NASCAR BGN: Driver Notes and Quotes, Post Race, All Pro Bumper to Bumper
8 October 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Todd Bodine, No. 66 Phillips 66 Chevrolet Monte Carlo (involved in 1st
caution multiple car crash): "I checked up. Mike Wallace didn't see it
and
he run into the back of me, but that's racing there. Not his fault. But
it's the same old story, the same people causing wrecks every week. We had
a
good race car. It was really feeling good during Happy Hour. It's a shame.
I
was trying to bide my time and stay out of the way of idiots like this."
Lyndon Amick, No. 35 Powertel Chevrolet Monte Carlo (involved in 1st caution multiple car crash): "You know this new tire they threw at us, well I can't complain too much on the tire. We were pretty good during Happy Hour. We were just too loose. I got up alongside of Michael and the air took off of the nose a little bit and I was fighting it. I just run out by myself and took a lot of good cars out. I hate it. It's been tough. The last six weeks we've fallen out of the race. It's really disheartening. I'm sorry for the guys that have gotten involved in it. You know, Todd, he cut me off a couple times in practice and I guess these guys (No. 35 crew) are still upset about that, I don't know. It's nothing different than he's ever done in his career."
Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Visine Chevrolet Monte Carlo (winner): "I'm pretty surprised. The Visine Kraft Foods Chevy was pretty good off the trailer. We sat on the pole and took off the first 40 laps unbelievably fast. I got really loose on the second set of tires. The last set of tires, I was nine seconds behind when we came out of the pits and it was too tight. We ran almost all the way down by ourselves and it was nice to have enough gas there at the end. It was nice to win one this way once. When I got by Mark (Martin) there, you know he's a great guy to race against - he's a real bear - we were both trying to lap the No. 57 car and he was really giving us a hard time. And he was running us extremely hard and we went pretty wide on the front stretch there. Probably not the smartest of moves, but it was the only one we had. It'll be nice to have two trophies in the trophy case (from Charlotte). We've tried for a long time to win a Busch race here at Charlotte, and I'm really surprised we could win one today."
Jeff Green, No. 10 NesQuik Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 4th): "This NesQuik Chevy was awesome just about all day. That last set of tires just made me real tight. I couldn't go anywhere. I had a high gear in this thing anyway and anytime you tighten-up like that, it kills these motors. But I'm proud of my guys. They stuck with it. Ran into my teammate (No. 57) on the pit stop there - green flag stop -- and that killed both of us. It was a good day for us. We had a shot to win, and that's the only reason I'm disappointed. Congratulations to Matt (Kenseth). He won another one. I'm getting tired of him. He's my buddy, but I'm getting tired of him winning. We had a good day, another top-five and that's what it's all about. I was just disappointed 'cause we haven't caught a win. That last set of tires just didn't allow us to do that. Some of those guys ran out of gas and that got us back up there in the top five. But we'll take it. We still had a good enough car to finish first or second."
Joe Nemechek, No. 87 Cellular One Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 5th): "My heart just fell to the bottom of my feet (when he ran out of fuel). We worked our tails off. We built a brand new car, a new chassis, and everything. We anticipated the colder weather, put a little jet in the carburetor. Who would have ever thought it would have went two fuel runs green. We got to thank Brian Pattie (crew chief) and all the guys. They did a great job working on this car all week. I was trying to save a lot of fuel. They told me earlier in that run that we were going to be about a lap-and-a-half short. I babied it, and babied it. I thought I'd saved enough gas and then here come Matt (Kenseth) and Mark (Martin) and it was time to go. You know, we didn't have a choice. So we ended up fifth. We'll take it. I'm looking forward to Winston Cup racing tomorrow."
Bobby Hamilton Jr., No. 26 Ericsson Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 7th): "It was a tough day at first. We had run around seventh or eighth and we were right behind cars and just had to ride a lot. This Ericsson BellSouth Mobility Chevrolet was just real strong all day and we finally got it freed-up and was able to pass cars on the bottom or top or wherever we wanted to. It's hard to beat those Cup guys. I fell in behind the No. 7 one time and picked up three-tenths. I don't know what I did or what he did, but we just picked up. I was able to pass a lot of cars with him. So it's just a stepping stone. We gotta keep doing it. Got to get top-tens. Got to get up in these points. We came in here and tested and put 100 percent into this race right here and tried a lot of stuff and it worked out. So I think it'll carry on for the rest of the year. We just had a real good day. The biggest part was just being consistent. A lot of them guys couldn't stay with the tires and everything and we was able to. Plus, a lot of them run out of gas, and we didn't. Everybody was loose, we were a little bit tight. We freed-up at the end. We only had to make a little bit of adjustment during Happy Hour yesterday (for the tires). We had to get the spoiler more up in the air where it was more comfortable for me. I was able to outrun cars into the corner and that helped me a lot. I was able to gain two or three car lengths at a time. But that was only the major change. Tires didn't really affect us that much. I like my car to be loose here and having the new tires really fell into our hands."
Jimmie Johnson, No. 92 Alltel Chevrolet Monte Carlo (fire during green flag pit stop): "I just couldn't get the car stopped in time in the pit stall. I got in a little too easy the first time, and tried to get in harder the second time and it's such a fine line. The tires locked-up and I slipped through our pit and needed to back up. And the fuel man had the fuel can in the receiver, and when I backed-up, it pulled it out and sprayed fuel everywhere. It got on the exhaust and caught on fire. Luckily nobody was really burned bad. But we had just a phenomenal car. We could have easily been in the top five. We were really good. We started off really loose and then in that last segment, we made the right changes and I ran with (Mark) Martin and (Matt) Kenseth there to the end. I really think I could have finished in the top five."
Text Provided By Nancy Wager
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