KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)- (Pole Winner)
"We've qualified well all season long. We tried again today. It'll be tough to get it, but the engine package we brought here is very strong. The Dodge Charger is working well. We'll see what happens, but it's nice to see all three Evernham Dodges up front. I really didn't think it would hold up for the pole because some pretty fast cars still hadn't gone. I left a little in turn one. I didn't get through there as good as I wanted. It was a strong showing today for the Evernham Dodges. I didn't get the best lap in the world, but it was a pretty good one. We've got some more practice tomorrow and we'll keep working on it. This is a track I've always enjoyed coming to. I haven't had the best results in the Cup car, but I've always enjoyed coming here. I think we'll be good. We've been one of the better cars most of the Chase. We've just had some bad breaks. The car has been strong at just about every track and we've learned a lot in The Chase that will help next year."
Press conference
SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge Charger)- Qualified 2nd
"The guys made some good adjustments. I knew it wasn't going to be the pole.There's a lot of grip out there and the car slid around a little too much. I couldn't use as much throttle as I needed it to. That's a good run, and now we've got to get ready to have a good race. The lap was a good pickup for us. We hadn't run nearly that fast in practice. As good as the car felt I thought we'd be easily knocked off the pole. To end up second is good for us, and I'm glad Kasey ended up with the (pole award) this year. I think my opinion of the Dodge Charger, I did a lot of testing at the beginning of the season, compared to the Monte Carlo I think the Dodge Charger felt more stable, but it did feel a little uneasy with the way it got its downforce. It felt like the wind was gusting around it all the time. We did some changes on the nose of the car and really helped the car. I think that's where we came up with the new nose we're running next year."
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Qualified 3rd
"It was a good qualifying effort. We're proud of that. We were terrible in practice. We were spinning out getting into the corner a literally. I proved that with my Busch car. We just worked on it a little more and tried to get it handling a little bit better for us and make it into the corner first in order to get off, second. It was a pretty good lap for us. I got into Turns 1 and 2 pretty well. I headed off into Turn 3 and it was a little bit too low. I didn't arc it as well as I wanted to. The front-end chattered there initially so I knew it was going to be a hard corner to get through without being too tight. I wasn't quite able to get back to the throttle the way I would have liked to in order to carry my momentum through the corner. But all in all it was a pretty good day for us and we'll go on and race them on Sunday."
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS RACE WITH REGARD TO HAVING GOOD MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE OFF-SEASON AND THEN TO 2007?
"For us, it would mean a heck of a lot. Last year we had two wins. This year we only have one so far. If we could get another one and win the last race of the year then we're the last winner all the way up to the Daytona 500 next year. So it would definitely mean a lot to the Kellogg's team and heading into the off-season with a strong end would make it worthwhile. We've had a terrible Chase so far. If we could get a win under our belt, that would be great. It doesn't matter if we move out of 10th or not. We're pretty much set on that. But it would be great just to get out of here with a victory though."
ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)- Qualified 4th
"We've got a great racecar. This is my favorite car. We were very fast in practice. The Dodge Charger is driving good, and we're ready for a great weekend. It's championship weekend. I'm looking forward to Monday morning and hunting season in Virginia. My guys have worked hard. I left a little bit on the table, but I'm proud of my guys. We've got a good car for Sunday. We're getting better. I cannot wait for the Daytona 500 next year when we're all on the same playing field, but we want to win this race, too. We'll see what happens. At least I gave ‘em something to shoot at today."
BRIAN VICKERS, NO 25 GMAC MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 6th
"This weekend is obviously bittersweet. There are just so many people at Hendrick Motorsports that I have emotional connections, but at the same time, I am excited about new opportunities and a fresh start. Our qualifying wasn't bad. The GMAC Chevrolet was pretty good in qualifying trim. We were a little tight in the center in race trim so we are trying to fight that out of it. We made some changes at then end of our qualifying run and wanted to get back on the track and make a second run but we didn't get a chance to back out. I think that hurt us a little bit. But it was still a good lap for us."
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 7th
"We are pretty happy with that lap. Our GM Goodwrench Chevrolet was a little bit edgy in practice and then Todd (Berrier) made some great adjustments on it and it drove really good in qualifying. So, all in all, it was a great lap and it's really fast in race trim, so that's the great thing. I am not known to be notoriously great at qualifying, today was pretty good."
DAVID GILLILAND - No. 38 M&M's Ford Fusion (Qualified 9th)
"That's good. The M&M's Ford Fusion has been running good all day, and it's a real racy race track. The way the banking is, I think it'll definitely put on a great show for the fans. I've never actually raced here, but we got to test and I'm really looking forward to it."
YOU WERE PRETTY GOOD IN PRACTICE, TOO. DID YOU WORK ON QUALIFYING TRIM?
"No, mostly race trim stuff. I think we made two qualifying runs. We worked on race trim, mainly. We're real excited. I feel really good about our team. I feel like our tram is headed in the right direction. That's all you ask for. Like I said, we're going in the right direction."
DO YOU SENSE THE IMPROVEMENT FROM WEEK TO WEEK?
"Absolutely. We've been good in practice, we've been qualifying really well the last couple of weeks, and been racing decent. I'm real proud of all the guys - M&M's and Ford and Robert Yates, for giving me the opportunity. I feel like we're starting to show what we can do now."
JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 13th
"All these guys have worked so hard on the U.S. Army Chevy. It's one of the cars I've been running pretty good with lately. It was a pretty good lap. I got through Turns 1 and 2 real good. I didn't quite get through Turns 3 and 4 like I wanted to. But we'll take it.
"When you put it on the edge and you are trying to make these cars go as fast as you can, I am really proud of my U.S. Army team. I tried really hard to get them all I could, I got through one and two really good but three and four I didn't get through them quite like I wanted to. I tried making up a little ground on my second lap, and that wasn't the thing to do, I almost lost it getting in the corner, just trying to drive in, make a bigger arc, doing all the things you need to do to go faster and put it on that edge. We ran a 50, I thought we could have run in the mid-30s but that is a good lap, that is all we got. We will just see if everybody made their adjustments right."
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 14th
"We are pretty happy, we thought we had a pretty good car we just weren't able to show it in practice. We got a great draw; that really helped out a lot. We will work on the car a little bit in practice getting it to turn better in the center and we will be happy."
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 15th
DOES 'ANXIOUS' DESCRIBE YOUR TEAM THIS WEEKEND?
"We're certainly excited to just get to work. We want to get out there and do the job we've been working so hard on and been trained to do. We had a good practice session. Now qualifying, that's the best lap we've had all day. So I'm hoping that it stays up there and we get a good starting spot. But we went so early; I just don't know what emotion to have right now.
"I am curious where we are going to end up. We made two great changes; the car went 2/10th faster than we did in practice. I just really don't know how the early draw is going to affect me. It is cloudy and overcast, big question mark for me. If we end up with 12th or better, I would be happy with that going out this early. WE have a great race car once again so we will take what we get and go on to Sunday."
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)- Qualified 16th
"We were too loose getting in. We weren't as fast as we needed to be. It's disappointing. We've always qualified well here, and this isn't up to par for us as is most of the season. It's one more thing to put behind us."
MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion (Qualified 19th)
"It was a really good lap for us. For what we ran (in practice), that was really good."
WILL IT BE A GOOD CAR FOR SUNDAY?
"I hope so, but we'll have to wait and see." MORE ON THE LAP.
"That was a really good lap for us. We didn't really practice that good. Robbie and Chip made some good changes on it, and we hit it just right, so that's a good lap for us."
GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion (Qualified 22nd)
"I changed the wedge in the front. I put in a quarter-round, which is a minor change, and I screwed it up. I got on the spring down there (in turn one) and got real loose, but I thought I had a chance at the top of the board with that car. That car is really fast and it's gonna be fast in race trim, but it's just unfortunate because we did a .50 in practice. I thought for sure I could do a .35, .40 or maybe a .30 and it just didn't happen."
MARK MARTIN - No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion (Qualified 26th)
"We expected better. The car just didn't hook up like it had our mock lap in practice. It's still not gonna be bad, but it's not what we expected. We were looking better than that, but it just didn't hook up. We've got tomorrow to work on it. We felt pretty good about it in race trim and actually pretty good about it in qualifying trim, but it was a little slippery for me out there. I'm not sure exactly why that is, but it's decent in race trim. Really, to be honest with you, I don't know how much we're gonna gain on it. I was pretty satisfied with the way it drove in race trim."
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 30 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)- Qualified 29th
"My Cup car was really tight. I got in the Busch car and it was so loose. It's really hard to switch from one to the other. The wheelbase is different. The whole car is really different. It worked out pretty good, and I think it actually helped me. I think we did a good job today. I'm trying to earn as much respect as possible and hopefully everyone does to me.
"It's been crazy today, going from one car to another. I finished the Cup practice and I didn't think I was going to make the show. I knew I had to step it up a little bit. It was a good lap, but the car was really tight. We've got two hours of practice tomorrow and we can make it better for the race. It was cool making the race for Sunday. It'll give me more experience. Everybody at Dodge and Ganassi has been great.
"I can run hard and stop, but I've been trying to stay away from that. If people don't give me enough room, most of the time I back off because I want to try to get to the end of the races, but it's all about that - knowing how far you can go. Running by yourself is not a problem. A lot of people in the Latin Media and people are watching me. I just want to have fun. I came here to have fun and do a good job.
"I think from what I've done it Busch so far I know what I need out of the car. It's hard. The car is decent. We can run up there, especially at the end of the runs. If we can run to the end we'll be doing pretty good. I don't want to get in anybody's way."
ROBBY GORDON, NO. 7 MENARDS/ENERGIZER MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 35th
Note: Engine failed during qualifying run
"The car was loose coming to the green which unfortunately scrubbed a lot of speed down the straights," said Gordon. "I tried to really work it on my second lap until the motor popped on the backstretch. We've had a couple of issues over the last few weeks with our motors and hopefully that's the last of them. The car was decent though in race trim in first practice, so we'll take our practice sessions tomorrow and get the car to where we need it to be."
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)- Qualified 36th
"We just made too many changes and got real loose. It was an animal. I thought it would get better the second lap, but it stayed real loose for us. We're allowed to miss. We missed today, but we'll be all right."
KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Wells Fargo/Tire Kingdom Dodge Charger) - Qualified 38th
"I messed up on my first lap. I felt like I needed to run my second lap, but you'd already got all the good out of those Goodyear tires, so there wasn't anything left in ‘em. I feel real good about the race. I just messed up qualifying. We came down here and tested and all we did was race stuff testing. It's come back pretty much like it was. This is probably the most equal day qualifying they've had in a long time."
CASEY MEARS (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)- Qualified 39th
"It was way too tight. We had to pull a little of the left-right camber out before we went through tech, and I think it made it really, really tight. It was tight in race trim, too. That's what we're going to be fighting the most. It was horrible in qualifying. I wanted to qualify better than that."
"We've qualified well all season long. We tried again today. It'll be tough to get it, but the engine package we brought here is very strong. The Dodge Charger is working well. We'll see what happens, but it's nice to see all three Evernham Dodges up front. I really didn't think it would hold up for the pole because some pretty fast cars still hadn't gone. I left a little in turn one. I didn't get through there as good as I wanted. It was a strong showing today for the Evernham Dodges. I didn't get the best lap in the world, but it was a pretty good one. We've got some more practice tomorrow and we'll keep working on it. This is a track I've always enjoyed coming to. I haven't had the best results in the Cup car, but I've always enjoyed coming here. I think we'll be good. We've been one of the better cars most of the Chase. We've just had some bad breaks. The car has been strong at just about every track and we've learned a lot in The Chase that will help next year."
Press conference
SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge Charger)- Qualified 2nd
"The guys made some good adjustments. I knew it wasn't going to be the pole.There's a lot of grip out there and the car slid around a little too much. I couldn't use as much throttle as I needed it to. That's a good run, and now we've got to get ready to have a good race. The lap was a good pickup for us. We hadn't run nearly that fast in practice. As good as the car felt I thought we'd be easily knocked off the pole. To end up second is good for us, and I'm glad Kasey ended up with the (pole award) this year. I think my opinion of the Dodge Charger, I did a lot of testing at the beginning of the season, compared to the Monte Carlo I think the Dodge Charger felt more stable, but it did feel a little uneasy with the way it got its downforce. It felt like the wind was gusting around it all the time. We did some changes on the nose of the car and really helped the car. I think that's where we came up with the new nose we're running next year."
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Qualified 3rd
"It was a good qualifying effort. We're proud of that. We were terrible in practice. We were spinning out getting into the corner a literally. I proved that with my Busch car. We just worked on it a little more and tried to get it handling a little bit better for us and make it into the corner first in order to get off, second. It was a pretty good lap for us. I got into Turns 1 and 2 pretty well. I headed off into Turn 3 and it was a little bit too low. I didn't arc it as well as I wanted to. The front-end chattered there initially so I knew it was going to be a hard corner to get through without being too tight. I wasn't quite able to get back to the throttle the way I would have liked to in order to carry my momentum through the corner. But all in all it was a pretty good day for us and we'll go on and race them on Sunday."
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS RACE WITH REGARD TO HAVING GOOD MOMENTUM GOING INTO THE OFF-SEASON AND THEN TO 2007?
"For us, it would mean a heck of a lot. Last year we had two wins. This year we only have one so far. If we could get another one and win the last race of the year then we're the last winner all the way up to the Daytona 500 next year. So it would definitely mean a lot to the Kellogg's team and heading into the off-season with a strong end would make it worthwhile. We've had a terrible Chase so far. If we could get a win under our belt, that would be great. It doesn't matter if we move out of 10th or not. We're pretty much set on that. But it would be great just to get out of here with a victory though."
ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)- Qualified 4th
"We've got a great racecar. This is my favorite car. We were very fast in practice. The Dodge Charger is driving good, and we're ready for a great weekend. It's championship weekend. I'm looking forward to Monday morning and hunting season in Virginia. My guys have worked hard. I left a little bit on the table, but I'm proud of my guys. We've got a good car for Sunday. We're getting better. I cannot wait for the Daytona 500 next year when we're all on the same playing field, but we want to win this race, too. We'll see what happens. At least I gave ‘em something to shoot at today."
BRIAN VICKERS, NO 25 GMAC MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 6th
"This weekend is obviously bittersweet. There are just so many people at Hendrick Motorsports that I have emotional connections, but at the same time, I am excited about new opportunities and a fresh start. Our qualifying wasn't bad. The GMAC Chevrolet was pretty good in qualifying trim. We were a little tight in the center in race trim so we are trying to fight that out of it. We made some changes at then end of our qualifying run and wanted to get back on the track and make a second run but we didn't get a chance to back out. I think that hurt us a little bit. But it was still a good lap for us."
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 7th
"We are pretty happy with that lap. Our GM Goodwrench Chevrolet was a little bit edgy in practice and then Todd (Berrier) made some great adjustments on it and it drove really good in qualifying. So, all in all, it was a great lap and it's really fast in race trim, so that's the great thing. I am not known to be notoriously great at qualifying, today was pretty good."
DAVID GILLILAND - No. 38 M&M's Ford Fusion (Qualified 9th)
"That's good. The M&M's Ford Fusion has been running good all day, and it's a real racy race track. The way the banking is, I think it'll definitely put on a great show for the fans. I've never actually raced here, but we got to test and I'm really looking forward to it."
YOU WERE PRETTY GOOD IN PRACTICE, TOO. DID YOU WORK ON QUALIFYING TRIM?
"No, mostly race trim stuff. I think we made two qualifying runs. We worked on race trim, mainly. We're real excited. I feel really good about our team. I feel like our tram is headed in the right direction. That's all you ask for. Like I said, we're going in the right direction."
DO YOU SENSE THE IMPROVEMENT FROM WEEK TO WEEK?
"Absolutely. We've been good in practice, we've been qualifying really well the last couple of weeks, and been racing decent. I'm real proud of all the guys - M&M's and Ford and Robert Yates, for giving me the opportunity. I feel like we're starting to show what we can do now."
JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 13th
"All these guys have worked so hard on the U.S. Army Chevy. It's one of the cars I've been running pretty good with lately. It was a pretty good lap. I got through Turns 1 and 2 real good. I didn't quite get through Turns 3 and 4 like I wanted to. But we'll take it.
"When you put it on the edge and you are trying to make these cars go as fast as you can, I am really proud of my U.S. Army team. I tried really hard to get them all I could, I got through one and two really good but three and four I didn't get through them quite like I wanted to. I tried making up a little ground on my second lap, and that wasn't the thing to do, I almost lost it getting in the corner, just trying to drive in, make a bigger arc, doing all the things you need to do to go faster and put it on that edge. We ran a 50, I thought we could have run in the mid-30s but that is a good lap, that is all we got. We will just see if everybody made their adjustments right."
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 14th
"We are pretty happy, we thought we had a pretty good car we just weren't able to show it in practice. We got a great draw; that really helped out a lot. We will work on the car a little bit in practice getting it to turn better in the center and we will be happy."
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 15th
DOES 'ANXIOUS' DESCRIBE YOUR TEAM THIS WEEKEND?
"We're certainly excited to just get to work. We want to get out there and do the job we've been working so hard on and been trained to do. We had a good practice session. Now qualifying, that's the best lap we've had all day. So I'm hoping that it stays up there and we get a good starting spot. But we went so early; I just don't know what emotion to have right now.
"I am curious where we are going to end up. We made two great changes; the car went 2/10th faster than we did in practice. I just really don't know how the early draw is going to affect me. It is cloudy and overcast, big question mark for me. If we end up with 12th or better, I would be happy with that going out this early. WE have a great race car once again so we will take what we get and go on to Sunday."
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)- Qualified 16th
"We were too loose getting in. We weren't as fast as we needed to be. It's disappointing. We've always qualified well here, and this isn't up to par for us as is most of the season. It's one more thing to put behind us."
MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion (Qualified 19th)
"It was a really good lap for us. For what we ran (in practice), that was really good."
WILL IT BE A GOOD CAR FOR SUNDAY?
"I hope so, but we'll have to wait and see." MORE ON THE LAP.
"That was a really good lap for us. We didn't really practice that good. Robbie and Chip made some good changes on it, and we hit it just right, so that's a good lap for us."
GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion (Qualified 22nd)
"I changed the wedge in the front. I put in a quarter-round, which is a minor change, and I screwed it up. I got on the spring down there (in turn one) and got real loose, but I thought I had a chance at the top of the board with that car. That car is really fast and it's gonna be fast in race trim, but it's just unfortunate because we did a .50 in practice. I thought for sure I could do a .35, .40 or maybe a .30 and it just didn't happen."
MARK MARTIN - No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion (Qualified 26th)
"We expected better. The car just didn't hook up like it had our mock lap in practice. It's still not gonna be bad, but it's not what we expected. We were looking better than that, but it just didn't hook up. We've got tomorrow to work on it. We felt pretty good about it in race trim and actually pretty good about it in qualifying trim, but it was a little slippery for me out there. I'm not sure exactly why that is, but it's decent in race trim. Really, to be honest with you, I don't know how much we're gonna gain on it. I was pretty satisfied with the way it drove in race trim."
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 30 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)- Qualified 29th
"My Cup car was really tight. I got in the Busch car and it was so loose. It's really hard to switch from one to the other. The wheelbase is different. The whole car is really different. It worked out pretty good, and I think it actually helped me. I think we did a good job today. I'm trying to earn as much respect as possible and hopefully everyone does to me.
"It's been crazy today, going from one car to another. I finished the Cup practice and I didn't think I was going to make the show. I knew I had to step it up a little bit. It was a good lap, but the car was really tight. We've got two hours of practice tomorrow and we can make it better for the race. It was cool making the race for Sunday. It'll give me more experience. Everybody at Dodge and Ganassi has been great.
"I can run hard and stop, but I've been trying to stay away from that. If people don't give me enough room, most of the time I back off because I want to try to get to the end of the races, but it's all about that - knowing how far you can go. Running by yourself is not a problem. A lot of people in the Latin Media and people are watching me. I just want to have fun. I came here to have fun and do a good job.
"I think from what I've done it Busch so far I know what I need out of the car. It's hard. The car is decent. We can run up there, especially at the end of the runs. If we can run to the end we'll be doing pretty good. I don't want to get in anybody's way."
ROBBY GORDON, NO. 7 MENARDS/ENERGIZER MONTE CARLO SS: Qualified 35th
Note: Engine failed during qualifying run
"The car was loose coming to the green which unfortunately scrubbed a lot of speed down the straights," said Gordon. "I tried to really work it on my second lap until the motor popped on the backstretch. We've had a couple of issues over the last few weeks with our motors and hopefully that's the last of them. The car was decent though in race trim in first practice, so we'll take our practice sessions tomorrow and get the car to where we need it to be."
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)- Qualified 36th
"We just made too many changes and got real loose. It was an animal. I thought it would get better the second lap, but it stayed real loose for us. We're allowed to miss. We missed today, but we'll be all right."
KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Wells Fargo/Tire Kingdom Dodge Charger) - Qualified 38th
"I messed up on my first lap. I felt like I needed to run my second lap, but you'd already got all the good out of those Goodyear tires, so there wasn't anything left in ‘em. I feel real good about the race. I just messed up qualifying. We came down here and tested and all we did was race stuff testing. It's come back pretty much like it was. This is probably the most equal day qualifying they've had in a long time."
CASEY MEARS (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)- Qualified 39th
"It was way too tight. We had to pull a little of the left-right camber out before we went through tech, and I think it made it really, really tight. It was tight in race trim, too. That's what we're going to be fighting the most. It was horrible in qualifying. I wanted to qualify better than that."
Nextel Cup Homestead Qualifying Notes
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