BRICKYARD 400: Bobby Labonte Interview: Qualifying draw created distadvantage
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 4, 2001
BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
(DID THE LATE QUALIFYING DRAW HURT YOU?) "A little bit. The track is 30 degrees hotter now than when the first car went out, so that probably wasn't in our favor. But, the car was really pretty good for qualifying. We didn't lose as much grip as I had anticipated losing. We probably didn't adjust enough for that. I got a little bit tight down there in one and it hurt the lap more than anything. But [turns] three and four were really good, so we probably just didn't adjust correctly for it. But the track is hotter now than it was earlier."
(ARE YOU PRETTY SATISFIED WITH THE LAP?) "I think this morning after practice we were 20th fastest, so I think the adjustments we made on the car were probably really good. We probably didn't adjust enough. My car didn't change as much as I thought it would. But when we were up here testing we didn't try any qualifying runs, so I'm pretty tickled with it."
(NOTHING HAS COME EASY FOR YOUR TEAM THIS YEAR, HAS IT?) "Well, it's not supposed to be like that and I'm glad it isn't. It's making us better people and a better race team. We've just got to work on this Interstate Batteries Pontiac a little more and get the balance right so it will be a little bit better than it has been so far in the first two hours of practice and get it right for the race."
(DOES LAST YEAR'S WIN HELP YOUR CONFIDENCE HERE AT ALL THIS YEAR?) "It does, I guess, in a way. But for the most part, last year was last year and it's all history and done with. We've got to make sure that we're on top today because we can't live off of what we did last year."
(HOW TOUGH WAS IT TO GET A READ ON THE TRACK?) "It was tough. I probably didn't read it right. I didn't compensate enough for it. We probably should have adjusted the car more. But it's still a great run for us. To be 15th after going out next to last probably isn't all that bad. We weren't really a threat for the pole, but we definitely picked up some from practice and were better than we could have been."
(DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE IN A POSITION TO REPEAT HERE?) "I think so, but I'm not going to say a whole lot. I mean, I want to be and I think we are. But, it's a step at a time. Deep down inside our hearts on this team, we feel like we're pretty good. But with the year we've had, we're not going to just go out there and announce, 'Hey we've just won a race and we fixed everything.' That's not it. But, I do know down deep in our hearts that we have come a long ways and we're getting better. We've just got to go out there and work real hard in making our car balanced as good as possible. If we do that, we'll have a shot at something."
(HOW HARD WILL PASSING BE HERE TOMORROW?) "I don't know. We haven't run in traffic, yet. But, it's probably not going to be any different than last year or the year before or the year before that, to a certain extent. It'll be somewhat different, somehow, but I don't know how much. We'll just have to wait and see."
Text provided by Al Larsen
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