MARTIN TRUEX JR. (No. 1 Guitar Hero Chevrolet): “Our run was pretty good. You know we’re probably not going to end up as high in order as we want, but from practice yesterday that was a big pick up for us. We kind of struggled yesterday, so it was a good run, and I’m proud of the guys for all of the changes overnight.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge): “The first draw would have been great if we had been able to go this morning. Now the track is warmer, and we’ve lost a lot of the rubber. I didn’t think that we were going to have a pole run, but the car was very good. It got a little bit loose through Turn 1, so I had to give up a little bit in the other three turns to make sure we had the car in one piece so we could go race on Sunday. I am just looking forward to getting out there and get racing. Not a great qualifying effort, but it will be a bit better than if it got rained out.” (How important is the final practice for you?): “I thought our car was pretty good in race practice yesterday. A little more time on the track will help us tweak on that, plus we’ll put a little more rubber on the track. I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with tires. We ran 18 laps on a first set, and everybody said that was about twice as far as we’ve ever been able to go on a set of tires.” (What did you do while you were waiting around today?): “We got on eBay. We were looking for bumper boats so we could take them out on the lake and beat the crap out of each other; racin’ stuff. There is nothing worse than being at a racetrack when it is raining. You can’t leave. You can’t go out and run. You’ve just got to find something to occupy your time.”
CLINT BOWYER (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet): “It was a good run. We were a little bit looser than we were yesterday in practice, but that was a good lap for us. I think I could have run a little bit faster if I was a little bit snugger. The lap that Mark (Martin) put up was pretty stout, so I’m proud of our effort.”
MARCOS AMBROSE (No. 47 Little Debbie/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota): “It’s a real thrill to be in the race. This is one of the special places we go to. I’ve watched a lot of races here at Indy, and I never thought for one second that I would get a chance to run around here, especially at over 200 miles per hour. It’s just a real thrill. I’ve come a long way in my career and my life. When you can come to a place like this that is so famous, with so much heritage, at this level of competition, you know you’ve done something. I’m really proud just to be here to compete with everybody. I remember watching Rick Mears dominate quite a few races. I remember Danny Sullivan spinning to win back in the 80s and the Andretti family. There’s just a lot of history here and a lot of great races. A lot of famous names have come to this place. It’s great to say you’ve done laps around Indy. It’s been a lot of hard work to get to this point. Nothing is for free in life. We’ve been working extremely hard to be ready for our moment to shine. When I got the opportunity, that’s all I asked for, is to be given an opportunity to be here at a good enough level to really show what I could do. It’s working out for me so far this year. I’m real excited about it. I feel like we got a lot of good stuff rolling here with our group. We’re just going to get better and better.”
CASEY MEARS (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet): “It (qualifying) wasn’t at all what we wanted. It was really loose into Turn 2. I lifted early because I was a little bit loose in practice. We tightened the car up a little to make sure I didn’t get too loose, so I rolled out of it (corner) early. It (car) touched the bottom. It will make for a long day (Race Day). You don’t really get the good pit stalls, and you’re stuck in traffic.”
MARK MARTIN (No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet): “I like the time. I told them off of (Turn) 4 it wasn’t going to be good. I was sliding a lot. It takes so long to get around here, that by the time I got to 4, I had gotten scared. I probably didn’t go as fast through that turn as I might’ve. I was just trying to get back to the line. It was not what I expected out of our race car for handling. It was definitely fast. It’s going to be good. I would be shocked if that was the pole based on how much I left out there. You never know.” (How difficult was it waiting this morning?): “It was pretty difficult for me. We posted the quickest time in practice yesterday, so expectations were high. I hate to disappoint. I can handle the disappointment, because I’ve had a lot. I love my team so much; I’d hate to disappoint them. I’ve been wanting to get out there and do the thing and see how we do. It was a good time. Certainly, I will take it.”
BRIAN VICKERS (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota): “I think we’ve got a really good car here. I thought I had a good shot at the pole, but the weather played a huge factor. The track was 14 degrees hotter when we went out than when Mark (Martin) went out. That’s tremendous. I think if we’d gone out at the same time, we’d have had a chance at it, but we didn’t, and I think we made the best of what we had.”
DAVID STREMME (No. 12 Penske Dodge): “We picked up a good amount of time. We’ve worked on the car, and got it a little better. I think the track is slowing down a little bit with the sun, but there’s not much difference (in track conditions). Goodyear just brought a great tire. It’s good to be back in Indiana with this weather. The storms were here, and I just knew they were going to be gone.”
KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge): “The track was a little slicker than yesterday. I was sliding around, and I just kind of drove too hard. I tried too hard to get a good lap. I think if I would have slowed down a touch, it probably would have gone a couple tenths quicker. It’s still decent. You know, we can have a good practice here this afternoon, and that’s what it’s all about, getting ready for tomorrow. If we can do that, we’ll put on a good show in the Allstate 400 tomorrow.”
REED SORENSON (No. 43 Valvoline Dodge): “It was a good run for us. Starting up closer to the front is where we want to be. You can have a very good car and come from the back, but it makes for an easier day if you start closer to the front. Anytime you come to Indianapolis, it’s great. I’m glad to be back here. I’m having fun. The tires are great. We tested here a month ago, and we didn’t see any issues with the tires. We’re pretty quick on new tires, and they fall off about one second after 10 laps, but that’s normal here. I think we’ll have a great race.”
JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 34 Taco Bell Chevrolet): “We only did one qualifying run (Friday). We were really tight, so we made some massive changes, and it was really, really loose. I definitely didn’t get the run in that we’d hope to get in. It’s really disappointing. We’re a little bit on an island. We only had a little bit of practice, and we didn’t really get any information. We just work through it ourselves, and hopefully the practice tonight will give us some ideas. We’ll probably get really good balance.” (What’s a really good race for you?): “I think consistency and moving up through. If we finished top 15, it would be huge. A top 10 would not be short of a miracle. The competition is so deep and tough. It’s like no other racing series. We’re just trying to move along. It’s where the teammates work together, when one gets stronger, they get everyone else stronger. We need to find some teammates and work together to learn some stuff quicker. Track position is everything. I think Goodyear is going to give us an opportunity to at times stay out because the tire comes right back when it cools down.”
BOBBY LABONTE (No. 96 Ask.com Ford): “I totally screwed up Turn 2. I tried to go too fast. I didn’t lay it right on the brake to get it (car) to turn. On Race Day to win, you have to have a good car and good, smart pit stops like you do everywhere else. It takes a good race car. We’ll just have to wait and see what we can do from back there.”
DALE EARNHARDT JR. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet): “I had a stomach virus earlier in the week. It took a lot out of me. I am taking a lot of fluids, and trying to get right for this weekend. It should be fine. I’ve taken a couple of IVs, and I feel better. I just want to make sure I have enough fluids on Sunday. Dehydration is all I worry about.” (What about your run?): “This is a brand-new race car. It is the first car Lance (McGrew) had built with the team. He is real proud and excited about it coming to the race. I wish we had run a little bit quicker than that, but we feel pretty good about our chances. We’re going to get a little practice this afternoon to learn about the car, and make it better for the race.”
ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 Johns Manville Toyota): “We messed up. We knew we were going to go faster, and we killed the front splitter. Hit the ground pretty hard, and it went straight. It’s unfortunate. We were very fast yesterday in practice. It’s a little deficit putting us back there, but we’ll fight hard. We got a good race team. We’ll fight hard and get our way back toward the front on Race Day. I come here with a lot of passion to run good, but obviously when you have qualifying runs like today, you get really frustrated. We were like 12th in practice and a good opportunity for a top-10 qualifying, and we just made a mistake. It’s disappointing. We’ll continue to learn from our mistakes and get better. We crossed the start/finish line pretty much 200 rpm faster than what I ran in practice. I was probably doing the same thing in Turn 2. I just bottomed out the front splitter. We still have a good race car. We just got to tune on it a little bit better.”
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