FRANCHITTI: “We had a very down and up race. We really had nothing to work on from Friday and Saturday, didn’t have a decent car. We threw Reed’s setup on it from the 41 car, just everything on it and it was, for me, way, way too loose. I think Reed was loose as well and so we spent the first, I don’t know, I’d like the say 100 laps just tightening the car up and unfortunately by that point we’d gone two laps down. After that there was a portion of the race we were running the same times as the leader. We got the car comfortable, it was good and we were to make progress, pass a bunch of guys. Then we probably at the end there the last stop we had to put some tires on from somewhere else because we’d run out. I guess there were different codes or something [smiles]. It was horribly loose again. That was our day. Not where we wanted to finish but that midpoint of the race really taught me a lot and I’m really happy with it.” A LOT OF DRIVERS NEW TO THE CUP SERIES HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME STARTING THE RACE WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. WHY IS THAT SO CHALLENGING? “It’s one of the challenges of racing with the fuel tanks positioned in these cars and that kind of stuff it. I’m not used to that from Indy cars. I’m used to having the balance at the start. You can change the balance from inside the car. You have tools to do it. Here, you have to kind of bear with it. We weren’t very good, even when the car was at its best today, we were not very good first two laps. Car was too free. I was just patient there and then as I say from lap 100 to 230 in that midpoint we were really good.” HOW IMPORTANT IS THE TEST MONDAY AND TUESDAY AT PHOENIX? “It’s always important to get lap time, to get laps in the car. As a team right now we’re feeling these cars out. We’ve got a lot of work to do the next two days.”

PATRICK CARPENTIER, No. 10 VALVOLINE DODGE: “The car was getting better and better and at the end there we made a change and it was pretty good actually. I could run outside and just coming back to them and I was trying to pass Ryan Newman and he used the whole track like he was by himself. Normally I should be doing that because I’m the rookie [smiles] but I guess he’s allowed to or something. I checked-up two or three times before so I don’t hit him and in four I had a really good run one time and I had to check-up and I went back three, four cars behind and came back up to him and thought after all these times he would see me. I had a really good run out of two and we were pretty much back down the straightaway and he kept coming up and just came up to me and there was nothing that I could do.” HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO GET LAPS UNDER RACE CONDITIONS TODAY “It is. I mean, even today, the way I used the brakes and the throttle and the way I drive the car in the corner was much better at the end of the race than it was at the beginning. That’s why it’s important to make these races, you know, and I was a lot smoother going into one and two and three and four and I was keeping the car under me more where as at the beginning I was really coming off both brake and throttle. It was good. The car got better, everything got better, but we just needed the points. I’m so disappointed. I don’t know why he didn’t see. I don’t know. It’s the way it is.”

DOUG RICHERT, CREW CHIEF, No. 01 COORS LIGHT CHEVROLET: “It was a terrible day. We thought that we had a car that was way better than we showed today. And I don’t understand.” WAS IT THE WIND? CHANGE IN WEATHER CONDITIONS? “Didn’t change it for anyone else. I don’t know why we thought we had a good car and we certainly didn’t. We changed and changed and changed and it just didn’t seem to get any better and it was what it was right there at the end.” HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PHOENIX TEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY? “Every day is important. The next couple of races are important, we got points, we got testing. I don’t know if we can cram enough info in the next few weeks.”