Driver Kahne wins NexCup Pole at Darlington

Friday, March 18, 2004.
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 Qualifying
Darlington Raceway.

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) - Wins Second Career pole

"Qualifying was awesome. We picked up three and a half tenths from
practice. I really couldn't believe how well the car cut. I got back in
the throttle than I did in practice, and it just kept turning and
turning. It was a great lap. I don't think we left anything out there
today.

 

"We keep doing the same things each week, preparing the same way. I've
been doing the same things, the team has. We've pretty much been testing
every week in the Busch or Cup cars. We get to the track and have good
practices in the morning and qualify good. It's been awesome here
lately, and Tommy Baldwin and all the guys on the Dodge Dealers team
doing a great job.

 

"This is definitely as high as it's ever been for me. In midgets I think
we went on a winning streak one time or actually we did in two years in
a row. We won three straight midget races and a Silver Crown and a
sprint car race. That was five races in seven or eight days. That was
pretty awesome. Each week we come back and race hard and smart and we
keep having good weekends. This is pretty awesome so far.

 

"I hid the egg after Rockingham so it wouldn't break. I brought it back
here and I pulled it out last night, but today I didn't act like there
was an egg under there at all. Tomorrow in practice, then the Busch race
and definitely on Sunday it's going to be about racing the racetrack and
racing smart because this track can definitely get you in a hurry.

 

"I'd say we're just lucky right now. Obviously we have a great race
team. I'm a decent driver, but things are going great right now. I don't
know why it is, but we're just trying to keep it up. I really don't know
why things are so good. I think it's just all the people surrounding me,
and Ray Evernham has taught me a lot. As soon as qualifying is over,
he's down there telling me things. It's like, man, it doesn't quit with
Ray and the things he's having me do. Things are just going great right
now.

 

"There's been a lot this weekend (communication between Busch and Cup
teams). We try to go back and forth. We've got Jamie Jones in charge of
the Busch team now, so it's a good guy that can talk back and forth to
Sammy Johns or Tommy Baldwin up at Evernham's. That's been real nice.
Tommy and our engineer have helped the Busch team this weekend. We've
kinda gone back and forth with the help from the Busch team and Cup team
and tried to learn things from the first practice this morning. This
week has been the most out of any where they've really worked together."

 

 

 "I'm pretty much just been trying to do the same things. When I was on
the trailer after qualifying, I was thinking about something and I think
I need to just keep doing what I'm doing. I don't know if that's
superstitious or what. I don't want to change anything that's been going
along lately.

 

"I think it'll be all day (chasing the track on Sunday). This is a track
similar to Rockingham. We chase it all day, and we'll just need to be
there again at the end of the race. We'll be racing the racetrack all
day. If you start racing other cars here, it seems like you end up
getting in the wall or slowing down. I think the track is going to be
changing all day. Those walls are going to get closer and closer as the
day goes on.

 

"The last two weeks we've lost a little bit during the center part of
the race and had to use a couple of pit stops later in the race to find
our way back to the front. I hope Sunday I'll be able to give them
better information all the way through the race. It seems like we just
go the wrong way a little bit in the center part of the race. If I can
just give better information in the middle part of the race, hopefully
we'll have a better shot at the end.

 

"Ray is big on making sure my focus stays where it needs to be. I've
been keeping it right where it needs to be. I've been focused on all the
things that I was at the start of the season and before the season
started. There have been a lot more things going on because of the way
we're running, but when it comes down to it I'm still focused on the
same areas.

 

"That's one of the things that is different this year. Probably
three-quarters of the way through turn two when you start coming off of
it, there's a lot of dust and just real slippery stuff right there, and
the same off turn four. You come back off the wall, where we used to run
right against the wall in the whole area. It's real slippery. I got into
it once today and the car was completely hung out. I ended up saving it,
but it's definitely slippery if you get in it. It stays far enough up.
If you can keep your right sides out of it, you'll be fine. If your
right sides get in it, it'll probably suck you right into the wall or
you'll spin out. It'd be hard to really get it away from the wall
because it sits real close to the wall. It hits the wall and falls off
and sits real close to it."

 

 "That's a great lap here at Darlington. To start first in the Carolina
Dodge Dealers 400 on Sunday means a great deal to the Dodge Dealers/UAW
team. We look forward to Sunday, and we'll work hard tomorrow to get a
good balance on the racecar and just try to stay away from the walls all
day.

 

"I'm definitely surprised. It came quick. Tommy Baldwin and the whole
team have done a great job. The engine shop is doing an awesome job. The
Evernham engines are unbelievable right now. They're running so strong.
The Busch cars are up front, too, for tomorrow's race, so we're
excited."

 

Immediately after qualifying

NOTE: Kahne is one of only five drivers in NASCAR history to score three
top five finishes in their first four races. Two drivers scored four top
fives in their first four races.

"You definitely get to the turn three wall quicker, especially when the
tires fall off. It's just another tough way to get around Darlington.
It's always been a tough track since I've been coming here. Now it's
maybe a little tougher. I held my breath a little bit, so we'll just
have to wait and see what happens, but that was a really good lap."

 

JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)

"That was a pretty good lap. We have a good car, but we weren't as fast
as we wanted to be. We did a lot of practice with race setup today and
didn't work that much on qualifying. I think we'll be real good in the
race. We'll fine tune on it tomorrow. I don't think the walls will be a
problem. I'm not as concerned about them as I thought I would be. I'm
really looking forward to the race. We finished sixth down here last
time, and we'll try to improve on that Sunday."

 

DODGES AT DARLINGTON -- Dodge will own a large part of this weekend's
race festivities thanks to the Carolina Dodge Dealers and their
fourth-year sponsorship of  Sunday's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series race.  

 

As part of Dodge's support of the race sponsorship, NASCAR fans will see
a 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 pace the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Busch Series
and Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 Nextel Cup Series races.  Also, 43 Dodge
Ram Rumble Bee trucks will be used in the Nextel Cup Driver Parade
before the running of the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

 

Dodge also has several giveaway promotions tied into Sunday's race
activities.

As part of the Carolina Dodge Dealers Top-Five Giveaway, up to five
lucky winners could win a 2004 Dodge Ram Rumble Bee hemi truck.  More
than 120 first prize winners were selected from entries collected at
Carolina Dodge dealerships and the Darlington Raceway website.  The
winners will receive two tickets to Sunday's race, as well as access to
the Dodge VIP hospitality tent and the chance to win a new Ram Rumble
Bee.  Depending on the number of Dodge race cars that finish in the
top-five spots of Sunday's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, the same number
of first prize winners will be randomly selected to take home a new Ram
Rumble Bee. If five Dodge cars finish in the Top 5, all five names drawn
win a Ram Rumble Bee.

 

Fans leaving Darlington Raceway after the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
won't be left out of the giveaway action.  They will receive a coupon to
take back to their hometown Carolina Dodge Dealer. The coupon allows
them to pick up a free Bill Elliott Commemorative Poster. In addition to
the poster, if they purchase a new Dodge Neon, Stratus or Intrepid the
Carolina Dodge Dealer will give them the ride of their lifetime. From
March 22, 2004 - April 17, 2004, customers purchasing the vehicles
listed above will receive a Richard Petty Driving Experience "Ride
Along" ticket. All fans are also invited to join Bill Elliott at Dodge
City on Sunday for a Q & A session.

 

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)

"One and two was really good. It really drove great. Three and four was
great, too. We've learned a lot today. We've done a lot of chassis work
and learned a lot of things. I never have been a guy who runs real high
on the racetrack, and I've taken a lot of criticism for that. Movin' 'em
down to the middle of the track in the groove I normally run in is not
too bad for me."

 

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge)

"I messed up, but that's a good excuse. The ALLTEL Dodge was good. I'm
really looking forward to the race, and hopefully we'll end up with a
top five starting spot. The walls are there and they're the same for
everybody. It's going to make track position that much more important.
The car should be really good for the race. Kasey ran a really good lap,
and I don't know if we could have beat that, but we should have been
closer. I messed up in turn two. I got too low and just about stuck it
in the fence."

 

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge)

"We struggled a little bit today. We got through three and four pretty
good on the get-up lap and we got a pretty decent lap. I think we'll be
good for the race. It's been a lot better this season with all three
cars running good. We can compare setups now, and last year Casey and I
couldn't really do that. We all have similar setups this year, and that
makes it better for all three teams."

 

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge)

"It was all right. It wasn't a bad qualifying run. I expected to go
faster. We were free in practice and made some small adjustments to
tighten it up a little bit and it was way too tight. We might have been
better if we had left it alone. When you feel like you don't have to
adjust, sometimes you should, and sometimes when you should, maybe it's
just hard to get it right. It's about where we've been. It wasn't a bad
run. I just wanted to go faster."

 

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak Easy Care Dodge)

"We gained six tenths. We only got one shot at a qualifying run in
practice. We spent a large part of it getting race runs in. We've been
struggling, and we wanted to get race practice in. Our Bristol test went
great, and we wanted to come here and see if it was the same way. So
far, this is our best Dodge yet. It's going to race well. We're not
going to start real high, but we'll take it. You notice the difference a
lot in three and four. One and two is still about the same."

 

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge)

"We were a little loose. We've been loose all day. The wall is going to
get hit. I guess six or eight guys hit it in practice, and that was on
good tires. You run against the fence in one and two. It's made it
tighter. We have room to race side by side. You'll have to give and take
a lot. I don't think it will hurt it a whole lot. We ran some race runs
in practice, and we were pretty satisfied in practice this morning.
It'll probably be the same Darlington. There's some shade coming down in
three and four right now, so it's going to get better and better for
qualifying. We'll just see what happens. We had a lot of fun in
qualifying. I was a little out of breath when we finished, but this is
Darlington and you've got to let it all hang out."

 

JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge)

"We wanted to be better. I got a good, solid lap. I think you can win
from anywhere, so we just wanted to make sure we didn't tear it up
before the checkered flag. The walls hurt us a little bit. It took some
race track away from us. The track wasn't half as wide as it needed to
be anyway. It'll make it a different race, and I think you'll see more
cars torn up because of it."

 

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge)

"We spent all day working on race setup again. That's what we've done
all year long. We made one qualifying right at the end of practice, and
we picked up half a second from that, so we're pretty pleased. That was
a good lap for us. You're going to have to be really positive in the
race before you make a move. You've got to make sure you can get through
with it because you can't count on the other guy giving you any room. He
won't have any room, either. Before it was a give and take racetrack.
Right now, you've got nothing to give. You may have a ton to take, but
you've got nothing to give, and that's where you might have a problem.
Knock on wood, I hope I don't get in any crashes, but this might be one
of the places where they might need to change the rules. It might be
that if you get in a crash you have to park it and not come back out
there because there's no place out there to get out of the way."

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