Where the Raybestos Rookies qualified at Daytona:
Carpentier 11th
Villeneuve 17th
Smith 26th
Franchitti 39th
Hornish Jr. 43rd

PATRICK CARPENTIER IN THE No. 10 VALVOLINE DODGE WAS THE TOP RAYBESTOS ROOKIE IN TODAY’S QUALIFYING SESSION. YOU’VE GOT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE. “Yeah, I’m pretty happy. You know, we almost backed up what we did yesterday and with the wind today it picks up the front of the car and just pushed it more. The guys did a good job. The No. 10 Valvoline Dodge was powerful enough to get us through the wind and hopefully we’ll stick up there and be part of that Daytona 500. It’s going to be a long way from now to the end. The wind is different than what we had yesterday and with these cars it seems like when it’s windy it stops the front of the car a little bit so it gets you a bit more tight but we worked out through it so it should be good. To do that time today pretty much backed up what we had yesterday so I’m very proud of it. The car was fast and everything but with the wind today when you run up there it picks up the front end of the car and it gave me a lot more push than yesterday so we’ve got to be careful with that. But the car was still pretty good because it was so loose yesterday it was kind of neutral today so it was a good thing.” DO YOU THINK THE QUALIFYING PROCEDURES FOR THIS RACE ARE CONFUSING? “I would say stressful [laughs] more than confusing. It’s very difficult for us not in the top-35 it’s very hard. It’s going to be very stressful for the first few weekends. Hopefully we get that car back in the top-35 but every weekend you kind of lose a couple nights of sleep over that. It makes you focus more. It’s a good show, though. People on TV have kind of got different shows to watch and makes for a good show. But honestly, for me, I would like to have everybody has got to qualify at every race. That would be fun. That’s the way it is and it’s the same for everybody.”

JACQUES VILLENEUVE, No. 27 BILL DAVIS RACING TOYOTA: “The balance was different than yesterday and I think we scrubbed off a little bit of speed. Hopefully it will be quick enough. During the quick lap I wasn’t on the track where I wanted to be and probably lost a little bit. Hopefully it will be good enough to keep us in the show without needing the qualifying races. We were hoping to be quicker. With the winds the balance changed and I think we scrubbed off a little bit of speed on that quick lap. Might not be quick enough. We might need the qualifying races. When you have to qualify on time it makes it difficult because even if you’re quick but not quick enough here you might have a bad qualifying race and not make the show so it’s a little bit tough.” DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT THAT YOU CAN RACE YOUR WAY IN ON THURSDAY? “Yeah, but we thought we’d be quicker today. Honest, I just hope the track is slow but I just think we weren’t quick enough.” YOU HAVE RACED ALL OVER THE WORLD. WHERE DOES THE DAYTONA 500 FIT INTO THE LIST OF GREAT RACES? “It is one of the stand alone races, like the Indy 500, like Le Mans. It is one of the special races. That’s one that you want on your resume [smiles].” HOW BIG OF A FACTOR WAS THE WIND TODAY? “It affected the balance of the car and made us lose time so I’m a little bit worried.” WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN WHEN YOU WERE ON THE TRACK HERE IN PRACTICE AND IN TESTING? “It’s different in what we had yesterday and that’s what matters.”

REGAN SMITH, No. 01 THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP CHEVROLET: DID THE WIND THROW YOU A CURVE TODAY? “I think the wind threw everybody for a loop. It’s a lot windier today than it was yesterday and we got a headwind down the backstretch which isn’t helping matters. That’s worst-case scenario when you come here in headwind down the backstretch. My guys did a great job. I didn’t expect that number at all. I was figuring we’d be somewhere around an .80 or .90, just based on yesterday and the fact that the track had looked like it slowed up two-tenths. They went to work last night and I’m just really proud of Doug Richert (crew chief) and all the guys working on my Principal Financial Group Chevy. Now we can focus on Thursday and focus on getting our car driving good and ready for the 500. That’s the day that really counts.” WHAT CAN YOU DO TO THE CAR TO GET READY FOR THE GATORADE DUEL RACES? “You look for different things. Attitude maybe is not quite as important in race setup as it is in qualifying setup. We put in it what we feel like it going to handle the best and drive the best and give us the most mechanical handling. There’s still quite a bit of stuff you can do. The box is definitely smaller than it used to be. We’ll go through and change all that stuff over here is just a little while and get ready.”

SAM HORNISH, JR., No. 77 MOBIL 1 DODGE: ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT QUALIFYING RUN? “We could obviously be happier but the big thing for us was we’re in the race already. We just need to learn as much as we can. We brought a car that we knew wasn’t going to be great in qualifying but it’s definitely a lot better for us running in a pack. That what we’re here for so we’ll just keep our heads about us and do the best that we can. We’re really looking forward to the duels. That’s the big thing for us this week.” THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE QUALIFIED FOR A SPRINT CUP RACE KNOWING THAT YOU WERE GUARANTEED A STARTING POSITION. HOW DIFFERENT WAS THAT? “It’s a good feeling but maybe it’s not the feeling that makes you work the hardest. We know that we’re safe, that we’re in the race. The big thing that we’re trying to do is make sure that we don’t tear up any equipment right now.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI, No. 40 DODGE JOURNEY DODGE: COMMENT ON YOUR QUALIFYING RUN. “These guys work so hard to come up with every little fraction of an inch, just to make the cars as fast as they can then you’ve got a headwind like that and it’s all for nothing. Hopefully it’s one of those deals that if you’re not going to be on the front row just get yourself the best position that you can and look forward to Thursday and see if we’ve got a good race car because that’s going to be much more important than a qualifying car.” HOW BIG OF A FACTOR WAS THE WIND? “Huge, but I’d like to say it’s the same for everybody but I think it just depends on when it gusts but definitely seen that so we’ll see. The wind doesn’t slow it down in a straight line. You know, we had 50-mile per hour winds in Vegas running around there so it didn’t actually affect the car too much in the corners.” ”