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Manufacturer Qualifying - Checker Auto Parts 500

Manufacturers’ Winston Cup Notes And Quotes; Checker Auto Parts 500; Qualifying; Oct. 31, 200

Phoenix International Raceway
Friday, Oct. 31, 2003
Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Havoline
Manufacturer Notes, Bud Pole Qualifying.

GM Racing Winston Cup Notes And Quotes

Brian Vickers, No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 2nd: “Joe (Nemechek) did an awesome job of qualifying, and it seemed like he slowed down a little bit, so I’m not too concerned about it. Hopefully it’s enough to stay on top. I think that’s about all she had. We had to go out on stickers. We didn’t get to scuff our qualifiers, and that might have hurt us a little bit, but that’s part of it.”

How Important Is It For You To Back Up Qualifying With A Strong Run On Sunday? “It’s very important. We had a good qualifying effort in Atlanta as well and had some bad luck, some misfortune at the start of the race and kind of hurt it, but hopefully we can finish it out this week and get some experience. It’s very important to stay out there on the racetrack and get as much experience as possible. I also want to thank all of the fans for coming out today.”

Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Pontiac qualified 10th: About Your Lap. “It wasn’t too bad. The U.S. Army crew is working really hard to give me some good cars, and they’ve given me some great cars. I just didn’t back up my time from practice. I needed to run in the 26-second bracket and didn’t quite get there. It just seemed like the track was a little bit slick.

Did It Hurt You Going Out Early In Qualifying? “Normally when you go out early, it’s not good. It seems like the track just keeps getting better and better. But we’ll take it. We have a great Pontiac here for the race.”

Terry Labonte, No. 5 Kellogg’s/Got Milk? Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 19th: You Picked Up On Your Second Lap. Any Reason Why? “I don’t know. It just was a better lap than the first one. Our car’s been pretty good in practice, and that ought to get us a pretty decent starting spot, I hope, and we’ll work on it for Sunday. But I think we’ve got an awfully good car here this weekend.”

Talk About The Run This Team Has Been On The Second Half Of The Season. “I tell you, these guys are just doing an awesome job on this Kellogg’s/got milk? Chevy team. It’s been a lot of fun going to the racetrack, and it’s a lot different than it was a year ago for us. I think we’re awful competitive now. We’ve still got three to go, and we still want to win another one. And we’re still in quite a battle in the points deal for 10th place, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Ward Burton, No. 0 NetZero Pontiac Grand Prix qualified 20th: Note: Burton made contact with the wall on the backstretch on the second of his two qualifying laps. What Happened On That Second Lap? “The driver was just trying a little bit too hard. The car was a little bit too loose. We had one of the best practices I’ve ever had in Winston Cup today, from where we started to where we ended up, a top-five or top-10 car, and I think it will be on Sunday.

How Bad Is The Car Damaged? “It’s not that bad. You can see right there, but we’re going to fix it. I’m just sorry the team’s got to do a little extra work.”

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 3rd: “Our day’s been an awesome day, and I have to give a lot of credit to Brian (Vickers) and to Jeff (Gordon) for coming out here and testing. I know that they were both excited when they came to Atlanta last week and said we’re going to have a great time here. So it’s been that way since we unloaded off the truck and we’ve stayed in the top five the whole day, ended up third, and very close to first and second. If you look at the 24, 25 and 48, they’re within a half of a tenth, which is pretty amazing to see. It’s a great team effort, and I’m very thankful for the hard work these guys put into the setup.”

Comment On The Changes To The Track In Turn 2 - Have You Seen Any Problems? “I haven’t seen any problems yet. It’s going to be interesting to see in the race what happens. You now have a lot more room out there, obviously, to make the corner, so it’s going to make the setup maybe a little easier to get right because you don’t have to turn as sharp and accelerate up off the corner. I don’t know if that’s going to help with passing or hurt passing. I have a feeling that it might make it harder to pass because it’s going to be a little bit more forgiving than in the past. The modifications they’ve done have been very good. Crossing over the tunnel, there aren’t any bumps and it’s very smooth. I think they did a lot of good work, but we’ll just have to see in the race to see how it plays out.”

Have You Been Surpised By The Success Your Teammate Brian Vickers Is Having? “No, he’s done such an awesome job in the Busch Series, and I know what it’s like to come into the Hendrick family and drive their equipment. And being in a situation where you’re the only rookie, and you have all of these great resources to pull from. There are drivers to get information from, setups, engineers, all of that stuff. I am surprised, but I was just walking down this road myself. I’m happy for him, glad to see it, and he’s driving his butt off, so it’s well deserved.”

What Is Your Philosophy On Qualifying - Is It A Big Deal Or Can You Just Write It Off? “In the past, I haven’t been very good at qualifying, in my ASA days, even in the Busch Series. I guess when you’re not very good at it you just write it off and worry about the race. When you’re good at it, you put a lot of emphasis on it. Chad’s been able to give me a setup that’s been able to be fast and win a lot of poles with. There is a lot on it as the season goes on and there’s an emphasis on pit road. It gets bigger and bigger. Having a pit stall where you’re not going to get boxed in is so important and can save you four or five positions on the track at the end of the race that you don’t have to deal with. That can put you in contention to win it. So there’s a lot of things that go along with it. Obviously being in the Bud Shootout, whoever wins the most poles wins a lot of money from Budweiser, so there’s a lot of things financially that go into it. But track position and pit road are so important that we really aim hard to be in the top five every week so that we can try and catch an opening. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s the way we unload. Last year we were just hoping to be in the top 15 and race from there, but this year we’ve raised our goals on that so that we don’t get hung up on pit road.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 11th: “We would have like to run a little bit better than that. We weren’t going to run as fast as Ryan (Newman), but it was still a good day for us. Hopefully that will put us in the top 10 and give us a good start for Sunday.”

Does The Change In The Race Track Affect The Change In The Set-Up For The Race Car? “No, not really. I really like what they’ve done to the race track It’s nice to have the tunnel to get in and out and they’ve moved the wall and everything. They’ve done a great job and I really think the fans are going to see a great race on Sunday. Hopefully we’ll be up there in the front winning the race.”

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 4th: “I couldn’t be happier with the way things have been going for us lately. It just seems like when we need things to go our way they have been with the adjustments and communications. It’s been awesome. They made the right adjustments right there today with the DuPont Chevrolet. The car did everything I wanted it to do. I almost wish I could do it again because I wasn’t doing it like that in practice and I think I learned some things right there at the end that made us a little bit better. I’m real happy with the power that’s underneath this car and we’ll go from there.”

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo: “I’m real proud of this Lowe’s team and everything they’ve done here today. We’re looking forward to a great day on Sunday. We’re going to have a great race car. This is the same car we won with at Loudon. Hopefully things will work out well.”

With The Changes In This Track, What’s It Going To Take Do To Well Here On Sunday? “Yeah, the track has changed and I think the way we race these days has changed a little bit with the tires being so good and the fuel mileage issue coming into it. Hopefully those factors are out and it just comes down to having a fast race car. And I know we will. I know we’re going to be in great shape and have great pit stops and a great day.”

How Do You Guys Handle Ryan Newman’s Qualifying Abilities? “It seems like he’s been the best at it for quite some time. It seemed like for the last few years he’s really been on his game. It’s a total team effort on their side. Their crew chief and engineers are just as responsible for it as the driver is. I think it’s put a lot more importance on qualifying and a lot more people are taking the extra steps and doing the extra work to try to win poles more now. He’s good at it.”

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 13th: “That was close. I knew it wasn’t fast enough on the first lap so I really wet for it on the second. The car was loose getting in, so I had to wait to get back in the gas. I have to give a lot of credit to this GM Goodwrench crew. We struggled through practice this morning and finally got good on our last go at it. We kept that set-up for qualifying and it held up. These guys did a great job to get us to here. It’ll be enough to get us a good starting spot. It’s the best I’ve ever qualified in a Cup car here.”

Brian Vickers, No. 25 UAW Delphi Chevrolet Monte Carlo qualified 2nd: “Winning the pole would have meant a lot to me and to the UAW-Delphi Chevy team and having the Looney Tunes on board this week back in action, but we’re still very happy with where we ended up. But the pole would have meant everything - especially when you’ve got the Bud Shootout and a lot of other things that come along with it. I’ve watched qualifying for the past year or two and I’ve seen how frustrated some of these other drivers get with Ryan Newman and I’m started to feel it too these past two weeks. I don’t know what he’s doing for qualifying but we need to figure it out. He did a good job. It was just so close. “We came out here (testing) with Jeff (Gordon) and it helped me a lot and having the resources that Hendrick Motorsports has. Some of the biggest resources are teammates like Jeff and Jimmie Johnson and Terry (Labonte) to pull information from and that helps a lot.”

Do You Keep Up With The Stats And How Young You Are? Did You Know That The Last Time A 20 Year-Old Won A Pole Was At A Mile Dirt Track In Atlanta In 1952? “No, I didn’t know that. I have a lot of respect for history in general. I guess that’s the way I was brought up. You can learn a lot from it. I have a lot of respect for the drivers in the past who have set those records. But I didn’t really keep up with it. I’m very fortunate to have had a lot of support from friends and family along the way and opportunities that Hendrick Motorsports has given me to get here this young. But I don’t really focus on that a lot. I just try to run my own race and try to go out there and try to earn the respect of the other drivers.

“Whether I’m 30 or 20, I think they look more at how you handle yourself on and off the race track and represent yourself and how you race them. To them, I’m just a rookie whether I’m 20 or 30 years old. That’s how I approach it.”

How Would It Be For You To Qualify For The Bud Shootout And Then Not Be Old Enough To Enjoy The Fruits Of It? “It would be important. When we started this deal this year, that wasn’t one of our goals. If it happens, that’s great. We would be very excited about it. That would give me extra practice before the Daytona 500. But, we’re just trying to get as much experience as possible. Unfortunately the last race wasn’t exactly the way to do that. But if it happens, okay but if not, we’re not going to beat ourselves up on it because our goal is to get seat time and good solid qualifying and just be prepared for next year.”

Where Does Your Car Work Best Around This Track? “I think the guys did a real good job and coming here with Jeff for the test really helped a lot. Actually running the Busch car really helped a lot with just getting seat time. When we went out there for that first lap of practice in the Winston Cup car, I felt like I had was already comfortable with the race track and the changes they’ve made here. It’s made a big difference. There again, with the resources I have at Hendrick, I can go to any of them with questions like Jimmie or Jeff or Terry.”

Dodge Notes:
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge Intrepid) - Wins 10th pole of season “We started off paying a little catch up today. There wasn’t a huge amount of difference, but maybe just a little difference than the way it was. We unloaded and we were OK. It was up to me to get my marks right. I knew Brian (Vickers) put down a pretty good lap. I asked him if there wasn’t anything left in the track. I think he was trying to tell me no. He did a great job.

“It doesn’t get old. It always will be a great confidence booster for the team. It kicks off a great weekend. Sometimes you can become overconfident and get complacent, and that will hurt you. My first pole at Charlotte, I got the pole and Jeff Gordon went out and qualified. I ran a .14 or .15 and he ran a .20. He came in and said, ‘man, you’re not supposed to be doing this. I’ve won five out of the last so many. To me that was a great compliment. For Brian, I think it’s the same way. I’m proud to get the pole and be the guy who’s got the most poles this year, but for him to do what he’s done, he’s got a lot of feathers in his cap right now.

“We haven’t been good here in race trim. I don’t exactly know why. I think Matt and the guys have learned a lot this year to apply to the racetrack right now. We used to come out here and test and it would be 100 degrees. We’d come back to race and it would be 75 or 80 and it was like, ‘what do I do now?’

“We’ve learned throughout this past year. Some tracks we’ve gone to the second or fourth times. “I saw a brief part of the replay, not the entire situation (of late-lap accident last week at Atlanta). I know that I was clear when I pulled in front of him (8 car). I know that my car was straight when I was in front of him. I believe he hit me again. The point being I was on the straightaway when I got hit. I think he was a little more giving at Martinsville.

COMMENTS IMMEDIATELY AFTER QUALIFYING
“We unloaded OK, and the guys kept working on it and made it better. I think the track is in really good shape. I wish they had put up the safety barriers, but I think they did a real good job going to the next step of development. I think all the changes are definitely positive. There’s always room for improvement. I’d like to hope that lap will hold up for the pole, but if it doesn’t, we’ve got a good starting spot.”

JEFF GREEN (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Intrepid)
“We were too loose off turn one. I was spinning my tires. It’s tough to qualify. It’s probably the toughest things. We’ve got to work on it and get better. We didn’t run as fast as we did in practice, but hopefully that will hold up and we’ll make the field. It wasn’t a lot of fun watching last week’s race at Atlanta from home.”

STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid)
“We thought we were pretty good, but it kept getting worse in practice. We changed a spring and a couple of other things before qualifying and it picked it up. I think the changes they made to the track will make for a better race. It’s got good grip. You don’t even know there’s any difference. The guys did a great job today. It’s a great little race track. I really love this place.”

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid) - Qualified Fifth
“I really like what they’ve done to the track. There’s more room out there to run. I think you’re going to see more passing off turn two. In my qualifying lap, I just came through turns three and four and as I was getting to four I was getting a little loose. I just held on until I hit the new asphalt. Once I hit it, it really stuck. I love coming out to Phoenix. It’s a lot of fun. That’s a good solid run, and I’m real excited about Sunday.”

JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Intrepid
“We tested here and all we did was race stuff. I feel real good about our race package. We’ve got a good car, and we’ll probably end up in the top 20. It was a good run, and now we’ll get ready to race. They’ve done a great job with this track.”

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Intrepid)
“We were too tight in one end of the track and two loose in the other. We’ll get things worked out and get ready to race on Sunday.”

CASEY MEARS (No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid) - Qualified Ninth, Top Raybestos Rookie of the Year Qualifier
“I thought we could run a flat, and I overdrove it a little bit getting into turn three. I think we’ve got a good race package for Sunday. Phoenix is a lot different than any other track. We did a lot of testing here. I really like this place. It’s a fun track.”

Ford Racing Notes And Quotes

Todd Bodine - No. 54 National Guard Taurus - “It’s not a bad lap for the National Guard Ford. The race track really feels like it’s lost a lot of grip. It’s just really slick. The car was on top of the track. We freed it up a little bit more for qualifying and we probably should have left it alone. That should be a decent top 20 starting spot. We’ve got a good race car. We had two good race cars and we crashed one last week, so this is the only one we’ve got left and it is a good race car.”

What About The Changes To The Track? “The widening off of turn two, I think, is gonna allow for a lot easier side-by-side racing. The way the track was before, the bottom was worn out and the top got a little more grip in the race, but you could run side by side. It’s definitely gonna make it easier. You’re not gonna see as many guys bopping the wall over there off of two when they push up there, but it’s pretty neat. I appreciate the race track putting a tunnel in. It’s awful nice of them.”

Matt Kenseth - No. 17 DEWALT Power Tools Taurus - “We ran OK at times today, but we just don’t have the speed. It’s just like what we’ve done the last few weeks. Our car drives pretty good, but we just don’t go anywhere. I’m doing everything I can do. I don’t feel that bad. We just don’t go anywhere, so we’ll just have to wear them down in the race like we’ve been doing.”

Jeff Burton - No. 99 CITGO Taurus - “That’s what we’ve got. We were 20th in practice, so we made some little changes and it got tighter. When you’re not good enough and you don’t make it better, you don’t end up very good.”

Ricky Rudd - No. 21 Motorcraft Taurus - “We just didn’t have any grip. We ran about like everybody and slowed up a couple of thousandths from what we practiced. The first lap I had no grip at all. The second lap the car stuck pretty good. Just like everybody else we needed a third lap and then we could have done something.”

Kurt Busch - No. 97 Rubbermaid Taurus - “We picked up a little bit from practice, but it’s just so difficult to squeeze that extra little bit out of it. That’s all we’ve got. We’ll take it. It’s a good starting spot.”

You Really Worked The Steering Wheel Out There. “Yeah, we were just off a bit coming out of four. It seemed when I applied the power, the car wanted to get a little sideways. It started pushing and then it hit the patch, so I had a lot of things going on coming out of turn four. If it was smooth off of four, I might have been able to run a low .90 and sit on the pole.”

Mark Martin - No. 6 Viagra Taurus - What Happened In Practice. You Hit The Wall And Damaged The Right Rear Of The Car. “I was just frustrated because we were too slow. I was overdriving and made a rookie mistake. I wasn’t running fast enough and just got frustrated, but they fixed the wreck and made some adjustments and the car was the best it has been. We got a good lap and ended the day on a high note. I’ve been racing too long to put them through what I did today. That was uncalled for, but we recovered based on those guys working hard.”

Elliott Sadler - No. 38 M&M’s Taurus - “I’m happy with that. I’m not the world’s best qualifier here at Phoenix and my record shows that. The car is driving really, really good and that’s the main thing. I figure it’s gonna be real fast in race condition, so that’s what I’m really happy about now. It’ll race good. It raced good at New Hampshire. It’s got the same feel here, so we’ll be OK.”

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