Dodge quotes from Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying

May 27, 2004
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Coca-Cola 600. Qualifying.
 

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

"We were junk over here last Friday. We came back on Saturday and made
huge improvements and from last Saturday until today we've made even
more huge improvements. Those guys really worked hard at the shop. Last
week we went almost last for the Open qualifying. We went about the same
time tonight and we were about seven tenths quicker this week with
basically the same package. The driver still ain't much, but the team
has come a long way."

 

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge)

"It was pretty close to a perfect lap. I think the track is going to get
better for sure, but it was a good effort for the ALLTEL Dodge. The guys
did a great job. This is the same car we had last week at the NASCAR
NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully we'll end up
in the top five. I'm pretty confident of that. We'll just have to wait
and see if it sticks for the pole."

 

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)

"The weather is going to play a big factor. I think the longer it goes
the faster the track is going to be. I'm not looking forward to going
out fifth, but the track surface was about 40 degrees cooler than the
last time I'd been in it. We were quick. I just hope it's quick enough.
A 29.20 is pretty strong, so we'll see where it ends up. I'm happy with
that. We picked up a ton, so we'll see what happens. This is not the
same car we had here last week. I think it'll be better."

 

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak Easy Share/Jasper Dodge)

"It's going to get a lot quicker, but a 29 flat around this joint ain't
too bad. If we can stay near the top 10 I'd be real excited. I was
hoping the board would fill up so we could take a picture of the three
Penske Dodges on top. That would have been cool. I've raced 24 hours
alone in a racecar. It was a lot tougher at Baja. Six hundreds miles is
a long distance for a NASCAR event. The big deal is you have to have
good engines. We've got good horsepower. Now we've got to keep that
reliability up. This team is good at doing all the extra things you need
to do in a 600-mile race, so I don't see the extra 100 miles being a
problem. It's a long day. I got burned at California in 500 miles, and
it's going to be hot here, too. The key to our lap today was the Nextel
Open. We didn't fool ourselves today. We let the weather come to the
car, and hopefully the Kodak Dodge will stay in the top 10. This is the
Dodge we ran at California. I've had my best finish so far in this car,
and hopefully we can kick it up a couple of notches here. This is the
Dodge we planned to bring for the 600."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

"We picked up a lot from where we practice, which we hoped, but you
never know what's going to happen until it actually does. The ALLTEL
Dodge was strong off the truck. We were second in practice, and I guess
that's our number of the day. Jimmie had a great draw. I knew we were
hurting, but it was a good effort and a good starting spot and hopefully
we'll have a great shot at the victory Sunday night.

 

"It's kind of funny. He was so shook up. He wanted to fight the guy he
pulled the pill from. It's not really like him. He's a pretty laid back
guy. We didn't fire him, but he knew when he pulled fourth it wasn't
going to be a good qualifying spot. 

 

"We'll talk about that (track record) when we come back in October and
make an effort to get it back. We had the all-time track record for the
longest time with a .91 in the ARCA Series. I think we ran a .93 or .95
last year and beat Junior's record. Now Jimmie's got everything. It's
just a lap, but I'd like to have it.

 

"I told (Dick) Berggren that I was going to run a .62 because of his age
and all that. We know the track picked up, but you've got to tune to it.
You can lose the tuning of the car and not have it right so that you
don't pick up near as much as you should.

 

"I knew Jeff was going to have a good shot at it because he's always
good at busting off a good lap here. Brian ran a pretty good lap. I knew
after some guys ran as fast as they did that the track was picking up.
That was pretty much it. You just had to wait and see. You can't to
anything about it.

 

"I'd say the mileage on the motors is probably a bigger issue than the
time we practice and the quantity of laps we practice. It's the crew
chief's call and I'll do what he says, but it is pretty crazy to be
practicing when we're practicing. We'd be better off not practicing.
Personally, it's kind of crazy to show up here on Thursday and get a day
off. We could do this Friday night and practice on Saturday and race on
Sunday like we usually do. I'm sure it works out the way it does for a
reason."

 

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge)

"We picked up from practice, but we weren't very good in practice. We've
got a decent starting spot, so now we'll get ready to race."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)

"We drug real bad. The whole left and right sides went down in the
corners and drug the ground. I got back in the throttle real quick, but
we were dragging and it slowed us up. It made the front push and slowed
us up. I thought we would have been a lot better than that. Nothing
broke. We were just going a lot faster in practice. It's going to be a
long race, but it shouldn't be too bad."

 

JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Cheerios/Great American Bake Sale Dodge)

"We're getting a lot better with our cars. This is the same car we had
in California. I think our racing luck needs to change. I'm looking
forward to Sunday night. Hopefully we can put a whole race together and
have a shot at a good finish."

 

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

"I was hoping for a little bit better. We picked up a couple of tenths,
and it's been weird here. We went out 38th and it really hasn't cooled
off that much. We're in the top 15, and we've got a great race car. I
think we'll be in great shape for the race. Today's my 35th birthday,
but it seems like the older I get the younger I feel."

 

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge)

"We were really tight. We picked up about four tenths from practice, but
we needed to pick up about seven. We were just too tight."

 

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge)

"That was similar to what we ran the other night. This is a different
car. We were going to make tons of changes, but we went back to the way
we qualified last week. The way practice went this morning, we're really
happy. I'm not feeling well. I've got a real bad cold. To come out in
the top 15 was really good for us."