RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)

“We never made a qualifying run in practice, and our qualifying efforts are struggling because of that, but it was a good pickup. I think that’ll be some place in the top 10 or top 15 for sure. The track is good. It’s just cold. It’s still got two big bumps in it, but that’s OK. It gives us something to work around. We just never made any qualifying runs. We stayed focused on race trim. We struggled with that, but we finally made it better the last two minutes of practice. I think we’ve got something to work with. It’s the car we tested at Homestead, and it tested really well. That’s why we brought it here.”

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger)

“I think we’ll have a good car for Sunday. We drew an early qualifying number today, and I think that might hurt us a little bit. That was a little faster than we ran in practice, so that should be fast enough for a good starting spot. I was a little too high in one and two and I couldn’t get it down fast enough. I’m pretty happy with the way the day has gone, and that was a pretty good lap for us. Being too high on the track probably hurt us a little bit, but we were able to get the speed out of the car we needed.”

IF IT CAME DOWN TO YOU AND TERRY FOR THE WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD YOU LET HIM WIN? “I don’t know. I’d probably take him out on the last lap and see if he would retaliate on me. You never know. If it comes down to that we’ll think about it. Right now I can’t think about it.” HOW’S IT LOOK FOR THE 43 ON SUNDAY? “We started out a little slow in practice, but we ended up 12th in practice, and we’re pretty happy with it. I feel confident about it. I feel real confident in the communication we’re having right now. If we change something on the car it makes a difference, and I’m pumped about that. We’ve got to work on our pit stops. We can knock off a good one, but we can’t knock off a string of good ones. I’m confident we can make that better.”

SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools/“Cars” Dodge Charger)

“We didn’t make the most of the car. We were too free. It seemed like the track freed up a little bit. That’s going to help the guys that go out later. We just couldn’t get off the corner like I needed to, and that probably hurt us a little bit. Hopefully we’ll get a good starting spot. The main thing now is to get it driving right in the race. We had a good run here earlier this season, so we’ll see if we can’t have another one on Sunday.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

“I want to say I did (get everything out of the car). I was on the edge, turning the wheel, standing on the gas slipping and sliding at 195. I felt a little snug in three and four, but I think it might stand up. I’m really shooting for it. I think Kasey Kahne should just concentrate on The Chase and not worry about going for the pole today (said with laughter). We think we’ve got a good shot at the Bud Pole Award this season, but so does Kahne. We’ve picked up a lot of speed on Fridays throughout the year and it feels good to have some of these poles, but the bigger picture is to get our car to run well on Sunday like Kahne’s Charger. I think we exceeded the speed we shot for today. You never know with guys going out late and how much speed they can pick up. I Kahne has the advantage today (going out late), but yet it might not be as big as we think. I’m staying confident. It definitely was exciting. It was one of the most exciting qualifying sessions of the year with the speed involved. The late draw for some of the cars made it exciting, and it was exciting to be a part of it. I feel proud our team gave us a chance to have a shot at it. It was a good run for the Miller Lite Dodge. We’re in the top three, and that’s more than we expected. I hope it leads to better success on Sunday for us. It’s good to have my crew chief back.”

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

“We got beat for the pole, and that’s the way it goes. I was real proud of my teammate because I thought he had the pole, but that didn’t last very long did it? That’s the way it goes. Going out late helped us We’ll start in the top four on Sunday, and I’ll just follow Elliott to the front. We’re just going to race. That’s all we can do now, try to win and run up front. That’s what we’ve been trying to do all year long. We’re just going to try to stay out of trouble and stay up front. We got in a good lap. We all had a good lap, but Vickers just beat us.”

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

“Kasey is trying to teach me how to win all these poles, but I’m not listening very well. That’s two second-place starts. That’s great. The car drove good, and we should be good come Sunday. I have won here before, and there have been no repeat winners. Ray Evernham wants to keep it in our camp. If it’s not going to be me, then I hope Kasey can win Sunday and be the first repeat winner. I was worried about Vickers beating me. That’s why I didn’t get out of the car until he was finished with his lap. I left a little bit out there in turn three, but I don’t want to do it again. That’s a little faster than I thought we were going to run, so I don’t want to do it again. We’ve got a great starting spot, but I want to get a pole before it’s over with. This is my favorite car and the guys did a good job repairing it from Kansas. We’ll be fine. We want to keep it in the Evernham camp.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT NASCAR MIGHT TRY TO SLOW YOU DOWN? “I think all us cowboys were going for it today and we’ve just got to back down the pace a little bit in race trim. The speeds at Texas, it’s fun to challenge the car to go quick, but when you put it in race trim you’ve got to make it last for 50-60 laps, so that’s why the pace will slow down. It was really fun tonight to go for it and let it all hang out.”

COMMENT ON DRIVING A DODGE VERSUS A FORD “I think the main reason we switched was mainly for the teams. The chemistry within Penske Racing continues to grow for me. What I saw over there and what has come true is definitely what I was looking for – solid race cars and great team camaraderie and to work for Dodge is great as well. It’s a great balanced company as far as doing appearances versus the exposure level. To drive a Dodge from the driver’s seat, maybe it’s a little looser racecar, which helps you qualify, then we need to get the rear downforce on it for the race. We’ve got a great 2007 Charger lined up for that. I’m happy with Dodge, and I’m happy with Penske.”

DOES IT MAKE IT EASIER TO GO FOR A WIN SINCE YOU’RE NOT IN THE CHASE? “You go with the mindset to try different things that you wouldn’t normally try like aggressive shocks or a different type of aero package, whereas if you were in The Chase you’ve want to go with more of a given, what got you there. Being outside is a chance to get ahead of the game. Like Elliott said, look forward to Daytona, build up your points, build up your ammunition so to speak so you can start off next year stronger. Right now we have seven guys in The Chase that weren’t in it last year because they were able to get up a headstart.”

COMMENT ON THE BUMP AT TMS “What I think is funny is Atlanta is one of the roughest tracks we race on. You don’t hear anybody talk about bumps at Atlanta. We drive through them. We drive fast through them. We have old tires on and they’re still there. You come to such a great first-class facility like Texas, and it always seems to be under scrutiny and there’s one little bump so there’s an issue. If that bump wasn’t there it would be glass smooth. This place is very smooth. It’s fast, and there’s a bump out there, so we have to deal with it and move on. Atlanta has plenty of bumps.”

ANY BUMP DRAFTING ON SUNDAY? “There will be no bump drafting. The reason for Daytona and Talladega, if we didn’t have restrictor plates we could go about 210 or 212 maybe, maybe a little quicker. That would spread out the cars and there wouldn’t be a need to push the car in front of you. Here we are. We’re unrestricted, going fast. You have to have all the air on the car you can possibly get on it. So running close to another guy, the guy in front gets loose and the guy behind catches him easy and things can happen. We hope none of that happens.”

IS THERE LESS STRESS NOT BEING IN THE CHASE? “We’re not all that pleased that we missed The Chase, but it gives us a chance to look forward to next season and better ourselves in these last 10. My first race with the team was back at Daytona in February, so we’re starting off just learning one another whereas like everybody else that wasn’t in The Chase the year before had 10 races to get ready for next year. Hopefully we’re laid back. It’s just bolt what you’ve got laying around on the car and let her rip. If we have a chance to go to victory lane we’re going to do that. If we miss the setup we really try to understand why and move to the next race.”

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

“I think it was a pretty fun qualifying session with the speeds high and the weather was just right for it. Kurt went out early and laid down a great lap. It was our jobs to kind of go out and chase him. We cut a good lap. The Dodge Charger drove good. I don’t want it back. I’ve been trying to give the 19 bunch a pole this year. We’ve got two outside poles, but we just got beat by the 25. They did a great job. I’m very happy where we’re starting. The car drove very well in race practice today. I’m looking forward to Sunday. This is my favorite track we come to and for some reason it fits my driving style and I can’t wait to run 500 miles here.”

ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT NASCAR MIGHT TRY TO SLOW YOU DOWN? “I don’t think they’re going to look at doing anything like that. This is qualifying. This is a lot of tape on the cars, air pressures pumped up for one lap. Yes it is fast, and it’s almost night time right now and the track is in almost perfect condition. There’s not a lot of rubber on it, but by the time the trucks run tonight and the Busch cars run tomorrow and we have an hour and a half worth of practice tomorrow, we’re going to slicken up the track a little bit. By the time you take the tape and stuff off we should be fine. We’re going to be well under any kind of dangerous speeds or anything like that. I don’t think you’re going to see NASCAR mess with that any between now and Sunday.”

COMMENT ON DRIVING A DODGE VERSUS A FORD “I moved more for Evernham Motorsports and the love he has for this sport and things like that. When I got over there I was not surprised, but I felt really good about the hands-on Dodge itself has. The engineers it gives to each team and the support you get from that manufacturer has been overwhelming. It started out just for owners. I wanted to be a part of Evernham Motorsports. Once we got over there, I didn’t realize how much emphasis Dodge puts into its racing programs. Whether we are Evernham or whether it’s Penske or Ganassi, all the Dodge teams (receive it), and it’s been fun racing like that. I’ve been in the same make of cars for eight years now, and this is my first few weeks into a Charger. It’s a little bit different. The adjustments you ask for during the race are a little bit different. The car reacts a little bit different, but that’s changes from track to track. It’s like learning a different language. You’ve got to learn what you have and work with it the best way you can.”

DOES IT MAKE IT EASIER TO GO FOR A WIN SINCE YOU’RE NOT IN THE CHASE? “That’s our goal every week we bring the 19 to the racetrack. We try to lead laps and win races. We’re racing a little bit to stay in the top 35 in points before we go to Daytona, but I think that’s every driver’s dream and focus when he arrives at the racetrack and the same with the team. You want to do what you can to put yourself in position to win the race.”

COMMENT ON THE BUMP AT TMS “There’s one bump in the whole racetrack and it’s in turns one and two. It’s the same as it was last year. I just think we’re all running this stuff now that takes a little bit of the shock out of it, which makes the drivers feel warmer in the seat, but as far as redoing it, no. I think that’s another character this racetrack has. The asphalt in the last three or four races is getting where you can race on it, so I don’t think we need to mess with it. I think Eddie Gossage and his guys did a great job when we first came to keep messing with the track and made it where when we come here we can race two and three wide. You’re going to see that Sunday. You’re going to see two and three-wide racing up top and at the bottom, so I don’t think one little bump should cause a problem.”