PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 10 Berlin City Auto Group Dodge Charger) Pole

“It’s amazing. Our car was great. We made a couple of changes from this morning. The car just rotated beautifully through the middle of the corner. Our Berlin City Auto Group Dodge was just stuck on the track. I’m really happy. The Berlin City Group is sponsoring us for the weekend, a local dealership here in the area, so this is amazing. I was hoping it was going to rain so that we would make the race. But it didn’t and we’re on pole, so it’s pretty good.”

WHAT WILL BE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU RUN THIS THING? “For us, we’ve got to finish every race in the top-20. We need to put the car back in the top-35. I’m going to lead these guys on the green flag and hopefully I get to stay there for a while. We’ll go back and forth in the race, but the important thing for us is to finish this race and get some points and get that car closer to the top-35.”

HOW DOES WINNING THE POLE TODAY STACK UP TO YOUR OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN RACING? “It’s the biggest thing in my career by far. I want to stay here. I lived in the U.S for a long time and my kids are born here. We go back and forth to Montreal to the U.S. and this is what I want to do. I’ve always enjoyed it since I’ve been here, I love driving these cars and I realized I never really enjoyed the other things I did before. For me, that’s where I want to be and to get a pole today is the biggest thing in my career because I enjoy driving these things, so that’s great.”

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger) 2nd

“After the rain delay, the track had cooled off so that helped us out. We were the sixth car on the racetrack after that – 19th fastest in practice earlier – we made three or four qualifying runs and never ran faster then half a tenth. We made a couple more changes and bolted a couple things on there that we thought we’d try. We left one thing on there and moved a ‘little bit of that’ – it was just a good lap. I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think it was going to be that fast with the track conditions what they were, so we’re excited to get a good lap in a get a good starting spot.”

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger) 6th

“We’ve had a good car here the last three or four races. We qualified third in this race last year. I really like this track and it really feels like we have a good setup for here. We struggled in the first half of practice earlier, but we found out where the problem was with our Target Dodge. We ran a tenth (of a second) faster than we did in practice. There may have been some more left, but not much.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 40 Guitar Hero Dodge Charger) 7th

“I think with it cooling down, it certainly helped. Our Guitar Hero Dodge has been good all day off the truck this morning. I left a little bit on the table off the corners – the left front (tire) was really getting up in the air. I didn’t quite know if the car was getting off the corner, so we could have gone a little faster. I happy with today’s progress for sure.”

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Best Buy/Hancock Dodge Charger) 11th

“It was OK for a new car. We were really fast in practice (sixth), but it was awful slick out there after the rain and jet dryer hit the track. Going out early after the rain delay probably hurt us a bit. I’m proud of my Best Buy/Hancock Dodge crew, they gave me a good car and we should be competitive for Sunday.”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) 14th

“I was surprised that it wasn’t a bit quicker. Our Budweiser Dodge felt good. It turned like I wanted it to in every corner. I thought I would have been in the 50s (29.50 second range), so I was surprised that it ran a 65. I thought that we were faster than we were in practice, but I guess not.”

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) 16th

“My lap was pretty good. I had one little wiggle down in Turn 3 and 4. I felt pretty competitive. Obviously Jeff (Gordon) is always a benchmark when it comes to qualifying and we were able to run a bit quicker then him. I think it was a good lap. If it turns out to be a great lap, we’ll see. We went out first in qualifying, I’m not sure if that’s an advantage or disadvantage. Overall, a good run for the Alltel Dodge.”

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil1 Dodge Charger) 20th

“The track definitely changed due to the rain, but the cooler temperatures really helped us out there,” said Hornish. “The track had a little less grip and I feel that I gave up a bit in turn one, but I have no complaints. I’m glad we were able to get qualifying in today, because the Mobil 1 Dodge is a top-20 car.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 Dodge Charger) 22nd

“A pretty good run for our Dodge. I was a little tight in practice so I was conservative going back to power. Hopefully the rain will hold off. With a great run like that (29.743), it’s bound to rain (laughing) and ruin our qualifying run. (Seconds later) And look, it is! Just typical of our luck lately, that’s amazing. Hopefully the rain will stop and they can get the track dry and our qualifying run sticks.”

TERRY LABONTE (No. 45 Victory Junction Gang Dodge Charger) 34th

“We struggled in practice, so that’s about what we expected. We have some things we have to work on tomorrow, but we didn’t want to make huge changes before qualifying. We’ve got a ways to go; a lot of work tomorrow.”