Dodge Cup Quotes from Saturday at DIS

Saturday, Feb. 7, 2004.
Ray Cooper

Daytona International Speedway
Clear!Blue

Dodge Notes, Quotes.


 

 

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Georgia Pacific/Brawny Dodge)

NOTE: Petty posted the fifth fastest speed in afternoon practice for
tomorrow's Daytona 500 qualifying. Petty's lap of 188.403 mph was only
one one-thousandth of a second slower than fourth-place Jimmie Johnson.

 

"Yeah, it looks a lot like Martinsville qualifying. It's going to be
close, but it's that way everywhere now. We got in a good, clean
practice lap. We came down here and were 13th or 14th over the winter.
We just wanted to come down and back that up. We struggled the first
part and then we backed it up. We got a lot from the 43 team. We stuck
to our plan and it's worked out pretty good so far. We'll come back
tomorrow and try again. The 43 car is off a little bit, but I think they
were a little higher than they anticipated and that slowed 'em down a
little bit. These cars should run close to the same speed. We built two
new Dodges and they're exactly the same. They shouldn't be this far
apart right now. They've been within half a tenth of each other all the
way through the winter. They'll get closer. We're going out 27th and
29th tomorrow. We're right in the middle, so that's a decent draw. We're
not going to be the best or worst."

 

DO YOU HAVE A SHOT FOR THE POLE?

"No, not with the Yates' cars running as fast as they're running. I
don't think the DEI cars have unleashed their madness yet. There are
some spot cars around that are pretty good. The 21 car is pretty good,
the 48. I think what Yates showed today and what Ricky Rudd showed in
testing, they're going to be tough. DEI is at Daytona, so you've got to
look at that. Some of those cars are going to be up in there. I don't
think we've got a shot at the pole, but we were 10th last year on speed.
If we can come back this year and put two cars in the top 15, that would
be good. We thought the 43 car had a good shot at the pole over the
winter, but some of these guys came back down here a little better than
they anticipated. We came back a lot better. I still think some of these
other guys had more laying on the table, too, so once again I
underestimated him, but we've got a good shot at putting the 43 in the
top 10."

 

IS THE ENGINE PROGRAM BETTER? "Yes, tons better, but I think the whole
program is a lot better. The engines got a lot better. You've got to
look at yourself, too. When you point a finger at somebody you've got
three pointing back at you. We had to go back to Petty Enterprises and
look at ourselves, too. The whole time I was pointing a finger at Mike
Ege saying this or that, I had to look back at the cars and the 

personnel and see what we were doing. I think it was a wake-up call for
all of us. Mike's guys have worked hard and their stuff has really
improved. Our fab guys have worked hard and their stuff has improved.
The way the cars are assembled and set up, we started a couple of
different processes, and that's gotten better over the winter. It's been
a really good winter for us."

 

WHAT'S DALE INMAN DOING AT PETTY ENTERPRISES? "It's a good example and
it couldn't have worked out any better. Dale coming back for us is kind
of like Gibbs going back to the Redskins. It's as much motivational as
anything.  To have Joe Gibbs back in Washington, the city itself is
ecstatic and everybody is pumped up. They think they're a winner again.
To have Dale Inman walk back through the door at Petty Enterprises and
be a part of it, even though maybe not on a technical basis, to have him
talking to the guys and patting them on the back and stuff like that is
more of a motivational thing and I think it gives the guys a winning
attitude. It's been a good winter. If you're not motivated, he'll just
beat you to death and then you'll be motivated (said in jest). He's
always been good at motivating. You can ask Robbie Loomis or any of the
other guys who have worked for him. That's the main thing they learned
from him. The mechanical side and race strategy side is a strong suit
for him, too. He's as old as The King, one or two years one way or the
other. His official title is Dale Inman. Need I say more? You've got The
King, and you've got Dale Inman. You don't need any other titles. The
King and Dale are motivating each other and then they're chasing us.
You've got to feel good about it. Why not? It's the dawn of a new
season. You've got to feel good about it."

 

 



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