NASCAR WCUP: Cracker Barrel 500 Post Race Notes, Ken Schrader

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

KEN SCHRADER, NO. 36 PEDIGREE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(ON POSTING HIS BEST FINISH SINCE 1999) "We had a good run here last November and didn't get to show it because of an untimely yellow. Today I screwed up our car and screwed up our track position right there at the start and then we played 'catch-up.' We did, for a change, have two timely yellow flags. We finally caught a couple breaks and it was fun. It was a riot.

(IS THAT THE MOST FUN YOU'VE HAD IN A WHILE?) "That is the best day we've had in a while. Now there is some light at the end of the tunnel. We will have a different shop tomorrow, that's for sure. Everybody that was here and everybody that watched at home comes in and knows we had a good weekend. I'm just glad we got something."

NEWT MOORE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 36 PEDIGREE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:

(ON HIS FIRST RACE WITH KEN SCHRADER) "That was a lot of fun. We worked hard on the car in 'Happy Hour' and had a lot of help from the '10' car (Johnny Benson). That's the way this deal is going to be. We're going to work hand-in-hand. Today it worked out real well."

(ON EASING INTO THE WEEKEND WITH THE TEAM) "I told myself prior to qualifying not to jump in here and try to do too much. That's something I've learned over the years. We just kind of eased into it. We would have liked to have qualified better. But it really isn't where you start; it's where you finish.

"But the car was good today. And, the driver? I'm telling you he was sliding that thing around like he was at Eldora [Speedway]. He did a good job.

"The crew did a good job, too. They had problems with their pit stops last week so we focused on that this week. I got there on Tuesday and we focused on that from Tuesday until we got down here. Those guys did a real good job and Ken did an awesome job."

(DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'D BE THAT GOOD TODAY?) "I knew we were probably a top 15 car. The car was good on a long run and that's what we concentrated on. We worked on it really hard.

"Communicating with Ken is so easy. He reminds me of Kenny Wallace. Kenny Wallace is my best friend. I raced with him three or four years ago and it was the same thing. They're both Missouri boys - maybe there is something to that."

Text Provided By Al Larsen

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