Dodge Pepsi 400 Qualifying from Daytona

Thursday, July 1, 2004
Daytona International Speedway


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

"We haven't really qualified well with our plate stuff in a long time.
We made some changes before qualifying and it paid off for us. We didn't
run good here in February in the 500. We'd get tight and couldn't get a
real good feel in the front. We went back to more basics trying to get a
baseline, and we're going to work from there. We've got a new body on
it. It drives good, and our Dodge is running pretty good right now. I'm
excited because the whole team has worked so hard on this car. I think
we're headed in the right direction. I think we've still got a shot (to
make the top 10). We've got some good tracks coming up. I feel like
we're more geared up than ever."

 

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)

"We didn't have any surprises in qualifying. We ran a 48.40 in practice
and this is the car I ran in the Bud Shootout, and I asked to bring it
back. It's got a more conventional body on it. It's got more downforce
on the front end. I really hope it's going to race good, and I think it
will. I knew it was going to be off in qualifying a little bit, but I
think it's going to be what we need for the race. It was so frustrating
last week to run that long in the top five. It's been frustrating the
past couple of weeks. We blew up at Michigan running fifth. Last weekend
we ran out of gas running fourth. We lost a lot of points the last two
races that we shouldn't have lost. I'm a positive guy. I think we can
still do it (make the top 10), but I never thought we'd be this far
behind. It'd be real important (to win at Daytona), but I've come close
several times. In fact, in my mind I've left here feeling like I won the
race and didn't get the trophy. Daytona has been good to me."

 

KASEY KAHNE (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)

"I thought we could run a .20 or .30. This is about where we thought
we'd be. We'd like to go a little faster, but that's about where we
thought we'd qualify our Dodge. I'm looking forward to practice tomorrow
and getting better for the race. We bottomed out a little bit there, and
it kinda pushed the car around. I had to put more wheel into it, and as
a driver you try to hold the wheel as straight as you can to get around
the track."

 

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge)

"I'm happy with that after the way we practiced. That was a huge pickup
(half a second) for us. The guys took a lot of time switching over. We
even quit practice early to get things switched over, and the guys did a
great job. This is pretty much a new car for us. We've got a whole new
front clip on this car, and the whole body is pretty new from the last
time we raced here. We've got some things to work on. It might take us
some time to get right, but I think we're going to have a pretty good
car for the race."

 

 

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

"That was about all we had today. This is a little different car than we
had here in the Daytona 500, so hopefully we can get it driving better.
It's all about handling. We'll get it as good as we can in practice
tomorrow and hope we'll be around at the end Saturday night."

 

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge)

"We ran fourth tenths better than we did in practice. It really doesn't
matter where you start here. You get the car handling good and try to
hold it wide open for 400 miles. Lee and the guys worked on the car
after practice, and we held back a little bit. We'll get the car driving
good, and the Coors Light Dodge should be right in there. I've always
enjoyed racing here. My dad ran good here and I've had a lot of top
fives before we finally won one. My first career pole was here, so
Daytona has been really good to me."

 

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge)

"That's pretty much where we practiced. We don't have many secrets, so
it is what it is and this is what we've got. This is by far the best
we've ever qualified here. It's going to be hot and sticky and humid and
all that other good stuff for the race. I like night races for sure. The
location is not ideal."

 

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Engine & Transmission Dodge)

"We gained two tenths from practice, and the guys did the right stuff.
I'm pretty excited. The guys are getting better and better at these
restrictor plate tracks. Rusty and I and Ryan are trying to work
together as a team and help each other. Having Buddy Baker to help us
doesn't hurt, either. I have Rusty and Ryan that automatically help in
the draft. I have some other friends like Jimmie Johnson. It is
difficult for a rookie to find a drafting partner, but halfway through
the year, we're no longer Raybestos rookies. We're one of the guys that
run every week. Guys know if they can trust us or not. It'll be a little
bit easier this time around at Daytona for the rookies to find a
drafting partner."