SAMSUNG/RADIO SHACK 500 Chevy QUALIFYING NOTES

 

CHEVROLET NOTES & QUOTES
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES 
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

April 2, 2004

 

BOBBY LABONTE, #18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES CHEVROLET - qualified on the pole

 "I think we were about fifth on the first time by.  I thought well I don't know, I don't think the car can go much faster.  But then it stuck pretty good out of two and then we got a real good run off four."

 

"It stuck like glue.  I don't think it could have gone any better today.  We did one lap in practice in qualifying setup.  Then we did one more to make it a little faster."

 

"I think we have a great race car.  Good things will hopefully come from today.  We had a good qualifying run and hopefully that will give us some inspiration for a good practice tomorrow."

 

ON BREAKING A BAD STRING OF LUCK AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:

"Last year the car didn't handle well.  The big thing is we have to make sure we have a car that handles really well, is balanced really good. Then make sure it stays that way throughout the day and not have problems."

 

WERE YOU AWARE OF THE OVATION FROM THE CROWDS DURING YOUR RUN?

"When the grandstands are full on race day you can see that sort of thing.  But not today.  There are lots of people here which I really appreciate.  It's an awesome feeling.  I certainly noticed it when I came back to the pits. It's my home state even if I was born a seven-and-a-half hours drive away from here."

 

ON SIMILARITIES TO ATLANTA:

"It's a lot different.  Atlanta has its own characteristics.  It's not like here and it's not like Charlotte.  It might be based on the same blueprint but it's quite different. We didn't bring the same car we had at Atlanta.  This track is faster... faster.  As the race goes on the tires don't really give up grip like they do at Atlanta and you don't see multiple grooves here like you do in Atlanta.  So there really aren't many similarities." 

 

JOE NEMECHEK, #01 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET - qualified 5th

"The first lap I didn't get into Turn One right and as I turned into the corner the nose slid up the track.  When that happens you have to get off the gas to get it back down to the bottom and you kinda lose momentum.  I didn't want to make the same mistake on the second lap and I hit one and two just right so I opened up a pretty solid lap."

 

"We had some problems in practice and were pretty much behind the eight-ball the whole day.  I know what it takes to go fast here, which helps."

 

"Texas is very, very fast.  The car has to drive just right.  If it doesn't drive right, you can't keep that throttle down. The car can't do anything wrong.  You can't even wiggle.  If you do, you're slow."

 

"It's a great day for the U.S. Army team." 

 

DALE EARNHARDT JR., #8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET - qualified 7th

"We should have been a lot better.  We were real tight.  I was coming off the corner and I was kind of happy with how the car ran all day long and I thought we were going to be OK.  We got tight at the end of the practice.  I thought don't worry about it since its real hot outside.  Then we went to practice and it was too tight.  We should of made the adjustment on it but I wouldn't let them."

 

ON WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK AND IF ANY REGRETS:

"It was a call that comes down from the guys at NASCAR.  When they make the calls, you find a way to live with it.  They have a point.  What I did wasn't necessarily the best plan.  My mom even admitted that but it was the best one I could think of at the time."

 

"It's really difficult for me to talk about it.  Because I want to get out of trouble - not into more trouble. I'm not upset with it.  I totally understand where NASCAR is coming from and understand their point on the situation and how it represents the sport and maybe not the best interest for them.  I understand them, everything is good, we're in Texas ready to run good this weekend and move forward."

 

BRIAN VICKERS, #25 GMAC CHEVROLET - qualified 13th

"We had a tough time getting around the track and we had to go back to our first package.  We've got a pretty solid car.  I'm happy with the team's call and my spot."  

 

"It is going to be tough to pass here.  It's hard to build a brand-new race track.  As it gets older the groove will move up.  But at the moment it's pretty much a single-groove track."

 

"Right now we're trying to build this race team.  We made a couple of changes for this weekend and we're looking for a good solid finish."

 

ROBBY GORDON, #31 CINGULAR WIRELESS CHEVROLET - qualified 18th

"We picked up quite a bit.  We'd concentrated on a race setup since it rolled off the trailer here.  Because of the chance of rain, we really didn't even try our qualifying laps until late in the practice session."

 

"This race it's normally pretty tough to pass, so it's important to hold track position.  In fact, I hope it rains now.  I have a race setup in my back pocket that I don't think the others have."