HAMLIN: “We definitely thought we had a shot at the pole. We definitely thought we had a shot at the pole. We just bottomed out way, way too bad and skated up the racetrack. I’m kind of frustrated, but we’re going to have a top-10 effort so I’m pretty proud about that.” YOU HAVE TWO MORE PRACTICE SESSIONS TOMORROW TO MAKE THE CAR BETTER. “I’m really excited about that. In race trim our car was really, really fast. I’m really excited about the weekend, overall.” WILL THERE BE TWO GROOVES HERE IN THE RACE? “I’m not too sure [smiles]. I’m probably going to only be in one. Hopefully it’s right on the bottom.”

J.J. YELEY, No. 18 VESICARE CHEVROLET: “We adjusted for being a little bit tight in our earlier run. The track temperatures have cooled down and the racetrack has picked up some grip. We might have overcompensated just a little bit with our changes. But it’s an excellent lap. I’m just looking forward to Sunday’s race.” DOES THE BUSCH CAR HELP THE CUP CAR THIS WEEKEND? “I’ve always liked Chicago. I almost won my very first Busch race here as a Raybestos Rookie. I ran very well here last year in the Busch car. I know it’s still a mile-and-a-half cookie cutter track but it’s got different banking and it’s got a little bit different shape than Kentucky and some of those other mile-and-a-halfs. It really fits what I do. We were a little bit too free when we qualified. I had a big lift coming off turn 2 and that cost us a couple of tenths. If we end up in the top-10, that’d be great. I just look forward to a little bit of luck on Sunday so we can try to get back up and get a good top-10.” DOES THE SCHEDULE HELP YOU THIS WEEKEND? THERE ARE TWO PRACTICE SESSIONS SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW MORNING. “We were really good in race trim this morning. I think we were probably the fastest car in race trim of the guys that went out in race trim. I know that we’re going to have a good racecar. The main thing is using my head and translating what the car’s doing to Steve Addington, the crew chief, and just staying ahead of the racetrack. If we get behind, I obviously don’t need to push the issue. That’s something that I might have done in the past. I definitely don’t want to do it anymore. We need to get back on track. We’ve had a lot of good runs. We just haven’t had a lot of good finishes.”

REED SORENSON, No. 41 TARGET DODGE: “That’s the best lap that we’ve run. We were a little loose into 1 but it felt pretty good. That should put us somewhere in the top-16 or so, somewhere around there, so it’s not a horrible starting spot. We’ll just get it ready for race trim now and hope that it will be good. We haven’t raced this car yet this year so we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s got.” CAN YOU TELL THAT THE TRACK IS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR? IS THE SURFACE MORE ABRASIVE? “I don’t remember it enough from last year to know if it changed a lot. The track feels like it’s got pretty good grip overall. It obviously loses grip every year. Every track loses grip every year. The track looks like it’s going to have more than one groove to me because I’ve gotten up into the second and third groove a couple of times in turns 1 and 2 and it had good grip up there. Even though it’s slower, it might be an even better race.”

DAVID STREMME, No. 40 LONESTAR STEAKHOUSE DODGE: “It’s not bad. Again, my team is getting a lot better. We get back in that top-35 I’ll be a lot happier. I was free there in qualifying. We could have been a little bit tighter. We pick it up each week but we can’t let it all hang out because we can’t take a chance on missing the show. We’ve got a really good car here for Sunday. I love coming here to Chicago. I made my first Cup start here. We’ll see what happens.” BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO QUALIFY WELL, DOES THE PRACTICE TIME TOMORROW HELP YOUR SITUATION? “It definitely does. We had that impound deal last week at Daytona. It hurt us a little because we lost so much track position but we ended up with a pretty good finish. We keep unloading and we’re better. We’re building a better notebook. A lot of what we learned here at Chicago we’ll be able to take to Kansas. Our main thing here these next couple of races is to get back in that top-35.”

BRENT SHERMAN, No. 04 SERTA MATTRESS FORD: “We got five minutes of practice time and we were on the five minute clock and had to add weight where we weren’t expecting it. We knew we were going to be tight and didn’t have any time to make any adjustments for it. It’s so hard to be a new team and come into this series. It’s almost impossible to make it through tech and get any practice time. I got five minutes of practice and there’s no way, with this competition. I think if we had an hour and a half of practice we would have easily been in the show.”