TEAM REPORTS (DAYTONA, FLA.) - TRD POST-POLE DAY NOTES
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MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position:2nd
Did you expect to sit on the front row for this year’s Daytona 500?
“I did not expect to sit on the front row. I knew we would have a chance, but what I hoped, and this was all I was bold enough to hope, was that we could be the fastest car with a star beside it (required to qualify on time). That’s the case and we’ve got another car that’s one of the fastest, so it’s a very, very successful day for our team. There’s much relief for everybody. There were questions over the summer whether we would even make it to the end of last year and we not only start 2008 with a solid team -- we’re a lot better team than we’ve ever been before. We expect to perform week-in and week-out and testing has shown us that we’re fast. It’s nice for the whole world to get to see it now.”
How much pressure does this take off your race team?
“It’s a three-pronged organization -- we’ve got NAPA, UPS and Aaron’s, two of them are going to be happy and one of them will say, ‘Hey, what about us? We need to get in this race’. Dale Jarrett has to get in on Thursday -- Kurt Busch is a guy I’ll be pulling for, but mainly I’ll be pulling for Dale Jarrett to be able to race his UPS car up through the middle of it and have a good race on Thursday. I think he learned a lot last night -- he learned that even though his car wasn’t right, it was fast enough to keep up and be in the middle of things. Dale Jarrett’s a racer and he’ll take that type of car, adjust it and I feel real confident about what he’ll accomplish on Thursday.”
What was your goal for qualifying today?
“All I wanted to be was the fastest car with a star beside it and I am that. I would venture to guess that Jimmie Johnson knew he was in the race when he got up this morning and I didn’t. I’m going to have to think that I’m the happiest guy in Daytona.”
Is Daytona one of your favorite tracks with your previous success here?
“It is and I’ve always said it is and it’s not just because of the success I’ve had here necessarily, but because of the history that it has in my family. I’ve been following my brother since I’ve been on the face of this Earth and Daytona has been a huge part of who we are and what we do. I’ve experienced some of the best times of my life here and some of the worst. Anything that has that big of an emotional swing, when you’re as passionate about racing as I am -- that endears it to you. It’s a really good day for our team and I’m just thankful for the fact that we’re here. There was a question a few months back as to what would happen to us, but we survived and now to be where we are is just a great feeling.”
How do you feel about 2008 with all three cars?
“Everywhere we test, we’re faster -- we run good times and our cars are faster. I’m very confident about what we’ve got and how we’re going to perform. We’re ready to go and we have good speed -- I think that’s evident today.”
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Qualified:4th
Was your qualifying lap as good as you expected? “It doesn’t have anything to do with driver here, it has everything to do with the work that the guys do at the shop and all the preparation they do to get here. They did a phenomenal job and that lap was a lot faster than we ran yesterday. They pulled out all the stops, which you have to do here. Ryan (Pemberton, crew chief) and all my guys have done a great job and Toyota’s done a great job bringing good horsepower -- hopefully we’ll get better as we progress.”
How much better do you feel about where you stand than you did a year ago?
“I feel really good and I felt really good when we came in the pit gate. It’s just a different mentality around our shop and a different feel than what we had in the past. All that is a part of the people that we have and the work ethic that they have. Being affiliated with Toyota and the fact that they haven’t given up on us -- I’m a firm believer in Toyota and the way they do things. Sometimes it takes us a little while to get there, but when we get there we reap the rewards and it only gets better.”
What will it feel like to be able to treat the ‘Duel’ as practice for the Daytona 500?
“That would mean a lot to be able to start the qualifying race and know that no matter what happens, I will be in the Daytona 500 -- that allows me to feel like the rest of the guys feel. That way you can concentrate on the race and you don’t have to take chances that you normally wouldn’t.”
DAVE BLANEY, No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota Camry, Bill Davis Racing Qualified:5th
How happy are you with the performance of your race car?
“Our CAT cars have been fast the whole time down here. Last night’s car was really good and we knew this one was good. I’m looking forward to next week’s races here – hopefully we can stay near the front. We thought we had a chance at the pole. Tommy Baldwin (crew chief) and the guys brought a great car and a really good engine – hopefully it will pay off next Sunday. We’re having fun no matter what. It’s a lot nicer to have something that’s a little speedy. A lot more peace-of-mind knowing you can race up front during the races.”
Are you pleased with the improved performance of Toyota across the board?
“All of us have definitely elevated our performance, no doubt. I think it showed last night when we ran well. Tony’s (Stewart) car ran well and Denny (Hamlin) did until it got injured a little bit. The Toyotas will be looking for big things all year.”
How have your goals changed in your second season with the Camry?
“Your goals change when you feel like you have equipment that you can race up front with – that’s huge. You have to take advantage of that when you can. It’s up and down for a lot of teams. Sometimes teams have an edge for awhile – sometimes a short while -- sometimes a long while. If you do have an edge at any time – you need to take advantage of it. It’s good for everybody. It gives everybody more confidence knowing they can come down here and compete at the front. That’s a big thing.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Qualified:8th>
How much did the wind affect your qualifying run?
“I definitely felt like we had a pretty big wind gust down the backstretch. It’s just going to depend on your draw – it’s going to vary probably a tenth or so. For the most part we backed up what we had in practice and we’re pretty happy with that.”
How would you rate the team's transition to Toyota so far?
“It’s been relatively smooth so far. Everything has driven great – we’ve had great horsepower. I feel like we are in a better position now than we would have been if we came back here with Chevrolets. We all know that Toyota has a lot development behind their stuff. We wanted to be the lead team for those guys. Hopefully we’re going to be in that role through the whole season.”
TONY STEWART, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Qualified:12th
Do you think you could've gotten more out of your qualifying lap?
“Our qualifying lap was good, just surprised by the speed of it. I thought we'd run faster than that. It is what it is. I don't know why we didn’t pick up more than that. We ran about what we've been running.”
Did the wind affect your lap?
“It's the same for everybody. Unless it's gusting up and down and changing speeds, it's not a big deal. If the wind is 12 miles per hour during the whole session, it's the same for every car.”
JACQUES VILLENEUVE, No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Camry, Bill Davis Racing Qualified:17th
Were you satisfied with your qualifying effort?
“We were hoping to be quicker. With the wind, the balance changed and I think we scrubbed off a little bit of speed on that quick lap. We are going to need to race our way in during the qualifying races. We thought we would be quicker here today.” How difficult is it to be forced to qualify for the race? “When you have to qualify on time, it makes it difficult because even if you’re quick , but not quick enough you might have a bad qualifying race and not make the show. That’s a little bit tough.”
Where does the Daytona 500 fit into the great races in which you’ve been a competitor? “It is one of the stand alone races, like the Indy 500 or 24 Hours of LeMans. It is one of the special races. A win here is one you’d want on your resume. A lot depends on this race.”