Wallace, Newman 1-2 in Nextel Challenge Qualifying

May 21, 2004.
Lowe's Motor Speedway.
NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge Qualifying.
 

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) - On the pole

"I almost messed us up. We didn't do any blocked up banzai runs when we
first went out there in practice. I spent all my time practicing for the
NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge (race). I drove it down the backstretch
really deep and got into three. I bottomed out. I went down and cut it
too deep. I hit the left front fender on the apron and shot up the
racetrack. It handled real good. I was hoping we'd get a real good pit
stop, and the guys busted off a good one. It feels good to be up top
right now. Let's hope it stays.

 

"Roy (McCauley) and the boys dreamed the setup up for qualifying. I went
down into three and it turned a lot better than I anticipated. I almost
ran it through the infield. It bent the fender all up, but the car
handled perfect.

 

"I was on it. The team was on it, too. Larry (crew chief) Carter worked
real hard on the race setup for tomorrow night. They got it handling
real good, and then the guys dreamed up the setup for qualifying. We had
a good first lap, and the boys knocked out a 12.40 on the pit stop. That
was a super killer, and the hotrod ran really great. We're on the pole.
It's really cool. I did a good job out there for the guys because they
always do a good job for me. We put a can on whup on 'em on that pit
stop. They were screaming around the car with those lug wrenches."

 

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge) - Qualifies Second

"The pit crew was sweating over this one a little more than I was
afterwards. You can still see I'm sweating. It was a good solid effort
with a good pit stop. I was conservative getting in with pit road speed.
We were pretty good on the racetrack I think. It's ego rights no matter
what we're doing as long as you can be up on that podium.

 

"It's a cool bonus to win, and it's cool that the team is involved with
everything we do, whether it's qualifying or the race. I'm excited about
being back at a good race track.

 

"I was hoping we could pull it off for the crew. That would have been
really great. I thought the only way we'd get beat was if somebody
really banzais us getting on pit road. The guys have been working really
hard, and I really wish we could have pulled it off tonight, but we've
still got that million to go after tomorrow night."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) - On the pole with 12.6-second
stop

"It's four segments you've got to get right. You've got to get the first
lap right. You've got to get down pit road, and you've got to have a
good pit stop. You've got to get off pit road, and the whole team was
able to get it all done, so it was great. We do have a lot of momentum.
We had a couple of bad races lately, but could have won Bristol and we
did win Martinsville. We could have won a couple of wins. The car has
been flying all year long, and now we've got our pit stops taken care
of. Larry Carter has been doing a fabulous job. I'm excited, and I'm
excited for the guys. It's fun to watch 'em be pumped up and excited
like that."

 

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge) - Qualifies 2nd with 12.7-second stop

"I was conservative getting to pit lane for obvious reasons. They
penalized two out of the four or five before me, so I was doing whatever
I had to do to make sure we didn't get penalized. We had a great pit
stop. I think it was 12 and a half seconds (actually 12.7 seconds) and
that was phenomenal. We were pretty good on the racetrack.

 

"I was a little disappointed last year. We were right on pit road speed
coming in and after showing a tape and reviewing pit road speeds, we
were about 20 mph off. I think they cracked down on that a little bit
this year, and I think it catered to guys who did pit road speed a
little more.

 

"Knowing Rusty I'm sure he wouldn't have run quite that hard if we
hadn't been on the pole. It's a great overall team effort. It shows how
hard the guys back at the shop have worked on pit training. The Penske
cars were 1-2 and the last time we did that was at Dover the first race
last year, almost a year ago. It was a great total effort. I will say it
upsets me. I'm not happy we're not No. 1, but we'll go on.

 

"It's just my opinion from watching what happened last year. I know I
was almost 20 mph off. I know pit road speed isn't exactly measured with
a radar gun, but obviously they cracked down a little bit harder. The
drivers didn't get that much faster getting to pit road this year."

 

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) - Qualified 16th with
12.2-second pit stop and 20-second pit road penalty, too fast entering.

"We had the fastest lap, so that was a good sign, and our pit crew had
the quickest stop. Hopefully that means we'll be good tomorrow night.
Our car is good. It wasn't as good when the sun was out, but when the
sun went down, the car got stronger."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) - On the pole with 12.6-second
stop

Pole Winner's Interview

"We spent all day working on race setups. We never put the car in
qualifying mode, although we've got a pretty good idea where it needs to
go from past experience. We spent all day doing race stuff, getting
ready for tomorrow night. We made all the changes for qualifying, and
when I hauled it down the backstretch and into turn three, the car stuck
a lot better than I ever anticipated. I actually got the left front tire
on the apron, and it shot up the track. Sparks flew everywhere, but I
stayed in the throttle when all that was going on. I had a pretty good
first lap. I knew I had to make it all up coming down pit road. I came
down pit road real hard and put the pit road speed limit right to the
max just like I did in practice. I spent a lot of time following the
pace car to know exactly where I needed to be on the pit road speed. I
felt real confident with it. I got it there, brought it down and got it
stopped. The guys knocked down a (12.6-second) pit stop. I left hard.
The car didn't spin the tires much. I stayed in the concrete a lot
leaving so I could get maximum traction. I got up on the racetrack wide
open and when it was all said and done I knew that was all I could do.
Maybe I could have got it to the line a little better because of where I
messed up in three and four coming to the line, but it felt really good,
and usually when it feels good you've got a good, fast lap. I'm just
real proud for the team. We're looking good right now.

 

"I think this is the third time I've been on the pole for this event.
It's very important to get track position and get out front and come
through the gears quick. Everybody knows these cars run better in clean
air. If I can get out front and get gone, I feel a lot better for my
chances in this race. We did a lot of practicing today, and I feel like
I've got a good car.

 

"I was a little surprised (with pit road speeding penalties) until I
came off turn four and saw where that cone was parked. I came off turn
four at 170 mph and hit that cone and starting coming down through the
gears and locked up the brakes and slid across the cone.  My pit road
speed was supposed to be around 4,000 rpm's. I crossed the cone at about
4,800. The car slowed down to about 3,200 before I exited pit road. In
my mind that balanced out to be the correct pit road speed. Then I
punched the throttle real quick and kept my eyeballs on the tach to get
all I possibly could out of the pit road. When I got it down there, it
all worked out good. I can see how if you get in hard it was going to be
hard to get the baby slowed down. A lot of guys came down quick and
locked up quick and they couldn't wow it down enough.

 

"When I'm out there running I'm not thinking million dollars, I'm not
thinking that. I'm thinking do the best job you can for your crew. I
wanted to see them get the money. I've 

got a lot of new guys. When I looked behind me in victory lane I didn't
know I had that many guys. They were all smiling and happy and it does a
lot of morale boosting. Just going in there knowing you're going to try
to win the race and you're doing a good job and your crew is happy,
that's a lot. When your adrenaline is going wide open and you're trying
to win, and then after you win and it's 'guess what?' You've just won a
million.' That's when it really kicks in. I'm not out there running lap
after lap thinking I'm going to get a million dollars. It's just not in
my head. As a race car driver you might be thinking that under cautions
or stuff, but you're trying to hit your marks, you're trying to get
aggressive, you're trying to give the right feedback to the team.

 

"You're going all out right here, there's no doubt about that. The best
thing you can do here is pull your seatbelt tight and make sure your
safety gear is good and make sure everything is right. I've been to this
racetrack before. I've broke my right foot. I've gone through the wall.
I've torn the suspension off. I've won it. I've finished second in it.
I've done a lot of dramatic good things, and I've done a lot of dramatic
bad things. I remember the night Michael Waltrip won it and I finished
second. I thought I had that one won. Then in '89 the deal between
Darrell Waltrip and I was dramatic. I don't think this race will be any
less dramatic. I feel good about my chances in it. I like the format. I
got real vocal about the format. I wasn't for eliminating cars. I think
you're going to see a lot of good racing tomorrow night. I'm just happy
I'm in front of all that stuff right now."

 

"I had a lot of confidence in the brakes. I didn't even practice pit
stops today. My big deal was to follow the pace car so I'd know exactly
what pit road speed was going to be. I followed it for two laps. I
really studied it. 

 

"They've got really, really good. I'm glad we kept fiddling with them. I
knew I had to surround myself with really good people. I knew you just
couldn't take something that was just OK. You had to have something
that's the best. You've got to have a good pit crew. I'm glad I didn't
give in to saying it's OK, we'll get 'em next week. I did that a couple
of years and it bit me for two years. I've got a good, fast pit crew
now, and I've got a good leader with Larry Carter. The guys love working
for him.

 

"I'm always motivated to be No. 1. I really didn't think about that
(Ryan Newman on the pole) at all. I just went out and drove as hard as I
possibly could. I knew getting in pit road and getting off pit road was
important. I've done this thing a million times and that's where I
really tried to exceed doing."