Category: NASCAR Cup Series

Denny Darnell

Scott Sebastian

Dodge Motorsports PR

Martinsville Speedway

TUMS Fast Relief 500

Post-Race Quotes

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

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BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) Finished 10th “It was a good solid day for us and we got a good finish out of it. It was a good weekend for us, winning the Nationwide yesterday and getting a top 10 here today. I’m happy but now, I’m ready to go home. “

DID YOU EXPECT YOUR FIRST TOP 10 TO COME AT A SHORT TRACK? “I think it’s going to come every week and so does the team. You can’t think of it as we’re coming to this race or that race and that’s where we’re going to run well. You’ve got to run hard every week and you’ve got to believe you can run up front every week. It could have come at the first race at Daytona and I would have believed it. It’s just a matter of getting everything right and running a good race.”

WHEN WAS THE CAR AT ITS BEST DURING THE RACE? “In the middle part of the race, we probably weren’t that good, but at the start and at the end we were solid. Good pit stops and good restarts gave us good track position. Put it all together and you end up with a top 10.”

JAY GUY (Crew Chief, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) “It was a very solid run for this Penske Dodge. All the guys have worked hard all year long, it’s a shame it has taken this long to get a top 10. It’s really good for Brad, it’s good for Mr. Penske and for all the folks at Dodge that help support us and put this program together. We’re looking forward to building momentum for the rest of the year and into 2011. Runs like today give you a little more pep in your step and pride going into the next race.”

DID YOU EXPECT THE FIRST TOP 10 TO COME ON A SHORT TRACK? “Brad is such an accomplished race car driver, so calculating, that it wouldn’t surprise me anywhere we go that we could get a top 10, a top five or a win the way he approaches driving a race car. He’s a student of the game and a really smooth driver. It was a good all-around effort from everybody and Brad did a great job today.

I’m real happy for this Penske Racing team.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Operation Home Front/Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished 16th “Man, just a lot of good, hard Martinsville racing out there today. It was a battle for all 500 laps. This place has been a monster for me over the years. We started behind with our Miller Lite Dodge, qualifying 29th on Friday. Anytime you’re short-track racing, track position and pit stall selection is critical, especially here. It was a battle. We started back in the pack, worked our way up and gained a ton of track position. Then we came in under green and had to pit a second time because of some loose lug nuts which cost us all of our position. We fought our way back inside the top 10, dropped to 15th, back inside the top 12; just a back and forth effort all day for us. We rubbed fenders, battled and clawed all day. There was a lot of hard racing going on all day. We fought hard and I’m proud of our Miller Lite Dodge guys. I thought we were going to be able to battle home a top 10, but we just didn’t get the run we needed on that last long run and dropped to 16th.”

WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THE CONTACT WITH THE 24 CAR? “Look, there was good racing all day amongst a lot of guys. There was respect given for guys when they were getting back to the inside. (He) was on the outside lane on restarts and so yeah, he shoved me in there and I shoved him back in Turn 4. I didn’t mean to get into him that hard, but over the years with (Jeff) Gordon here, back in the 97 (car), wrecking the 2 car, whether you’re a current Kurt fan or ex-Rusty (Wallace) fan, he’s wrecked the 2 car a lot here.”

DID THE CONTACT WITH THE 24 CAR HURT YOUR CAR AT ALL? “His chicken move afterward wasn’t called for, but that shows the game we’re gonna play. One bump versus another bump, it still seems like the scorecard isn’t even.”

TRAVIS GEISLER (Crew Chief, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Finished 25th “We actually had a decent car today. We were going to run top 20 for sure. We were running around 15th to 20th all day. We were on the outside of the 47, trying to get by him. He lost it on the inside and came up and hit us in the left front wheel. That knocked the toe out. There’s no stability on braking once you have that situation. We tried to fix it up best we could, but had already lost a couple laps trying to get it repaired. It was a tough day for us, but we’re happy for the 12 guys, their first top 10 of the year. It’s good to see them post a good finish.”

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion (Finished 8th) – “Our Aflac crew didn’t give up. We dropped like we had an anchor in the beginning and went to the back. Bob did a great job with pit strategy. That was pretty cool and then the guys did a good job on pit road. On that last run people were just falling left and right, so I started going easier because I figured they were melting the inside of the beads or something. It was just a really trying day for eveybody’s car and for all the drivers. I know for me personally I was worn out towards the end, but to come home eighth, I don’t know how we did in points, but it’s probably better than we started and that’s good.” IT SEEMED THE RACE WAS MORE INTENSE THAN USUAL? “It was a little more intense today. I think the points play a big part in that. The points are so close, not just among the leaders but the rest of us as well. It’s high stakes, high stress and a very, very small race track. It was just a good day. It was a good crowd and we’re happy. We’ll go home and get ready for Talladega.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Finished 33rd) – “It was kind of unfortunate for us today. We had a right-front tire go down. I don’t know, but something happened to the car after that because it drug the suspension off or something trying to get to pit road. The good news is we qualified well and practiced well this weekend, but we still have to keep working on it.”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion (Finished 15th) – DID YOU HAVE A BETTER CAR THAN 15TH? “Honestly, no. I felt like we had a worse car than that if nobody would have had trouble, but I feel like we could have got a better finish. We sped on pit road somehow, which was weird because I wasn’t racing anybody. I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention on the last segment down there. They said I was speeding, but I was five car lengths from any car, so that kind of baffled me a little. I know it’s electronic and they have to right and I have to be wrong, but I don’t know how I managed that. That hurt us. If we wouldn’t have done that, we were probably gonna finish three to six spots better.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion (Finished 12th) – “I’m happy, but I’m mad at myself because I messed up on that pit stop. We finally got some track position, and were finally getting to the front when we were up to seventh or eighth, but I messed up on our two-tire stop. I just tried to leave too quick and stalled it and that put us in the back, so we had to fight from there, so I wouldn’t say I’m happy, but I’m pleased with the finish. Anytime you get a top

12 at Martinsville, I think it’s the first time I’ve ever run all 500 laps here, too, so, all in all, it was a good day. I think we gained some points on a couple guys around us, but, more importantly, we got back to running well after the last couple of weeks. I’m happy for the guys and mad at myself a little bit, but it was a decent day.”

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT YOUR TEAM THAT WITH ALL THE DISTRACTIONS THIS WEEK THEY HAD A SOLID PERFORMANCE TODAY? “We can’t change anything that’s going on behind the scenes and what’s gonna happen. We can’t change that. We can come here and, for me, no matter what happens I feel like I’ll figure something out. I’m more worried for my guys because they bust their butts to go out here and work this hard. They don’t get paid a lot of money and they spend their whole life doing this, so I just want to try to take care of them. After everything this week, I’m just proud of my guys, my pit crew, my road crew and everybody back at the shop for building a good race car and rallying – putting their heads down and just forgetting about everything going on around us.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion (Finished 17th) – YOUR TEAM HAD TO OVERCOME AN EARLY PIT ROAD SPEEDING PENALTY “I thought we had a top-10 to a top-15 car just depending where we were as far as track position.

In the middle of the race we were fast, but on that last run, we were way too free. I’m proud of our UPS guys for bouncing back after that speeding penalty because I think at one point we were down in the mid-30s. All in all, it’s not what we wanted, but I think we gained some points on the guys we were racing around. It was just typical racing at Martinsville.”

KENNY FRANCIS, Crew Chief – No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion (Almirola finished 21st) – “I thought Aric did real well today. We kind of struggled with the car all day and got it going pretty good at one point, but then about two-thirds of the way through the race we just kind of lost the handle on it. We couldn’t keep it turning good through the middle and never hit on any adjustments to help it, but Aric did a great job. He stayed out of trouble and stayed on the lead lap until we got a flat near the end, but I thought he ran a really good race. I’m really happy with that.”

FRANK STODDARD, Crew Chief – No. 26 Air National Guard Ford Fusion (Schrader finished 18th) – “It was a good finish. The car was extremely good on the long run, but wasn’t really good on the short runs because we were just a little too tight. That paid dividends at the end, unfortunately the race just didn’t get some long, green runs.

If you look back in the spring, I think we pitted under the green some and this time I think 70 laps was the longest run, so that didn’t play into our favor. We needed a long run. At the end, we were better than Harvick on the same set of tires, so I was pretty pleased with the day to get a top 20.”

CHEVY FAST FACTS

TUMS FAST RELIEF 500

MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

October 24, 2010

• A total of 15 Team Chevy drivers will start the Tums Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Martinsville Speedway, race 32 of the 2010 season and the sixth race of Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

• Chevrolet drivers starting in the top-10:
  • Ryan Newman, No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet, will start 4th in the 43-car field for the 500-lap/263-mile race
  • Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet starts 5^th 
  • Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet,  starts 6th
  • Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, starts 9^th

CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK-MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY:

• A Chevrolet driver has won 46 of the 123 NSCS races at Martinsville Speedway (MS)

• Chevy has 48 poles at MS
• Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, has one (1) win at MS
• Bobby Labonte, No. 09 C & J Energy Chevrolet has won once (1) at MS

• Team Chevy drivers have scored 223 top-five finishes and 414 top-10 finishes at MS
• A Chevrolet has led 23,490 laps (42.3% of 55,587 possible) at MS
• Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Families Appreciation Chevrolet, has seven (7) MS victories, more than any other active driver
• Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, has six (6) victories at the .526-mile oval
•  Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com/eBay Motors Chevrolet, has two (2) MS victories
• Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet has won twice (2) at MS

TEAM CHEVY IN 2010 NSCS COMPETITION:

• Race wins – 17 as of race 31 of 36
• Poles – 14 as of race 31 of 36
• Laps led – 4,692 (51.1% of possible 9,177)
• Top-five finishes – 84 (54.2% of possible)
• Top-10 finishes – 154 (49.7% of possible)
• Team Chevy has six (6) drivers in the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. After five (5) of 10 races, the order is:
  • Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet – points leader
  • Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet – 3^rd in the standings
  • Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Families Appreciation Chevrolet – 4^th in point standings
  • Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice  Chevrolet – 6^th in the standings
  • Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet – 10^th in the points order
  • Clint Bowyer, No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet – 12^th  in points

• Chevrolet has won a record 34 NSCS Manufacturers’ Cups and Team Chevy drivers have collected the coveted NSCS driver’s championship 26 times and won 668 races

• In claiming the 2009 NSCS championship, Johnson became the first driver in the history of the NSCS to win four consecutive titles, ’06, ’07, ’08 and ‘09

About Chevrolet: Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including the Cruze Eco and Volt, both arriving in late 2010. Cruze Eco will offer up to 40 mpg highway while the Chevrolet Volt will offer up to 40 miles of electric, gas-free driving and an additional 300 miles of extended range (based on GM testing; official EPA estimates not yet available). Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

1st, Denny Hamlin 2nd, Marcos Ambrose 8th, David Reutimann 14th, Scott Speed 16th, Martin Truex Jr. 20th, Casey Mears 22nd, Joey Logano 26th, Kyle Busch 30th, Landon Cassill 33rd, Kasey Kahne 37th, Joe Nemechek 41st, Kevin Conway DNQ, Robby Gordon DNQ, Terry Cook DNQ, Johnny Sauter

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position:  1st Do you feel like it paid off to work on qualifying in today’s practice session? “Hopefully it’s a good thing.  We haven’t had our car in race trim yet.  I feel like we have a good baseline setup for here, obviously so we decided today that we were just going to focus on qualifying knowing that the corner pit stall is very, very critical here at Martinsville.  I love it when a plan comes together.” How nerve-wracking was it to watch the final cars take their qualifying laps? “I beat a hole through every cabinet and door in the front of the hauler.  The 24 (Jeff Gordon) had a good shot at us and the 16 (Greg Biffle) had a great shot at us getting into turn three on their last lap.  I wasn’t wishing bad luck, but I was just like, ‘Slip, slip, slip, slip.’  It came true for us.  I’m proud of this whole FedEx team.  We’ve had to work extra hard today because we have worked just on qualifying.  Kudos to them for working hard today and obviously tomorrow as well.” Are you pleased to have the number one pit stall for Sunday’s race? “It’s the biggest thing and this is only the first or second race we’ve had all year that we’ve actually just worked on qualifying on Friday.  I know the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) does that a lot and they typically out qualify us every single week.  This is the first time for us doing that and obviously we executed really well today.  Object one is accomplished and we just have to move on and change our mindset from here on out to what’s going to make our car last for 500 laps.” Have there been any changes related to pit stops at your team? “No, we’ve kept the same core group of guys for the last four years really of my career and really these are the same guys that I was probably complaining about earlier in my career.  They’ve just hit their stride and I think we’ve had the chemistry for so long now.  Even though we have strings of two or three bad weeks in a row where we had bad pit stops early in my career – we just figured that we had the right group of guys.  It’s just the chemistry and we needed to work on that part of it.  It seemed like it got better.  It definitely would from our standpoint.  If we were struggling in that area, a change like that would be open.  The 18 (Kyle Busch) car has got great pit stops every single week and they’re one of the best on pit road.  My guys have really stepped up big time in the last six months or so.  Keeping them together paid off instead of the changing like we were thinking about doing years ago.” Do you plan to keep your confidence up throughout the race tomorrow after sitting on the pole? “I forgot the last time I had a pole – I don’t get very many of them and it seems like I would remember.  We know here is a completely different beast than Atlanta or one of those tracks.  We know that when we do qualify on the pole, our car is really strong because we typically don’t qualify very well.  We always seem to race well.  It feels good to set out a plan and execute it.   We set it out days ago and said that we won’t even worry about what happens in race trim on Friday and just worry about getting that number one pit stall.  That’s optimistic being that you’re going up against 42 of the best guys in the country, but when you’re able to execute it like we are and like we’ve done, it gives you a lot of confidence.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued) Was getting the pole here today phase one of your plan for the final five races? “Odds are that the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) isn’t going to stay where he’s at and the 29 (Kevin Harvick) isn’t going to stay where he’s at so that gap is going to close.  All we can do is try to win.  I feel like it’s going to be much easier coming from first.   We’re going to be able to be much easier on our equipment throughout the day where I’ve started back where those guys are before and you really have to use up a lot of your race car and sometimes you don’t have anything left by the time you get up front.  It’s going to be much easier on us starting there.  We can kind of set the tone, hopefully lead a lap early and obviously try to keep everyone behind us because the more we lead, the less for those other guys.” Will you have more left in your car at the end by starting up front? “I think it’s just because I’ve saved so much and I did a lot at Richmond earlier this year.  It’s about conserving equipment and I do feel like I’m good at saving brakes and things like that.  Parts have gotten so reliable on these cars nowadays – the brake packages and everything that guys are really hammering them and running as hard as they can each and every lap and they still have something left.  I think it’s a great start to the weekend and people might read into where Jimmie’s (Johnson) starting and where Kevin’s (Harvick) starting and where I’m starting, but we know as soon as the green flag drops those guys are going to be coming.” What is pit road like at Martinsville? “There’s about three good pit stalls.  What’s good for us is that hopefully the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) gets to pick a pit stall and he won’t have ones that work out for timing lines because a lot of guys here cheat pit road quite a bit in the sense that they’ll gas the cars up.  They know where the timing lines are so they’ll cheat where they are on pit road to work those timing lines.   Hopefully those good timing line pit stalls where guys cheat that will be gone by the time those guys get to pick a stall.  That will help us pretty much all day.  Hopefully we stay up front then we should have nobody in front of us when we’re going into pit road and obviously no one when we’re leaving because the number one pit stall.  It’s going to be important for us.  That was our biggest thing.  I think the 11th pit stall out there was the second-best one.  We wanted to be one of those two spots.”

MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 47 Dollar General Country Million Sweepstakes Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position:  2nd How has your short track program evolved? “We’ve had a great short track program all year and we’ve been looking forward to coming here to Martinsville.  It’s been a good day for us.  Started off pretty loose – had a little spin there early in practice, but we got lucky and didn’t hit anything.   Switched over to qualifying trim and really it was a good lap – I didn’t think it was going to be as good as the front row, but we’ll take it.” Do you feel like you run a separate race from the Chase contenders? “I’m excited to be on the front row and I’m going to try to stay there as long as I can.  There haven’t been as many opportunities as I would like to be at the front of the field so I’m going to try to take advantage of it.  At the end of the day I have to be mindful of who I’m racing around.  I appreciate the sport and if you’ve made the Chase you deserve to fight it out for the championship without a guy doing the wrong thing by you.  I’m mindful of who I’m around at the same time I’m racing my own race.” Why do road course racers do well at Martinsville? “I’m not sure I can answer that for you.  I’ve run well at Bristol and here – those are two good tracks for me.  Richmond I finished fifth as well.  I feel like in my case, our short track program has been strong and we’ve been able to take advantage of it.  I’m frustrated with my performances on the intermediate ovals so that is really my Achilles heel I guess if you like.  I feel like we’re running as well as we should, but then deserve to be with our team here – it’s nice to highlight it, it’s just a shame we can’t be more consistent with that.  Road racing guys, it doesn’t feel like a road race course to me, this place is very tricky to get around.  You have to run the car pretty loose getting in the corner and you have to trail brake – different to what I do in a road course so I don’t think there are a lot of similarities between them.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position:  8th How was your qualifying lap? “We were okay.  Just a little tight on throttle.  The guys did a good job.  Both of our mock runs we were really, really good and that was the first time it had been tight on exit all day.  Little confused as to why it did that.  All in all, hopefully it will hold up to be a decent lap.”

SCOTT SPEED, No. 82 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position:  14th How did your car handle during your qualifying laps? “We gave a little bit up on our first timed lap – we should have been better, but I didn’t have enough rear traction off of turn four and I just kind of had a big drift all the way to the start-finish line.  I think I lost a couple hundredths.  The second lap I was just conservative and put together a good, solid lap.  Hopefully it will hold up solid for us.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position:  16th How did you feel about your car in qualifying? “It wasn’t what we were looking for, but it was better than practice.  We were fighting a lot of things.  This is a tough little place to get around.  It’s small and flat and it looks simple, but it’s really hard to get the car balanced good in all three parts of the corner – entry, center and exit.  We’ve  been complete opposites in all three corners today so we’ve been kind of battling it.   First lap was okay, but it was a little on the free side and the second lap the right-rear couldn’t hang in there anymore and just chattered out from under me.  Of course you lose three or four tenths in every corner when it does that so the second lap – you usually pick up on the second lap if you get things right, but the right-rear tire just couldn’t hold on that long.  Little disappointed, but at the same time it was faster than we ran in practice and a lot of guys slowed down.  Look at the positives and work hard on it tomorrow.”

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position:  20th

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position:  22nd

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position:  26th

LANDON CASSILL, No. 64 Little Joe’s Auto Toyota Camry, Gunselman Motorsports Starting Position:  30th

KASEY KAHNE, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position:  33rd

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position:  37th

KEVIN CONWAY, No. 7 Extenze Toyota Camry, Robby Gordon Motorsports Starting Position:  41st

ROBBY GORDON, No. 07 Extenze Toyota Camry, Robby Gordon Motorsports Starting Position:  DNQ

TERRY COOK, No. 55 Toyota Camry, PRISM Motorsports Starting Position:  DNQ

JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 66 Toyota Camry, PRISM Motorsports Starting Position:  DNQ

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

TUMS FAST RELIEF 500

MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING QUOTES

October 22, 2010

Four Team Chevy Drivers to Start in Top-10 at Martinsville

Martinsville, VA (October 22, 2010) Team Chevy drivers Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray will start in the top-10 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Newman scored the fourth starting spot in his No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet with Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, completing the top-five qualifiers.  Stewart will roll off sixth in the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet.

Charlotte winner McMurray will be the ninth place starter in the 43-car field in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet.

A total of 15 Team Chevy drivers will start race five of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Denny Hamlin (Toyota) is the pole winner. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota) and Greg Biffle (Ford) will start second and third respectively.

The 500-lap/263-mile race is set to take the green flag at 1:00 p.m. EDT with live coverage on ESPN TV, MRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.

RYAN NEWMAN., NO. 39 TORNADOS CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 4th: ON HIS LAP:

“It was a lot better than what we had in practice and we made some changes trying to do that.  So when you can make changes and they turn out to the good that is a good thing. We were really disappointed with the race here last spring because we got rained out and we were P-1 in the last practice and now we were P-25 and we have beat a bunch of guys that beat us in practice so we have redeemed ourselves a little bit with the Tornados Chevrolet but we’ll see where it ends up but hopefully it’s a top-10 starting spot.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 5^th: HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? “It was okay, not as good as practice.  We decided to change what we did in the last part of practice and it bite us a little bit, but we are pretty good.”

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/OLD SPICE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 6^TH: ON HIS LAP: “I’m happy with our lap and happy with Ryan’s. Everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing has worked really hard and to put both cars in the top-six is great for this team. I think we’ve got a really good Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy for Sunday and we’ve got two practices tomorrow to make it even better.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 9th: ON YOUR QUALIFYING: “It wasn’t horrible. I thought we were really good in race trim earlier today. When we put our qualifying trim, we just never seem to have the speed that we need. I was ok with that but I think we are going to be better in race trim than we qualified there.”

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 EBAY MOTORS/GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 21st: ON HIS LAP: “Real disappointed with that.  I thought we really got around there good and I was psyched about my lap and I really thought I got it all.  And I did…….I just……the time was not very fast so it’s a little disappointing.  I thought that was going to be pretty good and I felt like I got a lot out of the race car and it all did what I needed it to do.”

About Chevrolet: Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including the Cruze Eco and Volt, both arriving in late 2010. Cruze Eco will offer up to 40 mpg highway while the Chevrolet Volt will offer up to 40 miles of electric, gas-free driving and an additional 300 miles of extended range (based on GM testing; official EPA estimates not yet available). Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion (Qualified 35th) – “It’s gone pretty good. I’m having fun working with Kenny Francis. He’s a lot of fun to work with and really smart. Our Budweiser Ford is pretty decent. We’ve been struggling a little bit in qualifying trim, but in race trim it seems really good. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and Sunday. I don’t know that we’ll get a great starting spot with that lap, but, nonetheless, I think we’ll be in good shape come tomorrow and better shape Sunday, hopefully.” WHAT’S IT LIKE TO JUMP INTO THIS CAR? “I’ve jumped in a lot of race cars this year, so you just try to adapt as quick as you can and make the most of it.”

ANYTHING BEYOND THIS WEEKEND? “I’d love to keep doing it, but right now, I’m just focused on Martinsville and as far as I’m concerned I’m just worried about Martinsville. Whatever happens next week will happen next week.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion (Qualified 10th) – “I don’t know that the draw hurt that much, I just missed my mark by a couple of thousandths and we just didn’t get a great lap in. I’m pretty disappointed at myself for that because I thought we could have run a high four or something, but I still think overall that’s a good lap – just not as good as what we should have run.”

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion (Qualified 7th) – “That was pretty good. I’m pretty happy with that. I didn’t do the best job I could. I think it still might hold up for a top 10 and that would be big – to start here in the top 10 and have a good, solid day. We’ve already out-qualified the point leader, that’s a big deal, we’ll have a good pit stall selection hopefully. There are still a lot of cars to go, but that felt pretty good.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Qualified 3rd) – “That was pretty good considering I almost wrecked. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I thought I was gonna hit the fence. I didn’t know it was gonna stop, but I did the best I could. I gave up a little bit on that second lap, but I learned something that will hopefully help me for Sunday. We weren’t that great in race trim, but since we switched over to qualifying trim we’ve been pretty decent. I just keep trying to do the best I can.”

TRAVIS KVAPIL – No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford Fusion (Qualified 27th) – “It’s always nerve-wracking when you have to qualify in on speed.

Even as solid as I thought we were today in practice, you just never know. You slip a little bit and anything can go wrong. I’m just really proud of my team. Everybody at Front Row Motorsports did a really good job this week. We went to a little short track up the road here and shook down yesterday and just kind of made sure we had everything covered, and had a solid day there. We came here and didn’t really have to change much. It’s just a really good piece under me. I’m happy with our Ford and excited about Sunday.

Hopefully, we don’t have to worry about this going into Talladega.”

YOU’RE ONLY A FEW POINTS OUT OF THAT 35TH SPOT. “Obviously, you want to get the best results you can, but the motivation for this 38 team the last month has been getting back into that top 35. If we go out there on Lap 50 and wreck, we’re not gonna be able to accomplish our goal, so we need to be there at the end of the day and race smart. I think we can get a good, solid top 20 finish, that’s what we’re shooting for, but if it’s not there, just a couple spots in front of those other two guys would be mission accomplished after Martinsville.”

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES Tums 500 Qualifying, Page 8

October 22, 2010 Martinsville Speedway

PAUL MENARD – No. 98 Menards Ford Fusion (Qualified 12th) – “We picked up a little bit. In practice, the last run that we made I could have run a lot faster and got kind of free. We tightened it up a little bit and the car drove really good there, but the track has less grip than it had earlier. To be able to pick up some time makes me pretty happy. I think we could have got a little bit more, but we’ll talk about it and see if there’s anything more we could have done.”

GREG BIFFLE PRESS CONFERENCE – “I tell you, I got axle-hopping on my warm-up lap there and thought I was gonna not get to qualify, and then turned around and got it going. I’ve never gone that fast here, so I really didn’t know what I was doing, but I got it right up front there, so we’ll take it. I went in and watched the lap-tracker, which is probably worse. I was green all the way until about 50 feet before the start-finish line, so it was a good lap and the car is real fast.

I just need to take care of it on Sunday.” IS IT A CASE WHERE YOU GO INTO SUNDAY JUST READY TO RUN YOUR OWN RACE? “I know how angry you are about the 48 possibly winning the fifth title, so I’m not gonna do anything to that 11 car starting in front of me (laughing). I promise you.” IT’S BEEN EIGHT YEARS SINCE FORD HAS WON HERE. IS THERE AN ODD REASON FOR THAT? “I think a couple things come to mind. One, as a company, we haven’t been that good here – and when I say we I mean Roush Fenway. If you look back, it’s really been Yates and Roush Fenway that have carried the Ford banner, so they haven’t had multiple teams throughout the sport like GM and some other manufacturers have, so it’s really limited to us. As a company, we haven’t run that good here, so that’s probably some of the reasons why Ford hasn’t been in Victory Lane. I don’t think it has anything to do with the vehicle itself, it’s just probably us as an organization and getting better at this place. Richard Petty Motorsports has definitely helped our program this year and our short-track program has gotten a little bit better. That’s why we’ve all run a little bit better here this weekend – myself and Carl and David. We all qualified fairly well and hopefully we’ll break that streak.” DO YOU HAVE MORE OPTIMISM THAT YOU CAN DENT THIS POINT DEFICIT? “Absolutely. I’d love to finish second or third or fourth in points. That would be great. Obviously, winning the title is our goal first and foremost. It would be a feather in our cap to finish in the top four, so if I can stay up front this weekend and learn something from that 11 car and learn something from Marcos, that’s what I need to do is pay attention, learn, pick up on what I can and try to save the brakes and stay off the curb and be there at the end. I like to think we have a chance to win here. We certainly had a chance to be on the pole and it was really, really close. Gosh, it gives me great excitement to know that we might have a chance to win here.” WHAT KIND OF ENGINE DO YOU NEED HERE? “I think you want something that accelerates real smooth.

That’s what’s real important – for the power to be real consistent coming off the corner. When you put the gas down in the middle of the corner with low RPM, you don’t want that engine to really come alive halfway off the corner and have your foot all the way in it. I think something that has throttle response and responds well and accelerates up off the corner, but, you’re right, when you have good tires on it you want all the power you can get. When it starts to get later in the run, you want something that’s maybe a little easier. You want something that’s real consistent, though, for probably not spinning the tires.”