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NASCAR BGN: Outback Steakhouse Post Race Notes and Quotes

5 November 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE 200 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RACE
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Saturday, November 4, 2000

Jay Sauter, No. 43 Quality Farms & Country Chevrolet Monte Carlo (goes behind the wall): "It's unfortunate for these guys with the Quality Farms & Country Chevrolet. The car's been good all week and we were good in Happy Hour. Looks like something in the engine. It's unfortunate. Hutter has given us great engines. It's just one of those things that happens in racing."

Joe Nemechek, No. 87 Cellular One Chevrolet Monte Carlo (goes behind the wall): "I must have cut a tire down. Looking at the way the tire looks like it was low. We had a push going in the car. All of a sudden, coming down the front straight-away the thing kinda went down on the right front and I hit the wall there in turns one and two. We were coming up through there - I thought we were going to be pretty decent - but it just wasn't our day."

Jimmie Johnson, No. 92 Alltel Chevrolet Monte Carlo (goes behind the wall): "We qualified really well and had a great car here. We were looking forward to a good run. Looks like we've had something happen under the hood. First time all year long. One of those racing deals. Hopefully we'll rebound next weekend and stay up in the (top ten) points."

Steve Park, No. 31 Whelan Chevrolet Monte Carlo (goes behind the wall): "Looks like we broke a universal joint in the Whelan Engineering car. My hats off to these guys, they did a great job. We started 10th, and I was just kinda riding around. I was a little bit tight, I wanted to save the front tires a little bit. We were able to work our way up toward the front. Unfortunately this put us out. We might be able to go back out there, but we're not running for points and we'd just be in everybody's way."

Mike Skinner, No.15 Albertson's Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 3rd): "We felt like you know, we got in a situation where we was riding, saving tires, hoping for the caution. I felt like we were a little better than the (No.) 10 (Green). Andy Petree's guys - man I'm telling you -- did a great job in the pits today. Albertson's came up here and put us a grocery store out there so we could get us some nice cool refreshments."

Did it seem like track position was the killer today? "It was your best friend, worst enemy. The guys got us good track position in the pit. We had a good in-and-out lap. The Albertson's car was really good here. I can't say enough about the pit crew. They gained us spots every time we hit pit road. We needed a caution there at the end. I got in a situation where we were a little better than the 10. We were closing on the (No.) 18 (Leffler) but he was so far ahead that we couldn't do nothing with him so we decided to ride. If we'd have got a caution, we'd have had a little better tires than everybody else. It just wasn't meant to be. We took third, that's the way it was."

In these cloudy conditions, did you learn anything that will help you in tomorrow's Cup race? "The race track was awesome. It stayed right there all day. We kept loosening our car up all day. I probably crossed the fence there a little bit on hot tires, it was probably a bit too free. But I knew darn well if we'd have got a caution it was going to be awesome on cool tires for a five or ten-lap shootout. But my hat's off to Jeff (Burton). I guess he won, right?"

Jeff Green, No. 10 NesQuik Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 4th): "The NesQuik Chevy was way too tight. We made an adjustment there in Happy Hour. I don't guess we should have done that. It's been an awesome year, it just keeps on going. I wanted to be where (Jeff) Burton was. He had a great car. He kinda walked away from everybody. We'll have another shot at 'em next week. What my crew chief, Harold Holly, said they took a lot of bite out of it and did everything they could to get the car loose. They just couldn't. The gear we was pulling, we just couldn't afford to be tight, and we were all day. So, just another good day. There's a lot of NesQuik fans here and we're proud of that."

Ron Hornaday, No. 3 NAPA Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 5th): "We actually made an adjustment there at the end that made us worse off than we were the run before. We definitely know what to do and what not to do and maybe that'll help the Cup guys tomorrow with Dale Jr. (Earnhardt) and Steve Park. But the car ran flawlessly all day long. We got to run in the top five all day and lead a couple laps and that's what we needed for the NAPA Chevrolet. It's been an exciting day. It's coming to the end of the year and so maybe we'll go to Homestead and win one for these guys."

Were you surprised it got so strung out? "No, not really. I thought it was going to be more strung out than that. I got to see 'em (leaders) still on the same straight-away, so I thought we had a chance at it. We were waiting for a yellow, but a yellow didn't come out. So that what tells you how good the competition is in this whole Busch Series. These guys drove with their heads. The track was pretty slippery when the tires wore out, and we didn't have no wrecks. So I'll tell you what, my hats off to the whole Busch Series. It's going to be a lot of fun. We get to race for A.J. Foyt next year, so got some good experience here again."

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Visine Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 6th): "It wasn't quite what we were hoping for, but it was okay. It was about what I expected. The Visine Chevrolet was decent yesterday in Happy Hour, but it wasn't a winning car by any means. We did the best we could today and finished sixth, so I was pretty happy there."

David Green, No. 34 AFG Glass Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 9th): "The car was good in Happy Hour yesterday and we started the race and we were just so tight. I don't know if it was due to the rain or what. We adjusted on the car the first stop, and just kept adjusting on it all day. It kept getting better. But I was really excited after Happy Hour. I thought we had a shot to be in the top two or three. But when we got out there, I knew it was going to be a long day. They adjusted good on it and everything stayed together. Nothing broke this week and we deserve what we needed. I think we're capable of doing this each and every week. We've just had a rash of terrible, terrible luck. If we'd have had a caution, it might have helped things to bunch everybody up. And track position meant a lot. We would have had another shot, but so would have everybody else. But again, our qualifying effort and our race was what I think we're capable of doing on a normal weekend. When we have good weekends, we can win one of these things. We hopefully can shake this money off our back 'cause every guy on this team had worked hard. We just hadn't been able to buy any luck. Hopefully it's off now."

Kevin Grubb, No. 37 Timber Wolf Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 17th): "The motor laid down. I don't know exactly what it was. We'll have to take it apart. We were running pretty good, but it went away."

Text Provided By Nancy Wager

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