod. I like Michigan and Pocono. That’s more my style. I’m a little more rustic. Watkins Glen is cool.”

COMMENT ON MEXICO RACE “I only watched part of the race (Busch race in Mexico). Most of it was under caution, so I went out on the boat and went fishing at Lake Norman. I think we need to touch people in the United States before we go to Mexico. The Pacific Northwest for sure. We hit the Northeast twice, but we could go to the upper Midwest, maybe North Dakota. There’s still a lot of people in Montana even though it’s way up there. Call it the way you want to call it, but people within our own country that still don’t get a chance to see it because of the location. I think we need to take care of the United States before we take care of anything else. Maybe that’s selfish. Canada is more my style than Mexico, but I still think taking care of the United States is No. 1. We don’t need to be a traveling, international series.”

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Charger)

“We got the balance right for qualifying and picked up about three tenths. It wasn’t too bad. We brought back a different car than the one we tested here. This is the Charger we raced at California, and we think it’s going to be a lot better here.”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

“We have a new Dodge Charger that we’ve been working with. It’s a good car. We just have to keep trying different things, and I think we’re getting closer. The guys have done a good job of trying different stuff, and hopefully we’ll be good on Sunday. It’s not a whole lot of a different car. Everything is about the same, but the aero balance is a little bit different and it takes a little time to figure it out. We’ve got a good race team, and when we figure it out it’ll be good. The guys changed the car around before qualifying, and it was a lot better. We were a lot faster than we were in practice.”

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)

“The car bottomed out on our first lap, and I wasn’t sure if we should make another one or not, but the car had good grip so we went for it. We’ll go to work and get it ready to race.”

TRAVIS KVAPIL (No. 77 Mobil 1/Kodak/Jasper Dodge Charger)

“I think Shane Wilson (crew chief) is my ace in the hole. He worked out here for years with Orleans Racing and he knows what it takes to get around this racetrack. This hasn’t been one of my best tracks, but they gave me a great car and it’s nice to get the Mobile 1 car up front. It’s starting to come together. I have a lot of confidence in the car now and I know what it should feel like. It’s a big adjustment. I knew what I needed to feel in the truck, and I knew exactly how far I could push it. It’s taken a little time to get used to the Cup car. After the Atlanta test and then coming here, I’ve got a lot of confidence in my team, and we’re starting to run better. Buddy Baker was in Atlanta trying to coach me along. He didn’t yell at me too much during the entire two days of testing, so I knew I must have been doing something right. He said we did a good job, and we had a good test. Buddy tells me I’m only as fast as the car, and he said if the car wasn’t right to tell the guys to fix it. I know it’s up to Shane and me and the 77 team to get the performance going. We struggled in our Las Vegas test a month ago. We left here disappointed, but we went to California and tested decent. We didn’t race good there, but Shane worked hard during the race at California and we got the car running good. I figured out what I needed to feel, and it has translated a lot to here. It’s just kind of working out right now.”

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

“I got down in one and two and couldn’t pick the throttle up like I needed to. Then in three and four it was the worst. I got in there good and then started sliding. I hate to wait on the throttle. I think we got the rear end too stiff for qualifying. I think I’ve got a real good setup for the race. We made a lot of laps here testing, so I feel good for the race. We just had it a little too loose for qualifying. We’ve started off the season with two top 10s, and we’d like to kick that up to a top five here. I think we’ve got a car that’s capable of doing that if we get it right.”