Ted Musgrave earns a Top-Dodge Spot in Nashville's Truck Qualifying -- Dodge Notes & Quotes

Friday, August 09, 2002
Nashville Superspeedway, Gladeville, Tenn.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Federated Auto Parts 200 - Qualifying


JASON LEFFLER (No. 2 Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge Ram) -- qualified sixth
"I like it out here on the concrete. We had a decent lap.  We didn't have a chance to try our qualifying setup in practice, so we probably could've run a little harder.  I didn't think that time would hold up for the pole, but I knew it would start us up near the front.  All the Ultra Bad Boys did an awesome job getting the Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge all set up for the race.  As the night goes on, we know it's going to get cooler.  We've just got to keep in mind how much the track may change, but I don't know if it will change all that much."

TED MUSGRAVE (No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge Ram) -- qualified third
"It was a little free, but you've got to be that way to try and keep up with everyone out there.  I figured we were probably going to run about that time for qualifying.  We ran a 30.970 (sec.) lap in practice - I had one guy get in my way a little bit.  So, I knew if the guys stepped it up a little bit, we'd probably be running in the .80's like we did.  But there's no way we could get a .50 out of it, that's for sure.  I don't know what's going on with that.  But we're doing all we can, and we're the fastest Dodge right now. 

"The nice thing about a concrete racetrack is that it doesn't change hardly at all.  The biggest thing tomorrow will be the tires that are running on this surface.  They run the Hoosier tires on this track after us with the ARCA cars, so tomorrow everyone will be slipping and sliding around out there.  The first 15 laps will be treacherous tomorrow.  Maybe I shouldn't tell anybody, or they'll be changing their truck for it."

ROBERT PRESSLEY (No. 18 Square D/Dickies Racing Dodge Ram) -- qualified fourth
"Yeah, we were quick, but we lost a little time from practice.  We had hoped for just a bit more out of that run.  The thing is, I've never been one to qualify.  I love racing, and I try to really concentrate on what we've got to do later on down the road - especially with my not having run these trucks all that much.  I take all I can out of practice to get ready for the race.  One day we'll get the pole.

"I feel pretty good heading into tomorrow night's race.  We're out here in Bobby Hamilton's backyard, and he loves this racetrack.  What we've got to do is just make everything happen, keep on getting these top-threes every week, and whenever we do that we're putting ourselves into the position to win more races."

BOBBY HAMILTON Jr. (No. 4 Square D Dodge Ram) -- qualified seventh
"Our Dodge was good.  It was a little bit loose earlier in practice, and we made the right calls to fix it.  We put our fastest lap out there in qualifying, and we're happy about that.  I think we're pretty stout, so we're looking forward to the race.  We've always been pretty lucky running good here.  We made it into the field today, and that's what counts."

BILL LESTER (No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Ram)
"It was another pretty good qualifying run.  It's not quite what we wanted, but we'll take it.  Again, the key objective is to have a good run tomorrow.  With this track really only being one groove and a half as far as I can see so far, I think track position is going to be a big deal.  We're pretty excited to be rolling off where we are.  It helps to have logged some time at this track already.  I came here in the 2001 season, and it feels good to come back to a track that I've already been around.  The track really is a little bit different than when we practiced at the Dodge earlier this year.  The track conditions were probably about 30 degrees cooler back then.  A lot of what we learned there was thrown out the window, and we were a little discouraged by that.  We had hoped to roll out and be spot-on.  But, we've got a good team and they made the changes that were appropriate to get us fast, so I'm happy with that."

JOE RUTTMAN (No. 45 Richard Petty Driving Experience Dodge Ram)
"It's great to be running with 'ol Richard Petty.  I'll get some free driving experience out of this deal, and heck I might get better.  They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, so he's probably got his work cut out for him.  It's been great.  We've got to go just a little bit quicker.  We've been sneaking up on it, but we're just not quite where we need to be.  Hopefully we can bring in another top-five like we did with Dodge in Daytona this year."

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 62 NAPA/Orleans Dodge Ram) -- qualified 11th, top-rookie
"This is the first time that the NAPA guys have done that many weeks in a row.  It took a toll on us.  We can claim that it's because we're out on the west coast - we can claim a lot of things - but I don't believe any of it. We just weren't ready from top to bottom during the last couple of weeks.  We had a big meeting last week, and everyone just settled down a little bit.  We took a little extra time on the Dodge that we brought out here this week. We came here with the oldest truck we've got - it's old faithful.  For us right now, we're back to trying to be solid and showing that we're the strong team that started this season."  

CARLOS CONTRERAS (No. 43 Hot Wheels Dodge Ram)
"I don't know.  We tried three different setups, and they all gave us three different times.  We ran better in practice with this same setup.  I don't know what happened. We've got another practice to find out what will work for tomorrow's night race, but I'm surprised with that time."