Dodge NASCAR Winston Cup Notes from Talladega EA Sports 500

Sunday, Oct. 6, 2002					                          Talladega Superspeedway                              	                                        EA Sports 500                                                                                                      Dodge notes and quotes.  

WARD BURTON (No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Intrepid R/T) Finishes 10th
"We had to stop for fuel. We probably could have gone a lap or two further, but we would have been five laps short of the finish. We wanted to pit early because we wanted to be in front of the pack when they caught us and it worked out good. The longer we ran, when it got close to 25 or 30 laps, the car handling-wise would come on and we'd get back to the front. I'm happy about that. I got to run with Jeff a lot. He had an awesome car, too. Frankie did an excellent job. He was real calm and calculated, methodical. Nobody got excited. Everything worked like clockwork. We needed a top 10. The last three races we've been tearing up stuff, and that hasn't been any fun, but hopefully this will give the guys a break this week and we can get some of those cars in the assembly line. The small fuel cells worked out pretty good, but the way the rule package is we're so bunched up, you could come in every 10 laps and be bunched up. We still need to fix the racing. I know the fans get a great show, but three abreast all day. I don't care if you've got smaller fuel cells or smaller steering wheels, you're going to bust your butt sooner or later. One guy out there, I won't call any names, he must have bounced off a guy four times. I was one of  'em. I couldn't believe it. I think he finally got blackflagged."

SCOTT WIMMER  (No. 23 Hills Bros Coffee Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"The Hills Bros Dodge was running real well. We just kinda got beat on fuel mileage. I learned a lot about the draft today. This is the first time I've ever been here in a Cup car. It drove a lot different. The drivers drive a lot different, too. It's hard to make any friends out there. They shuffled me in and out of the pack, but that's probably the most I've learned in a race in a long time. It feels good. We had a good top-20 run, and we'll go on from here."

BILL DAVIS (Car owner Bill Davis Racing Dodge Intrepid R/Ts)
"We just got beat on fuel mileage. We weren't going to beat the 8 if things shook out like they normally do at these places. The 15 beat themselves. Then it was our race to be in position to be there with a top-five car. We just didn't get it done on fuel mileage. That was our fault. Scott did exactly what he was supposed to do. It's what he does every week. He drives smart. He drives clean, and he doesn't make stupid mistakes. He gets all he can out of the car. They beat up on him there at the end, and that wasn't surprising. He was a 12th or 13th-place car and that's about all you can ask. I think he can do it every week."

STACY COMPTON (No. 49 BAM/Alabama Dodge Intrepid R/T) Finishes 22nd
"The guys hustled all day. I'm proud of all the guys on this team. It's the best finish they've ever had. We ran out of fuel there at the end and had to dive onto pit road. We ran out going into turn three. That probably cost us a little bit. I think we might could have finished 15th or so. To come in on the lead lap, it was a decent run. We haven't had a chance to test together. They didn't make the show here last time. I'm awful proud of what they did. Scott Eggleston (crew chief) did a great job. We had some great pit stops and the car drove good all day. If we hadn't run out of gas, we could have had a better finish, but we'll take it. I'll be back with this team next week at Charlotte."

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"I think the car was a lot better than that. We ran out of gas and lost a lap. We had a car that could have won the race. I'm happy with today. I had a little bit of the flu before the race started, and I was a little leery about even finishing. For the most part it was pretty good. We stayed up front most of the day, and ran out of fuel and got a lap down. We rode around the rest of the day. It's really a good race team. It seemed like we picked it up on every pit stop. I just wish we could have finished on the lead lap. There's not a better race car or race team out here. I just tried to ride around, and when I wanted to move up I could fairly easy. I just had to wait on the right time. It didn't seem like anyone cut anyone off. It seemed like everybody drove pretty clean and gave a lot of room. It seemed like everybody used their head today. It seemed like you'd pit and spread out and then 10 laps later you were back together. They split out a little bit better on that last stop. The pit stops were probably the most exciting things that happened today. It would have really been boring without all those pit stops. Of all the races you need friends at, this is definitely one of them. I didn't feel like anyone hung me out to dry. I just tried to stay in line today and Ryan Newman and I worked together. Later in the race, if you have a fast race car, I think they're going to go with you. Sterling gave me some advice, but the packs were so tight I didn't get to use it much. You just ride three wide until the lane moves open."

JIMMY SPENCER (No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"We just never had our car where it would run good. We got caught and our fuel mileage wasn't as good as it needed to be. We had time to get it better, but it just didn't run like it did at Daytona. It was a tough day. Jamie ran pretty good right there at the end. His car wasn't as good as it needed to be, either, but we got together at the end, and he did a good job bringing it home."