Chevy Qualifying Notes - MBNA America 400

Chevy Qualifying Notes and Quotes

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup

MBNA America 400 

Dover International Speedway

Sept. 24, 2004

 

Brian Vickers, No. 25 GMAC Chevrolet (Qualified 3rd)

(DID TESTING HERE LAST WEEK HELP YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORT?) "Yeah, it
absolutely did. Unfortunately we didn't get to qualify the car we
tested. We had a little mishap there in the first practice but the guys
did a great job getting the GMAC Chevy back out on the race track. We
got the back up car out. We switched engines. They went through a lot
and got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. We got two runs in
before practice was over to kind of shake the car down. We didn't get it
quite back to where the first car was but we got it close and went out
and got a solid starting spot. That's all we can ask for especially in
the circumstances we were in. Third is a pole for us right now."

 

(ON YOUR CONFIDENCE TO GET IN THE BACK UP CAR AND QUALIFY THIRD) "I've
always enjoyed this race track. I like it a lot. It can bring you some
really high highs and some really low lows. It's a fun track but when
you hit here it hurts. It's a hard hit."

 

(WHAT HAPPENED ON THE CRASH IN TODAY'S PRACTICE?) "I don't know what
happened to be honest with you. With this track that does happen. You're
going so fast and everything is happening so fast, when it comes out, it
comes out from under you real quick. We were just going though turn
three and four. It wasn't that the car was really that loose. We got
through one and two great. We've been running good all morning. Then off
of turn four all of the sudden, I was almost out of the corner and it
just came around. As soon as I realized what happened we were already in
the wall."

 

(IS THIS THE HARDEST HIT YOU'VE EVER HAD?) "It's not the hardest hit
I've had but it's one of the hardest hits I've had in a while.  What
hurt was the fact that for one there was no safer barrier and two the
fact that it was such a solid hit. I don't know what it was about the
hit. It really hurt all the way up down my right side, my neck. I'm sore
a little bit all over. I think it was just the way the car hit. It was
one of those instances where you've seen from Kyle Petty to Jerry Nadeau
where it doesn't look that hard but was such a solid hit with the
chassis that nothing really gave. There was no deflection in the G-hits
or spoke or whatever you want to call it."

 

(ON GETTING HIS FIRST CAR OUT OF THE WAY SINCE IT WASN'T THAT FAST) "If
there was one way to get one out of the way, that wasn't it because my
shoulder and my ribs and my head and my neck all disagree with that
policy. I'm still a little sore after that first one. It was a hard hit
but the GMAC Chevy did a great job. They got the Chevy ready to get back
out there. The car was good. It was a little bit off. I got a little
loose off of turn two. That's where we lost a little bit of our time.
For a back up car and the time we had, I'm real proud of the guys."

 

Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet (Qualified 5th)

"I didn't want to remember what happened here in May when I spun out on
my second lap. I told Slugger (crew chief Richard Labbe) 'I'm going to
drive it just like I did then and if it sticks I'll run a good lap and
if it doesn't I'll crash again.' When you qualify, you drive out there
like it's going to stick and if it doesn't you try to save it. You can't
have in your mind 'what if it doesn't stick when you start.' I'm happy
with the NAPA team. It's a great car they brought here. It's the one we
raced at Bristol and ran real well with. We should be good in race trim
tomorrow morning."

(HOW CHALLENGING IS IT TO GET AROUND DRIVERS HERE?) "It's one of those
tracks a lot like Darlington where if you can get your stuff working
good, this place is so fast. If a guy is slipping or skating a little
bit you can take advantage of him and it's easy to pass if you get your
stuff working good. That's what is so important about Saturday morning
practices is getting everything lined up so you feel confident when the
race starts that you'll be able to get to places where other guys
can't."

 

Bobby Labonte, No. 18 MBNA Chevrolet (Qualified 6th)

"We needed that. It was a good run for us. We needed a shot in the arm,
and that helped for sure. The guys have been working hard, and I'm happy
for them. Hopefully, this will continue into the race, and we can get a
win or a top-five. We've had a tough time the last few races and even
though it's just qualifying, it's still a little bit of good fortune for
us, which we haven't had in awhile."

 

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet (Qualified 9th)

(ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HOW YOU QUALIFIED?) "Definitely. That's a great
effort for us. We've had a little bit of slow go the last couple of
months. An eleventh place finish is not the best finish but a step in
the right direction.  A good qualifying effort for us is really
important. These guys are working really hard. I'm real proud of all the
guys on my race team. Chad (Knaus, crew chief) for digging in deep and
trying to find some new creative things. The guys are sticking together
and working really hard. We're excited. It's going to be good on race
day I think too."

 

(IS IT A CHALLENGE BEING FIFTH IN POINTS?) "No, it's not. It's weird not
being at the top or near the top. Then when we line up on points next
week with the trucks in the garage area, I'm going to be in a different
spot than where I'm used to. That's fine. That's part of it. It's going
to be exciting to say the least. I just hope that when it's all said and
done we're right there towards the front where we need to be."

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet (Qualified 16th)

(ON HIS QUALIGYING RUN) "It's not too bad. A little better than in
practice. My car has been dancing around a little bit in the qualifying
trim. I was pretty happy with the first lap anyways. The second lap got
real loose and it's not going to be faster."

 

(ON HIS CAR) "We weren't so high on the (practice) sheet but I think the
car is better than that. I had a second set of tires that were really
loose but the qualifiers, I ran a lap on them and they seem to have a
lot of grip so I'm expecting the car to be better. We're hoping it is. I
think we're going to have a good race car this weekend. We came up here
and tested and really had a pretty decent test. Hopefully the weekend
goes good for us."

 

(IS THERE ON PARTICULAR PLACE AT THIS TRACK THAT GIVES YOU PROBLEMS?)
"The one thing I have trouble with at Dover is the concrete. Over the
years it's a washboard much like an old wood deck. It's trying to get
the car to be smooth and trying to get the right shocks and springs
under it. It's kind of difficult. You'll get it right and then about 250
laps into the race it'll be all over place. We struggle with that.
Hopefully we'll have it figured out."

 

(ON BEING TIED FOR FIRST IN POINTS) "We're really excited about how
we're doing right now and hopefully we can keep it going. We seemed to
finish off the season really well. This new system might be an advantage
to us if we can keep this performance up in the next couple of weeks."

 

Ward Burton, No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet (Qualified 17th)

"The NetZero Chevrolet team has been working really hard. We've all been
working a lot of different ways to try to get our program going a little
bit better. Today we came up with a little bit different geometry and it
seems to have helped and the changes they've made on the car have all
been positive  and I've been able to give them good feedback. Hopefully
we'll have that the rest of the weekend."

(HOW FRUSTRATING HAS THIS SEASON BEEN?) "Actually we're talking a little
bit more again. One thing that you learn in life the older you get is
never say never. We're working hard to do a good job the rest of the
season and down the road and so on. It's frustrating. I got here by
being capable of riding up front and winning races so when you can't do
it, it's hard to deal with. It's an emotional rollercoaster. It's just
something you have to learn to deal with. You're always going to have
that in this sport so I'm getting another lesson of that this year."

 

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet (Qualified 21st)

 "It's been hit or miss all day long. One time we go there and make a
good lap. The next time it's not a good lap. Right there we just got a
little bit loose coming to the green and it just messed my whole lap
up."

 

(HOW MUCH DOES THE NARROW PIT LANE PLAY INTO YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS? HOW
MUCH CAN PIT ROAD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE OUTCOME OF THE RACE?) "It
makes a big difference. We'll have to really come up with some different
strategy now based on where we're going to end up. That's why you work
so hard qualifying here. You want to get a good pit stall. It's so
narrow. So many accidents happen and so many spots are lost on pit road.
We're going to have to have some good pit stops and have a really fast
race car on Sunday." 

 

Bobby Hamilton Jr., No. 32 Tide Chevrolet (Qualified 22nd)

"It's about what we ran all day in practice. We stayed in between
nineties and flat and that's what we ran here. We bottomed out a little
bit. Now we  get done taping and go tomorrow for happy hour. Whoever can
turn the best all day long is going to win the race. We got through the
hardest part today which is qualifying. Now we'll get into race trim and
get the Tide Chevrolet turning all day and get out there."

 

Tony Stewart, No. 20 The Home Depot Chevrolet (Qualified 23rd)

"It wasn't spectacular. It's not fast enough. We've won this thing from
the middle of the pack before. It makes it a lot more fun the first two
runs of the day because I pass everybody that way."

 

(CAN YOU TELL HOW GOOD YOUR CAR IS?) "We did race stuff the first half
of practice. I think it's going to be pretty decent. I'm looking forward
to it."

(HOW DO YOU LIKE THE HIGH BANKS HERE?) "I like it. We get around pretty
good. You always like tracks that you get around good at."

 

Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet (Qualified 24th)

"It's a new car. It's actually driving very very well. It's a lot better
than what we were the first time. That's good for us. We kind of
struggled the first race here so we brought a brand new car back. We did
a lot of different things. We're kind of approaching it different as far
as qualifying and the race. I think because of that it's making the car
drive good. My qualifying lap wasn't like I was anticipating. It was a
little bit too tight in the middle and little bit too loose off. Those
are some of the same things we've been fighting today."

 

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet (Qualified 30th)

"It was OK. It was a little bit better than we were in practice.  I got
spun out coming in to the green. We've just been tightening up the car.
We've been pretty much been loose since we unloaded it. We just got to
get it better and go race."

 

(HOW DIFFICULT IS THIS PLACE TO GET A HOLD OF?) "It's such a fine line.
You don't want the car tied up off the corner. You want it to keep
cutting under the throttle and be able to come out of the corner but
it's a fine line to do that and not be too much either way." 

 

Terry Labonte, No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet (Qualified 38th)

"I guess I should of just took one lap there. My car was a little bit
loose and I tried to go out quicker in the second lap and it just got
away from me. It's too bad. We'll just have to get the back up car out
and try to get it ready for the race."

 

 

Kristyn Sobier

Marketing Communications Manager

GM Racing

(248) 642-2700 x226

(248) 642-2705