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Infineon Qualifying Notes & Quotes

Jeff Gordon set a new track record in qualifying for Sunday’s Dodge/SaveMart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Infineon Raceway. He beat out teammate Jimmie Johnson for pole, giving owner Rick Hendrick the entire front row at the start of the race. Here, thanks to various team and manufacturer sources, is a collection of notes and quotes from Friday’s qualifying.

Jeff Gordon - #24 DuPont Chevrolet - Pole Position winner - “Yeah, this is definitely a place we enjoy coming to, no matter if we’re coming off a win or a horrible day like we had at Michigan. You know, I hate that we’ve come in here with that kind of pressure. We do need to get some things turned around. This is a track where we can get some things turned around, but you want to come in here just focusing on the race and that’s what we’ve been trying to do all day. Just putting laps together, working on the car, getting our mindset on just getting a solid effort. Step one was just putting a lap together like we just put up. The guys made improvements on the car all day, I made a nice smooth, not too aggressive lap and we were able to pull off a pole. It’s a great day.

IT SEEMED THAT YOU MADE MORE TIME UP ON THE SECOND HALF OF THE LAP. DID IT FEEL THAT WAY? - Well, you want to get into a rhythm and kind of feel the car out. I got in the first turn a little bit too easy and I think I had to make up a little bit of time there. I could just really feel the car accelerating up off the corner well so I felt I could lay the gas down a little bit harder, each step of the way. I felt that we got through 10 really good and wanted to make sure I didn’t overdrive 11, so I just got in there really solid, got the car turned and got back through the gas really hard. I felt it was going to be around a 16 flat, so I knew it was going to be really close.

YOU’VE HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE HEAT IN THE CAR AT THIS RACE. HAVE YOU MADE ANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CAR FOR THIS RACE? - We just constantly try to improve. I don’t think we had any problems last year, you know I think a couple years ago we had a major problem. Yeah, last year it was hot. The weather is supposed to be better this year. We made some improvements in our air system and we’ve got the carbon fiber seat, which I did not have last year. Oh, that’s right. I did have the issue here last year. Had the carbon seat at Watkins Glen. It makes a huge difference. And I’ve been working with some programs on hydration, electrolytes and stuff like that to get me hydrated. Hopefully will allow me to sweat more.

COMMENT ON THIS IS A FINESSE TRACK - I think a lot of guys get in the mindset that when you go to a road course it’s about braking really deep and hard. And you know, really bouncing the car off the curves. In my opinion it’s the exact opposite of that. If you looked at, I think Mark Martin is third. I watched Mark’s run and I watched a lot of the guys that qualified up front. They were all really smooth, made no mistakes and almost looked very slow. And yet, those are the fast laps. I think this is a track where not being aggressive and trying to attack the race track too much is a big plus. I think that’s why you see a lot of different guys run good at this track than you do at Watkins Glen, because there you can attack. You can really push hard and it’s a much faster track. Two different styles. I’m old, so I like the slow, finesse tracks.

DO YOU THINK TIRES WILL BE MORE OF AN ISSUE THIS YEAR? - I think that we have the same tire this year here. They haven’t changed it for this particular track. They’ve changed it for other tracks. I don’t think they’ve changed it here. The only concern is that the track was newly paved here last year. Had a good amount of grip, you could run a little bit more aggressive setup here than I think you’re going to be able to run this year, probably. Probably going to see guys slipping and sliding more on the race runs. That’s the thing we’re going to be thinking of-conserving the tires and tire management and how we do that with the setup.

WITH ALL THE LOOSE CARS YOU’VE BEEN DEALING WITH, IS IT GOOD TO GET IN A CAR THAT IS GOOD RIGHT OFF THE TRUCK? - Well, even though we were good off the truck, it was still pretty loose most of the day. When we started practice we ran after the Soutwest Tour or whoever was out there on Hoosier tires. The track had no grip. Until we laid down some of our rubber on the track, then the track started coming to us. It wasn’t a lot of fun at the beginning, but then it was a lot of fun. The car did what I wanted to do. Road courses are fun in general. Seeing our name on the top of the board was good, too.

ANY CONCERNS GOING UP AGAINST A TEAMMATE INTO TURN 1 OR 2? - Yeah, I don’t even think about that left hander as turn 1-I think of the right hander as turn 1. Because, that little slight bend doesn’t really mean anything. It’s about getting to that turn. You know, I’ll talk to Jimmie a little bit. Usually the deal that Jimmie and I have is that, whoever is on the pole, if they get a good solid start, then we’re going to work with them. If I’m on the pole and I get a decent start and I’m not lagging behind, then he’ll work with me. And vice versa. I’d do the same to him. And we get out there and get racing. Races aren’t going to be won on the first turn, not even at a road course. It’s going to be a long day, no reason for us to get crazy in the first couple of turns. I haven’t talked to him about that, but that’s usually our understanding. We’ll be talking before Sunday, because I always talk to him.

Jimmie Johnson - #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet - 2nd position - “Yeah, as far as qualifying is concerned, I just made it back without making a mistake. And when I finished my lap, I knew that I may have been a bit conservative in some areas, but they were in areas where I blew it last year. And last year really proved it to me that I have the ability on a road course race. I started in the back, made my way up front and I made my way up front. So, I had to come from 30th twice on a short race on this track, and this time coming back I told myself, don’t let this track play games on you. Just drive this track, get a lap in and see where you end up. I just got a good, smooth lap in and almost got the pole. So, I’m very pleased. I was hoping for a top 10 or top 15, so to be second. It’s gravy from 15th on up in my eyes. When you do get so close to the pole, I may have done something different out there. But, to be second out there to Jeff Gordon on a road course, anybody would give to have that.

YOU PREPARED THIS WEEK AT BONDURANT. TELL US ABOUT THAT - It didn’t do anything. I would tell every other driver to stay home and never go (laughs).

DO YOU AND JEFF SHARE INFORMATION AND HOW MUCH HAS THAT HELPED YOU? - What has gone on in the last four years of racing at Hendrick Motorsports, all four teams have had the same equipment. There’s been one guys winning races and winning poles, and that’s Jeff. I put a lot of that in Jeff’s hands. And I bring my car identically set up to his, and until I am out running them, we don’t change anything. And that’s just me trying to figure out how he gets around these race tracks. It’s been my approach since I started at Hendrick, that I wanted Jeff’s setups on the ovals, road course, everywhere. And until I outrun him, we’re really not going to adjust anything. That’s the way it is. Jeff’s a very talented driver. The Roush guys are very talented. You know, the other part of it is being able to get the most out of your equipment and then being able to communicate to your team to get the car to the next level. That’s something that Jeff can do very well and give Robbie good feedback and also lead Robbie in the right direction, to give the car more grip and a better balance so he can go faster.

WHAT WAS THE FEELING WHEN YOU WATCHED JEFF TAKE HIS LAP? - When he got into the esses going down the hill, I got the feeling inside that it was a Jeff Gordon day. You know, and I was prepared for that. I was really hoping to be in the top 10 or top 15. I am very happy to be where I am. You have no idea how excited I am just to see. I just wanted to see the front, let alone start from the front, so I am very, very happy.

Boris Said - #36 Centrix Financial Chevrolet - 4th position - COMMENTS ON QUALIFYING STRATEGY HERE, BEING OUTSIDE THE TOP 35 IN POINTS - I know I’m in the show and that was the biggest thing for me. People don’t understand that when you’re not in that top 35, you don’t have that mulligan. You have that one lap and if you screw up, you’re going home. I couldn’t take that chance. Frankie Stoddard and everyone at Centrix gave me a car capable of the pole, but I could have screwed that up, but I ran about 90% and left a little bit on the table. That’s hard for me, because I’m normally my own worst enemy. I like to overdrive cars. That’s when you get scared and that’s when it’s fun.

HOW ARE YOUR CHANCES HERE? - These guys are good and have won a lot of races, so I don’t have any excuses anymore. A lot of help from Valvoline, Centrix and the U.S. Army and it just gives a driver a lot of confidence.

COULD THIS BE THE YEAR YOU OR ONE OF THE OTHER RINGERS PICK UP A CUP WIN? - It could be, but you know these regulars are good. They are the best drivers in the world and they drive these cars every week. They put them on like a comfortable pair of shoes. My goal would be that if I could get in the top 5, it would be like a win for me. And if I’m in a position to be in the top 5 at the end I could have a chance to win. It’s a long shot if you look at the records, but it is definitely my best opportunity.

Robby Gordon - #7 Harrah’s Chevrolet - 5th position - “Well, you know, we’re about midseason and I said at Daytona that our team would come alive about midseason. It just happens that it happens on a road course. We qualified 8th last weekend, performances have come up a long way. To come up here and draw a number like we did-we actually drew a bad number for qualifying-not to make any excuses. The sun is out shining hard and hopefully it stays that way for qualifying to make it as equal as possible.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS RACE FOR YOUR TEAM? - It’s important. Any race is important for us. Any place that we can come and run good only builds morale. I say these guys have been burning the midnight oil. We’ve built race cars and finally got out inventory up and now we can go race them.

Tony Stewart - #20 The Home Depot Chevrolet - 7th position - “That was an okay lap. We need some more grip getting back to the gas. We’ll work on that tomorrow and get it ready for Sunday.

Terry Labonte - #11 FedEx Chevrolet - 8th position - “Well, I think it’s a good start for the FedEx Chevy. We just want to get a good run in here at this track. The car was pretty good. We were pretty good in race setup today and we’ll work on getting better tomorrow.

HOW HAVE YOU AND MIKE FORD CLICKED SO WELL HERE? - Well, I don’t know. We just spent some time together and come out here and the car was pretty good right off the truck. I know Mike is new to this team and they are learning a lot, too and I think he’s going to be big help to these guys and bring a lot of confidence and experience. We seem to communicate pretty good.

WHERE DID THE SETUP COME FROM? YOURS? HIS? GIBBS? - I think it was the same setup Tony had. He was 7th and we were 8th, so it was pretty close.

YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAT AT HOME AND WATCHED THIS RACE ON TV. HOW MUCH HAPPIER ARE YOU THAT YOU’RE HERE? - Well, you know, I was probably going to do that. They called me and it’s been fun. The thing that’s kind of neat for me is to be teammates with Bobby for one weekend. We’ve raced together for so many years, now we’re actually on the same team.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - #8 Budweiser Chevrolet - 10th position - “HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP? - My team’s real happy and I’m real happy. I think I could have run a 50 or 60. I wish I could have been able to do that for them.

HOW WAS PRACTICE EARLIER TODAY? - The car was real good in practice. We did mostly race stuff. I’m pretty happy with the car in race trim. We’ll see.

Kyle Busch - #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet - 13th position - “HOW WAS YOUR LAP? - It wasn’t that good. I wasn’t happy with it. I really struggled, just basically because I didn’t get enough heat in the tires. Coming to the hill toward turn 2, really didn’t start off too well just because I wasn’t able to turn in there real well. Once I got up to the top, I couldn’t make the right hander to make it over towards 3, so, other than that, it was a solid lap. Just wanted to make sure we got it in the show good enough where we didn’t have to work on anything or wreck it or anything. Haven’t done too well in testing, so just making sure we run well today.

WILL RUNNING IN THE SOUTHWEST SERIES HELP YOU HERE? - Yeah, the extra laps are really paying off. It will be great to go out and run that race. I think we qualified 12th or something there, it might be about the same thing here-between 12th and 18th. I probably could have picked up about a half to three-quarters of a second on that lap.

Scott Riggs - #10 Valvoline Chevrolet - 16th position - “You know, not bad. It seemed like it was a little slick out there, sliding the front end and spin the rear tires real easily. I wish we could have got some scuff on those tires.

Yeah, we always lean on Boris as much as we can. His car is pretty much setup the same as mine. Really the only questions I have for him is really just track conditions and how he enters different corners. We really have the same complaints, he’s just able to get through his problems a lot better than I am.

Kevin Harvick - #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet - 21st position - “The GM Goodwrench Chevy was just too loose getting off the corners. I just lacked forward grip and spun the tires when I got back in the gas.”

I’m disappointed with the lap. It doesn’t mean a whole lot as far as the race goes, but I hate not qualifying well here. This is one of my favorite tracks. That wasn’t one of my best laps.

Brian Simo - #33 Korbel Chevrolet - 22nd position - Note: Simo has not raced professionally since 2001 - YOU’RE KNOWN AS A ROAD RACING SPECIALIST, IS THAT JUSTIFIED? - You know, all these guys are so good. I think the term ‘road racing specialist’ doesn’t mean what it used to. These guys are so quick. Just to be here and run in this company is beyond belief

WE’VE HEARD YOU HAVEN’T BEEN RACING SINCE 2001, IS THAT TRUE? - No, I haven’t run anything but the station wagon to the grocery store in the past couple of years. So, it’s good to be back in the car. I’ve got a little bit of tuning up to do, I’m a bit rusty, but we’ll get it figured out.

Bobby Labonte - #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet - 33rd position - “The guys worked really hard today. We had the mishap in the morning and had to scramble all afternoon to get the backup car ready. It wasn’t the best situation, but at least we’ll have some practice time the car tomorrow.

Ron Fellows - #32 Tide Chevrolet - 43rd position - “COMMENTS ON YOUR LAP - Well, getting up to turn 2 was my fault. We were just real loose. The way I make speed is by carrying it in, and as soon as I did that, by the time I got to turn 7 it was just a mess. It was just an ugly lap.

IT LOOKED, HOWEVER, THAT THE SECOND HALF OF YOUR QUALIFYING LAP WAS QUITE GOOD - Yeah, I mean, once we got through the fast stuff, it wasn’t too bad. But, I’ll take the heat on that. I didn’t do a good job on the first part.

WHAT WILL YOU WORK ON TOMORROW? - Well, this was qualifying, so tomorrow we’ll work on race setup. We’ve got a good plan for the race, we’ve just got some cars to pass.

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