Nextel All-Star Challenge - Rookie Friday Quotes

The No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats pit crew won the NEXTEL All-Star Pit Crew Challenge race Wednesday night. Crew chief Kevin Manion spoke about the team’s accomplishment prior to practice Friday afternoon.

KEVIN MANION, CREW CHIEF, No. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET: “That was pretty cool. We’re basically a rookie Cup team with some veteran guys. No one really pointed the finger at us and the underdog went in and took it.”

HOW BIG OF A MOTOVATION IS THAT FOR THE TEAM? “For the pit guys, that meant everything to them. No one really paid attention to them all year so they’ll be watching them coming up at Charlotte with all these pit stops. They’re going to be watching the 1 team. They know they’ve got people watching them. We knew they were good, they knew they were good, it was just their time to shine.”

THE NEXTEL OPEN IS JUST 30 LAPS BUT HOW IMPORTANT IS IT AS A DRESS REHEARSEL FOR THE 600? “It’s like a pre-test, plus it’s a challenge. They take one car to transfer over into the All-Star race. It’s real important to have a good showing, build a foundation for next week’s race.”

COULD THERE BE AS MANY AS 15 STOPS IN THE 600? “You’ll probably see more than that. You’re going to have to come for gas, and if you’re going to take nine or 10 seconds worth of gas, you might as well at least put two tires on it. We’ll see. I’m going to watch the truck race tonight and see if anyone has any strategy there. Maybe they will take no tires. I know at the test here we just put gas in one time and weren’t faster on older tires, like everyone else. We’ll see what different people do.”

ARE TIRES ALMOST OUT OF THE EQUATION BECAUSE THEY LAST SO LONG? “Well, come race time it always seems to change once you get running consistent laps. It always changes. It will be pretty hard to leave the tires on there for more than a couple of cycles. I don’t know if you’ll see any tires blow out. Even last year in the race here it was fine and then come race time all hell broke loose. You’re going to have to pay attention. I’m surely going to put tires on. You just never know what’s going to happen.”

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR TEAM’S PROGRESS THIS SEASON? “Real happy. We still feel like we’re a step behind for some reason, not exactly sure why. We thought we were good coming into it. We basically got three DNFs between Bristol wreck, Talladega wreck, and then blowing the motor at Richmond. To be 22nd in the points with three DNFs I actually think that’s pretty decent. We’re consistent top-15 running car and we just need to get to that next level and put ourself in position.”