NASCAR WCUP: Daytona Qualifying Notes and Quotes

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"I'm really happy. The guys have done such a great job this winter. After winning a championship, a lot of teams tend to get lazy. But that's what makes you so proud to be a part of Joe Gibbs operation. Those guys dug in harder than ever this winter and the results have shown today. That's a really respectable time and one that we're real happy with right now."

RON HORNADAY, NO. 14 CONSECO PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"That was alright. We needed to pick up a little more. We ran a tenth quicker earlier (today). A lot of guys are going with scuffs instead of stickers. We went with scuffs and we don't know if that was the (right) deal or not. We were looking forward to going a little faster, but we're happy. This is our first Daytona 500. Racing for A.J. Foyt and Conseco, it will be a lot of fun."

KEN SCHRADER, NO. 36 M&M'S PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(WHAT HAPPENED THAT MADE YOU GO SLOWER IN QUALIFYING THAN IN PRACTICE?) "Nothing really happened at all. We didn't get a clean lap there in practice. We had been running the same times yesterday and this morning, so that's what we had. We ran the same speed that we ran in practice. We didn't slow up."

(DID YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DRAFTING HELP IN PRACTICE?) "That was more than a little bit of drafting help."

JOHNNY BENSON, NO. 10 VALVOLINE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"We're real excited about that. It just feels like we're on pretty solid ground. Everybody has just been doing an awesome job on this Pontiac."

(CAN YOU CONCENTRATE SOLELY ON THE 125's NOW?) "It's definitely not as bad as last year. Last year because of the points situation and things like that, we were a little bit more worried than we are this year. Sitting 13th in points (from 2000) and having a good race car, we felt pretty good about coming back. We're just looking forward to the year 2001 and especially the Daytona 500."

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"That was a little better than practice. We found a couple things that we tried for qualifying that probably helped out some. We knew our car was going to be quite as fast as Tony's. We've got a little bit more drag on this car than when we came down here and tested. But we knew this car was going to hopefully handle a little bit better for the race, so that's what we concentrated on and hopefully that will be true when race time comes around.

"We wish we had gone a little faster, but we're still happy. We did pick up a little bit. We're not the fastest, but that will get us a good starting spot (in the qualifying races). We'll just have to race real hard on Thursday and again on Sunday."

DERRIKE COPE, NO. 37 K & N PERFORMANCE FILTERS PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THAT LAP?) "We're going to have to be. That's all we've got. We really haven't shown the speed down here. I really haven't sat in a car down here in a long time that's shown speed by itself, but I always seem to find some speed in the draft on Monday, so that's what we'll concentrate on. We'll get ready for the '125's. We've got three days to do it."

KENNY WALLACE, NO. 27 EEL RIVER RACING PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

"It's been a rough week. We've had a problem getting the car up to speed. But hey, we're looking forward to Thursday and the '125's.' All this stuff is just a show until Thursday. We've got our first two laps in now and we'll see what happens come Thursday."

Text Provided By Al Larsen

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