Dodge Qualifying Notes - Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Written by John Davison · August 6, 2005
Jeremy Mayfield put his No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger second on the grid for Sunday’s race: “It was a little bit loose, but that was what we needed. It’s pretty cool to qualify that well at The Brickyard. I think we ended up 41st or something in practice because we didn’t get a good qualifying lap in. I didn’t know what to expect. I went out there and that thing stuck just perfect. I made one qualifying run and somebody pulled up under me. We didn’t know what we had. To come here to Indy and qualify like that is pretty cool. The guys made the right changes. It’s a great race car. This place changes so much, but it’s always slick. We just kinda prepared for that. I feel good about the car for Sunday.”
RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) - Starts 41st “I was loose coming off turn four and I got down into turn one and when I got down into turn one I made a late turn and just got up. I got in too hard. I was trying to lay one in there. I went under the best conditions all day long, so there ’s just no excuses. I’ve been struggling with this car since we unloaded it. For some reason it’s been giving me a little problem. I don’t know why. The backup car we’re unloading is actually the car I wanted to race here. We didn’t test it here, but it’s the best car in the house. The other car ran so well at Pocono we thought we’d bring it. I guess I should have stuck with my gut instinct, but I just got real loose off turn four coming to the green and I just tried to make up for it and haul it into one and it just got out from underneath me. We’ll keep working on the car tomorrow and get it adjusted right and make sure it’s good to go. We’re not going to give up on anything I can tell you that.”
KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Georgia Pacific/Marsh Stores Dodge Charger) - Qualified 28th “I’m really, really happy. The best we ran in practice was a 50.60, so that’s pretty close to being eight tenths faster. The best we ever ran up here testing was a 50.20, and that lap was quicker than that, so I can’t complain. These guys worked really hard. The track was different than when we tested and we struggled this morning a little bit. These guys worked really hard and I got a little frustrated. I thought we were going to be better when we got back up here, but they worked hard and it worked out good. When we got here we were so far off that we almost had to start all over. Everybody worked at it, so maybe it was better that it rained out everything yesterday and forced us to work just on race stuff this morning or maybe we’d really be out to lunch.”
BILL ELLIOTT (No. 91 Stanley Tools Dodge Charger) - Qualified 33rd “We left a lot on the table. We just didn’t get it done. It was a little loose, but it wasn’t bad. I knew it was going to be close making the race and it ended up being that way. It was on the borderline, but we made it.”
JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Box Tops/Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger) - Qualified 15th “We worked on race stuff in practice and testing and everything, so I feel pretty good about tomorrow. I think the car is pretty good. We’ve got a decent starting spot and it’s going to be hard to pass, so we’ll get ready to race and see if we can get a good finish ” TRAVIS KVAPIL (No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Dodge Charger) - Starts 39th “It wasn’t very good. It was really loose, and I was very surprised. We only got a little practice time because I got in the wall and we lost a bunch of time there. We were fighting a loose condition through practice. We thought the adjustments we made were going to hit it on the head. We put more tape on it and did two or three things to the chassis to help it turn, and I think we went too far.”
CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger) - Starts 40th “My car was really, really loose. I couldn’t run the way I wanted to run in qualifying. We made our qualifying runs midway through practice. Because of the impound race we had to focus the rest of practice on getting the setup right for the race. We had to loosen the car up a little bit to get it right. I think from the sun being out and the track temperature being up and making adjustments on the car that would have made it better for the race hurt us for qualifying. They knew we were here today. We had the fastest time in practice. I think we can fix the car and get it going for the race. It’s a good car. I don’t think it’s hurt too bad. It’s mostly cosmetic other than the rear bumper is going to have to be brought back over. It hit hard enough not to be able to finish the lap because there was nothing I could have got out of it. I think we can fix it and get it back out.”
STERLING MARLIN (No 40 Coors Light Dodge Charger) - Qualified 8th “I thought we would be faster, but the car was a little loose getting into the corner. I think it’s going to race good. It’s a lot of fun on Sunday if the car drives good. Happy Hour was good for us. We should be in good shape. We’ve got a top 10 starting spot and that’s big here because it’s going to be so hard to pass. The track has grip now, but it’ll lose a little. They threw a different kink in it with the impound now, so we had to get our car as good as we could in race trim. We were a little free, but it’ll be good Sunday.”
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) - Qualified 6th “We almost backed up what we had in practice. Elliott Sadler had a heck of a lap. We can’t use the excuse that the track is hotter, but we ended up sixth and that’s not too bad. I was hoping we’d stay in the top 10 so we could get a good pit selection. We’re going to do our best. We look forward to running at Indy every year. Our best finish here has been fourth, but I think the Alltel Dodge is going to be fast tomorrow. It’d be nice to end up in victory lane. It’s going to be hard to pass. It’s a combination of everything. You’ve got a new surface. You’ve got tires that aren’t super sticky and you’ve got cars that are more competitive than they’ve ever been. It’s getting tighter and tighter. It’s fun to qualify here in front of all these people, but I’m going fishing in a little bit. I hope I can beat the crowd.”
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger) - Qualified 4th “We were trying to go for the pole, but it just wasn’t in it. We were a little too loose through turns two and four. Those are the key corners tomorrow for a stock car in order to pass and run good. That’s where we were at our best today. We’ll take the tape off and put it in race setup and it should be perfect. I’m excited about tomorrow. I think we’ve got a good shot to win the Allstate 400. We’ve got a good starting spot. Jeremy had a good lap and that was cool, so things are looking up.”
JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger) - Qualified 2nd “It was a little bit loose, but that was what we needed. It’s pretty cool to qualify that well at The Brickyard. I think we ended up 41st or something in practice because we didn’t get a good qualifying lap in. I didn’t know what to expect. I went out there and that thing stuck just perfect. I made one qualifying run and somebody pulled up under me. We didn’t know what we had. To come here to Indy and qualify like that is pretty cool. The guys made the right changes. It’s a great race car. This place changes so much, but it’s always slick. We just kinda prepared for that. I feel good about the car for Sunday.
“We did all race trim in practice. We went to make our qualifying run in practice and we only made one lap, and it wasn’t very good. We made some changes so we didn’t know what to expect. So we went back to our race stuff and hoped we qualified. Obviously the guys did their homework and got me tuned up for qualifying. I went into turn three for the first time and knew that it was going to stick. And from there to the green and into turn one it stuck. It was just a little bit free, but you’ve got to be that way to be fast anymore. I knew coming off of turn four that if I made it through turn four we were going to have a good day. We made it and here we are today.
“(Starting second) gives us a lot of confidence just knowing that our race setup is what we qualified today and how good it is. When you can qualify like that with your race package, which is what everybody pretty much did, it gives you a lot of confidence that you’ve got a great race car and a great team and they’ll make the right decisions to give you a great run.”
“I think as far as the impound situation, I kind of liked it. It worked out good for everybody under that circumstances that we were under. The one day deal was all we could do and for us it worked out good. I was pretty happy about it. I think it was real good because you got all you could get out of this morning’s practice sessions . I don’t think there was anything else we could do to our car to make it any better.”
Is there any benefit to having your teammate right behind you at the start of the race? “There’s a little bit of benefit to it. You always want to be ahead of whoever you’re teammates with or just anybody else. I wish I was ahead of the 38 and he (Michael Waltrip) wishes he was ahead of me. You just look at it the same way. It’s cool that both of our cars were that close together and both of us are starting in the top five. Anytime both the team cars are together wherever that always helps us get to the front. It’s good for both drivers and both teams.”
How important is a win here? “I have a couple of Pocono trophies it would look good between.”
Any comment on two natives of Owensboro, Ky., having the top starting spots in the race? “Indianapolis is like the closest place to us being from Owensboro. I know it’s pretty cool to have two in the top three starting like that. They always ask us what’s in the water, but I don’t know that either.”
NOTE: Ray Evernham, president and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, announced a multi-year contract extension with Kasey Kahne as driver of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger. KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger) “I’m real excited to be able to do this, to be able to sign with Ray for a lot longer with Evernham Motorsports, all our sponsors and partners we already have with Dodge and Siemens and all the great sponsors we have we’ll keep on being able to work with. Just to know I’m going to have the same race team with the same group of guys working on it. I pretty much know all the guys at the shop. I know everybody, but guys come in and out every once in awhile that you don’t know. It’s a big deal for myself. Ray is a great car owner. He taught me a lot. He wants to win races and the championship as bad as anybody in auto racing, and that’s the kind of person I want to be with. I think it’s a great opportunity, and I’m looking forward to the future with Evernham Motorsports.
“That was something I thought about (organization expanding to three teams), but it really wasn’t (a determining factor). If he had stayed with two teams I would have stayed. It wasn’t a big part of my decision. I know that third team is going to help Evernham Motorsports and give us more resources and things to work off of. We’ll have three teams each weekend to work with at the race track and during testing during the season. All that is a big benefit, but the third team wasn’t a part of my decision.
“It’s been a great 10 days. We didn’t have a race last weekend, and I ended up running a dirt race with Bill Elliott. I raced a Silver Crown race Thursday night, and I’ve just been able to have some fun. It’s a huge relief to get that off my back and not have to think about it anymore. I didn’t think it affected my racing at all, but I thought it was something I was always thinking about. You never know what’s going to happen in those situations. To be done with that whole Ford issue and resign with Ray Evernham and everybody with Dodge, it was a very good week for us. Now we’ve got the Allstate 400 this weekend, one of the biggest races this season. Everything has been good the last 10 days. Hopefully we qualify well this afternoon and have a great race tomorrow.
“That first year you come in you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. You know the situation you’re getting into is a good one, and you hope things go well. You want to perform and you want to work hard to do that. Now with the extension it’s nice. You know you’ve got the same thing you had last year and this year and you’ll have it for four or five more years. It’s something I think about, and then you don’t have to think about it, either. You know you’re set. I’m going to be able to work with Ray and Tommy Baldwin and all the guys and just get better working with all the same guys.
“I’ve talked to some of them. I don’t know some of the situations, but I’ve talked to some of them and that’s just something you have to think about instead of just racing and making your racecar run better. That’s something I won’t have to worry about. I’ve had people ask two or three months ago how much longer I was signed up with Ray or what are your plans after that? I think that takes care of all of that, too. Like Ray said, I’ll be well into my 30s and be real happy.
“That (Hooters Pro Cup) is a good series to be coming out of going to IRP because it’s a tight track. That’s a track where you don’t know what’s going to happen, whether you run into somebody or they run into you, whether they’re going to get mad or not get mad. It’s a fun track to race, but the way races go there you never know what’s going to happen.
“It changes some but either way the track is going to be different tomorrow than it was today or what it would have been yesterday. You’ve just got to get the best setup you can and hope it’s close tomorrow and work on it during the race. It’s a long race with plenty of pit stops. It’s a balance that changes so much, but with the weather anymore and the track position, I think we did a good job this morning in making the right changes. Every change we went in the direction we want to go in. I feel like we can qualify well today, too.”
RAY EVERNHAM (President, CEO Evernham Motorsports) “My goal is to win the Nextel Cup and to do that you’ve got to have good partners and to put those things in place you’ve got to have good, long-term partners and committed people. As of last Wednesday, Kasey and I reached an agreement for him to be in the No. 9 car for quite some time going forward with Evernham Motorsports. I’ve made a commitment to him to build a championship caliber team around him, and he’s made a long-term commitment to myself and to Dodge to help us achieve that goal of winning the Nextel Cup. We wanted to spring in on ya’ll here first.
“Not just drivers - Jeremy and Kasey are on long term, but also a lot of key people in our organization have signed on with us long term. Consistency with personnel and team players is a big part of getting better every year and winning the championship. We’re really proud to say in large part that the braintrust of our organization is in place from drivers to crew chiefs to engineers to managers and Evernham Motorsports is intact for the future. Now we’ve got to worry about getting our Dodge Chargers ready to win that championship.
“The amount of races is a big part of it, but as close as the equipment is that’s available to everybody out there, the real differences come in the talent and people. When you believe in somebody and you can go ahead and make a long term agreement and know that you don’t have to worry about them being distracted or them worry about you being distracted. You can just focus on the job at hand when you know when you know they’re set with the program for X number of years and sponsors are locked in and the people that are going to be surrounding them on the team. The comfort level is there and you can just concentrate on getting the job done. You really can’t go race by race. You’ve got to be looking at it. When you’re building a company you’ve got to have a three to five-year plan and people have to be as big a part of that plan as the equipment.
“We’ve got a car. We just don’t have anyone to drive it. We would have liked to have a driver already. We’ve got a couple we’re talking to. We’ve got great partners on that car with Valvoline and some of the other partners. I don’t want to put a date in the sand and say we’ve got to have a driver. You notice I didn’t say guy because with Erin now I’ve got to make sure I say driver or she gets mad. It’s got to be about building the team. As NASCAR grows more you’ll see it being as much about the organization as drivers in certain areas. We’ve got to worry about getting the team built first. I still believe if you build it in time they will come. If you have fast cars you’re going to get the best drivers, and hopefully we’ll get the right people to come and fill the seat.
“We don’t want to get in specifics of the contract, but when we say long term, it is honestly a fairly long term deal. All I can say is Kasey will be into his 30s and I’ll be way older than I want to be telling you about. I don’t know how important it (third team) is going to be because I don’t know what the testing rules are going to be yet. They’re talking about doing some different things with manufacturers’ testing. I think right now some of the biggest advantages of having that third team is what I always refer to as a group IQ. You’ve got more people working on the same project, so you get the answer faster or you can send the guys in different directions at the race track and maybe come up with some more information. So you’re building a bigger information base. You’re building a bigger information base faster whether you’re testing or not.
“No matter how you average it, I’ve talked to Jack and Rick about it, if you’re doing what we are, building our own engines and our own cars you’ve got pilots and marketing and sponsor reps, you throw all that in, it averages about 100 people per team. We’ll be about 300 by the team we go next year.
“Right now most of our key people their contracts are in line, including some of our major sponsor contracts. Tommy and Kasey are both in line.
“I think the pool is big. It’s out there. I look a lot to the open wheel world. There are certain drivers out there that have something extra. They have that talent. They do need to come up through a truck or Busch and get some NASCAR experience. These cars drive very different, but there are people out there that can make that jump from sprint or midgets or modifieds on up. You’ve just got to have a bath. Jack and Rick have big multi-car teams, but where they have an advantage over the rest of us is they’ve got driver development early. Jack’s drivers now all came up through his program. He got those guys through his gong show or whatever they call it. Rick has done a lot of the same thing. We’re looking at a lot of different drivers and now the equipment is a lot better and there are a lot of good cars out there. Everybody has got the same equipment. You’ve got a lot of engineers and a lot of experienced people working on it. A driver doesn’t have to have millions years of experience to be a Nextel Cup winner like it used to be. Kasey has a tremendous amount of talent. Certainly I believe he could be a Nextel Cup champion, and it’s not from years of experience running a Nextel Cup car. It’s because of his ability to adapt to the racetrack in certain situations. They do have to spend a couple of years if they’re in truck or Busch, and learn how to NASCAR race, which is different, but the process doesn’t take as long as it used to.
“We don’t have a complete plan yet because our Busch plans aren’t 100 percent set. You’ll see Kasey in the No. 6 car, which will be the No. 9 car because I think Jack and I made a deal to turn the numbers around. Right now we’re working on who the other driver would be and where we’re going to be with Erin. We’re talking to some people right now that would take her full time and that would be a separate program. The best case scenario, Kasey is in our Busch car most of the time and Erin has her own full time program. Second case scenario would be that Kasey and Erin split the Busch car. I don’t plan on doing a second full-time deal, so it would have to be in partnership with somebody else.
“Being careful there, I guess I would have to look behind my back the way they deal sometimes, but that’s a whole other story. Everything we do is straight up. I think they tried as hard as they could to distract us this year. In the end, everybody knew that we were right. Kasey honored his commitments. I feel like a lot of that was about someone’s personal ego cost a lot of people a lot of money and a lot of time. Now we’re past it and in the end the best thing we can do is go on and be together a long time, win a lot of races and win the championship. Right now, that’s what we’re going to concentrate on.
“Anthony (Foyt) is a guy that tested for us at Kentucky. I’ve known his grandfather for some time. I’d love to run him some more. We’re going to try to run him in a couple of Busch races this year. Every time we get something going it seems like we have a scheduling conflict. Anthony is certainly a candidate for the Evernham driver development program in the future based on that little bit of time we’ve been around him. I don’t have any set concrete plans for him yet, but we’re working with our partners on coming up with a true set driver development program that we can continue to run places and get people experience. I think Anthony’s a prime candidate being 21 years old and having as much experience as he has. Hopefully we can find something to let him drive.”
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.