KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) – Second fastest

WHY ARE SO MANY GOOD TEAMS STRUGGLING? “I don’t know. It gets down to I think what the core of the setups are now. What I mean by setups is what we put in the cars to make them go fast. Last year at this point I don’t know where Tony Stewart was (10th), but at that first Michigan he hit on something and it’s changed the face of our sport, the way you set up racecars. He’s definitely got it set up. Some teams have followed suit. Some teams have gone this way and some have gone that way. I think there’s a few ways to skin the same cat, but having the nose flat on the ground is a new look for a lot of the cars. That team had it scienced it out first and a lot of teams are playing catchup. I think that means that Gordon has to rearrange some of his setups. You saw his nose floating sky high in the air at Darlington but he raced OK because he knows Darlington. He’s a veteran. He’s a four-time champion. Then you have guys like Ryan Newman who won nine races in one season. Sometimes you go back to the track the next season and you won the race the year before and you think you might as well run the same setup. It doesn’t quite work out for you. Sometimes the setups expire. It’s just a matter of keeping up with the change of times. It goes in cycles all the time.”

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR CAR WILL BE IN THE RACE SUNDAY? “It’s definitely good we’re not in an impound situation like we were last year at this race. You can run a qualifying setup and have a whole different feel and you jump into a race setup and it’s a whole different animal because of how run turn one is and yet how fast the new turn two is. It’s pretty smooth over there, but I think the race is still won off turn three. That’s where we’ve got to get our car working a little better. If we can get the Miller Lite Dodge to really hug the bottom of the racetrack, that’s where I think the key will be.”

WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE FINAL TWO-THIRDS OF THE SEASON? “It was a good run for us today, and that’s something to build on. To have solid runs recently and some bad runs recently, we know what we’re doing right and we know what we’re doing wrong. We started off the season strong with a pole (at California) and a win at Bristol. It’s been unique to work with a new crew chief that’s really strong with an engineering background. I’ve had to jump up to his level and I feel more confident in that now. I think we’re making great strides and making good progress and this is a stretch of tracks I really enjoy. I really enjoy these flatter tracks and seeing what we can do on the road course in Sonoma. We’ll see when we get to Chicago. I think we’ll have that track more scienced out because we’ve got the Busch car running pretty good. That’s helped us with the Cup program as well.”

ANY ADVICE FOR YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER? “It’s just a matter of being patient. There are so many races to go. I think it was the sixth race of the year. I was wherever I was in the points and everyone was coming up to me saying, ‘hey man, you’re not going to make The Chase.’ There’s still a lot of racing left. With him (Kyle Busch) being in the top 10 in points, there’s a lot of racing left where things can go good for him or things can go bad. He just has to have more patience packed in his bag and he’ll be all right. I definitely think he’s a competitive team that can win races each week and to run consistently to make The Chase. As long as he does well in these few upcoming races he’ll be just fine.”

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

“I was real happy with our qualifying run ending up third. I just felt like we got through all three corners well, not as good as these two (Busch and Hamlin), but we got through them good. I’m looking forward to Sunday. We’ll get some more race practice tomorrow. We got some good race practice today, and hopefully the rain will stay away tomorrow. It should be fun. I always enjoy racing here. It’s pretty neat to have three different corners and have to change everything up every time you get to a corner. I’m looking forward to Sunday, looking forward to making some more changes to our UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge Charger. I think we’ve got a shot at getting a good, solid top five out of here this weekend.”

SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger) – 17th

“I thought we could have got two more tenths out of it. The car was a lot better than it was in practice, so I think we improved the car. I just wish I had known how good it was going to be. I think I left a little bit on the table, and I think we could have used a little more gear. I think the draw hurt us a little bit being out here in the sun, and who knows what that rubber on the racetrack is doing, but the car drove really good. I’m proud of all the guys. They did a great job and made some great changes right after practice that helped our car.”

JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger) – 26th

“I was hoping for more, but we’ll take that and go on. I thought we should have picked up more. The car drove great. That’s the best it’s been in the corners. It just didn’t have the speed. We’ve got to work and get some more speed out of it or we’re going to be hurting.”

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 National Tire & Battery Dodge Charger) – 33rd

“We just worked on race setup in practice. I guess we got in a middle-of-the-pack lap. We won’t be better than 20th, and I hope we’re not worse than 36th. We’ve been fighting a few things, but we’ll get it worked out.”

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Attel Dodge Charger) – 14th

“We picked up a lot from practice. The conditions are a lot better I think. We’ll just have to wait and see how it works out. It’ll be a decent starting spot. Pit road is pretty wide here, so I’m not worried about that. It was a pretty good run for the Alltel Dodge.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) – Immediately after qualifying lap

“It was a great lap. The team put a good car under me, and I told my crew chief, Roy McCauley, he did a really good job. I think that’s a pretty solid lap, but I knew there were a lot of good guys left to go. Brian Vickers had been fast here before, and he’s a really good qualifier. We put down a good lap, but I knew there were some cars left that could challenge it.”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger) – Immediately after qualifying lap

“We were a little on the loose side and weren’t able to run what Kurt ran. It was still a great lap, and I hope it holds up for a top five. It’ll be a good spot for Sunday. It’s always a fun, exciting race. I knew the pole would be under a .20. I was a little surprised Kurt ran a .10, but it was a good lap for both of us.”