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NASCAR WCUP: Driver quotes, Qualifying, Martinsville

8 April 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (13th):

"That's about a tenth faster than we ran all day. We had to pick up a little there at the end. The guys did a great job on the car. We made a couple of adjustments there, tuned on it some and made it a little bit better. A tenth of a second doesn't sound like a lot, but here it is."

(ON IMPROVING AT MARTINSVILLE) "It hasn't (been real good to us). But the last race here we were leading with about 40 or so laps to go and dropped a lifter. We still finished eighth, so I guess it could have been a lot worse. It could have happened early on, and we were leading the race at the time. So that was a good day for us then. Hopefully we'll come back and try to do the same thing - run good and be there at the end of the race."

WARD BURTON, NO. 22 CATERPILLAR PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (18th):

"From where we started, Tommy (Baldwin) and them have done a really great job. They've made some really good changes and I feel like we've got a good piece here. We can be good on Sunday. It was a little bit slower than practice. We've been fighting a 'tight in the middle' condition. But we gained a lot on the race car this morning. The guys worked good together. We didn't get it where we wanted it but we did make a lot of progress. If we make that same kind of progress tomorrow we'll be good on Sunday."

KEN SCHRADER, NO. 36 M&M'S PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (12th):

"The three runs we've made today, we ran an (20) oh-six, a ten and an oh-eight. So we backed up what we ran, and after the way the year has gone we're pretty happy."

(IMPORTANT TO BE UP FRONT HERE) "Most definitely. We've finished pretty good here a lot of times. I've never been a strong qualifier here so I feel pretty good about this."

KYLE PETTY, NO. 44 HOT WHEELS PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (16th):

"That was a really good lap for us. The team has worked really hard this week getting motors ready, getting stuff ready and getting cars ready. John (Andretti) has been running really good. This is a little bit different motor combination in John's stuff, so he is pretty good. We're just tickled to death. These guys worked hard back at the shop after a trying week for all of us. We didn't make the race last week and then the personal stuff (passing of grandfather Lee Petty) this week."

DAVE BLANEY, NO. 93 AMOCO PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (20th):

"It was good. That's about what we ran in practice and I was just hoping to back it up. I didn't want to try too hard. If you try too hard here, you lose. We're happy."

(ON THE RACE SUNDAY) "It will be like a lot of the short track racing I've been used to - beat and bang around a little bit. But if you get it handling good, you'll be OK."

MIKE BLISS, NO. 27 VIAGRA PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (33rd):

"That's what we ran in practice and it was like 27th. But it might be close enough. It felt better than that. It felt pretty good. I guess that's what happens when you slow the thing down too much in the middle of the corner. That's probably where I lost it. But you don't want to overdrive it in and you don't want to overdrive it through the middle and you want to be able to get off the corner good. There's a fine line around here to go fast and I must have missed that fast line."

RICK MAST, NO. 14 CONSECO PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (43rd):

"That's the best lap we've run all day. It certainly not near as fast as what it needs to be. The car drove pretty good. We've been working with the chassis all day getting handling better and it actually handled pretty good. I was pretty pleased with the way the car drove and all, but the speed is not there, so we've got more work to do obviously."

JOHNNY BENSON, NO. 10 LYCOS PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (25th):

"It was a little slippery. I really messed up on my first lap. But the second lap was better - a little bit better than I practiced. But at the same token I don't believe it's going to be all that great. But, hey, I think we'll be on the front stretch, so we should be OK."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT PONTIAC GRAND PRIX (37th):

"Due to the politics of this beautiful sport that we have I can't even start to go where I want to go with why we're behind today. It's not secret we've struggled the last three races in a row. It's a slump we all want to get out of. I feel worse for the guys than anybody because they keep working hard. Every session they are sweating when they get done because we throw everything at it. But it's those four things we bolt on the car that every time we go to the racetrack it's a different set than what we had last time. We're all just scrambling trying to find the combination that's right and we're having a hard time doing it right now."

Text provided by Al Larsen

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