Tell a Friend - Carolina 500: Post- Practice Interview With Drivers

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How was practice today? “It went OK.  We came off of the trailer nothing like the test.  We were really good in the test.  I wasn’t happy at all.  We had to work a lot harder in practice and got it closer to where I wanted it.  But, I don’t know if that Happy Hour deal is gonna help us out a whole lot.” Joey Lagono (No. 25 Joe Gibbs Racing Oil-Gresham & Assoc. Chevy) How was practice today? “It went OK.  We came off of the trailer nothing like the test.  We were really good in the test.  I wasn’t happy at all.  We had to work a lot harder in practice and got it closer to where I wanted it.  Made some mock runs, made it a little better with the mock run.  But, I don’t know if that Happy Hour deal is gonna help us out a whole lot. “ How do you feel about your qualifying tomorrow? “We ended number one here in practice, so no excuses, I guess, right?  We really got a good shot.  The rest of these cars are really good.  Definitely feel like me and Billy (Venturini) work really well together.  I think we can make something happen.” Chad McCumbee ( No. 10 Danco Electrical Contractors Chevrolet) How was the track today? “It was real slick.  Awesome old race track, but when you’re having a bad day, you’re having a real bad day. We’re not having the day we thought we were gonna have, that’s for sure.  We put this thing together pretty quick as far as trying to run the race, made a lot of progress today, but we got a lot of work to do.  I’m not real happy with where we’re at.  We don’t have the overall speed, so we started working on the race stuff and we still need to be a lot better there.  We’ll tune on it tonight and tomorrow and go have fun on Sunday. How do you feel about your qualifying run tomorrow? “We won’t be a threat for the pole by any means.  I feel like we’ll be a top 20 qualifier.  I think with the setup we got here we have to concentrate on race setup, we’re not gonna be able to concentrate on qualifying.  We’ll just make a few laps and go to Happy Hour and work on it a little bit.” Brent Sherman (No. 57 Trackers Lodge Chevrolet) How was the car today? Well, we had a lot of issues, let’s put it that way.  We brought a new car and this car has had some handling issues and really kind of wish I was in the old car.  We ran a lot faster in that car.  We’re gonna work on it and definitely by tomorrow we’ll have it right.  In qualifying, we want to qualify well, obviously, in the top 25 would be nice.  I’m a little disappointed in practice, we didn’t make a qualifying run; we didn’t have time.  We were trying to get the handling right on it.  Basically, we only got about 30 minutes of practice.  These guys are gonna fix it up for me.  I’m pretty confident in the team.  They are gonna make it happen for me. How do you feel about being at Rockingham, and do you think there will be a lot of side-by-side racing? “Man, I don’t know.  I would think so.  I hope there’s gonna be a lot of give and take, because it’s tough to make your car stay in one line.  The car seems like it’s moving around a lot.  You drive in too deep and go up the track and if there’s somebody there, you hope not to hit them.  Hopefully, people will understand where their car is at in the run and they drive it to that limit and not beyond it.  Hopefully, people will stay out of trouble that way.  I have a pretty simple goal and that’s to last until about 50 laps to go and really try to get after it.  I feel like if we’re around with about 50 laps to go, then we have a shot at a good finish.  I want to keep my nose clean.  It’s a long day, 312 miles is a long way to go.  So we’ll see how it goes. Austin Dillon (No.31 Garage Equipment Supply Chevrolet) How was the track today? “It got hot.  A little bit greasier than what I’m used to.  I’m just kinda getting used to it.  The tires are gonna be huge here because it eats the tires up, but the track’s good other than that.” How do you feel about qualifying? “I think we’re gonna be fine.  I think we’re close to the top 10 right now with our qualifying run.  So now we just have to go out there and put a good lap down and run out front.  We don’t want to start in the back; it just takes more time if we have to start back there.” How do you feel about racing at Rockingham? “It’s pretty cool.  I’ve talked to a couple of the old guys that ran here.  I talked to Burton, he helped me a lot.  I can talk to him about some of the lines and where the track goes.  It’s just really cool to come to a fast place like this and where the grassroots of racing always were.” John Wes Townley (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford) How was practice out there today? “It went pretty decent.  We had two test sessions.  So we’re kind of ahead of the game a little bit.  It’s a real neat track and it’s a privelge for us to come run here.  I really want to thank RAV Racing, Zaxby’s and Roush-Yates Motors for letting us come out here.  Without them, we wouldn’t be able to run here today.  We’re really excited to run here. How do you feel about qualifying?  “I feel pretty decent.  The thing is you gotta focus on practice so you don’t go out for a qualifying session.  You gotta be prepared, you got a car slipping and sliding all day.  You gotta, know where you are.  I feel pretty decent about tomorrow, though.” Scott Speed (No. 11 Red Bull Toyota) What’s it like to race at Rockingham when you’ve raced all over the world? “Honestly, all the ovals are kind of like the same to me.  This one in particular puts a lot of wear on the tires, so we’re sliding around.  You got very little grip, the track eats the tires away quite a bit. It should make for a very interesting race. It’s gonna be fun sliding around out there.” How do you feel about your qualifying effort tomorrow? “I think it’s not gonna matter at all. So we’re gonna get around the track and I’m sure be somewhere in the top 10, top 15.”Joey Lagono (No. 25 Joe Gibbs Racing Oil-Gresham & Assoc. Chevy) How was practice today? “It went OK.  We came off of the trailer nothing like the test.  We were really good in the test.  I wasn’t happy at all.  We had to work a lot harder in practice and got it closer to where I wanted it.  Made some mock runs, made it a little better with the mock run.  But, I don’t know if that Happy Hour deal is gonna help us out a whole lot. “ How do you feel about your qualifying tomorrow? “We ended number one here in practice, so no excuses, I guess, right?  We really got a good shot.  The rest of these cars are really good.  Definitely feel like me and Billy (Venturini) work really well together.  I think we can make something happen.” Chad McCumbee ( No. 10 Danco Electrical Contractors Chevrolet) How was the track today? “It was real slick.  Awesome old race track, but when you’re having a bad day, you’re having a real bad day. We’re not having the day we thought we were gonna have, that’s for sure.  We put this thing together pretty quick as far as trying to run the race, made a lot of progress today, but we got a lot of work to do.  I’m not real happy with where we’re at.  We don’t have the overall speed, so we started working on the race stuff and we still need to be a lot better there.  We’ll tune on it tonight and tomorrow and go have fun on Sunday. How do you feel about your qualifying run tomorrow? “We won’t be a threat for the pole by any means.  I feel like we’ll be a top 20 qualifier.  I think with the setup we got here we have to concentrate on race setup, we’re not gonna be able to concentrate on qualifying.  We’ll just make a few laps and go to Happy Hour and work on it a little bit.” Brent Sherman (No. 57 Trackers Lodge Chevrolet) How was the car today? Well, we had a lot of issues, let’s put it that way.  We brought a new car and this car has had some handling issues and really kind of wish I was in the old car.  We ran a lot faster in that car.  We’re gonna work on it and definitely by tomorrow we’ll have it right.  In qualifying, we want to qualify well, obviously, in the top 25 would be nice.  I’m a little disappointed in practice, we didn’t make a qualifying run; we didn’t have time.  We were trying to get the handling right on it.  Basically, we only got about 30 minutes of practice.  These guys are gonna fix it up for me.  I’m pretty confident in the team.  They are gonna make it happen for me. How do you feel about being at Rockingham, and do you think there will be a lot of side-by-side racing? “Man, I don’t know.  I would think so.  I hope there’s gonna be a lot of give and take, because it’s tough to make your car stay in one line.  The car seems like it’s moving around a lot.  You drive in too deep and go up the track and if there’s somebody there, you hope not to hit them.  Hopefully, people will understand where their car is at in the run and they drive it to that limit and not beyond it.  Hopefully, people will stay out of trouble that way.  I have a pretty simple goal and that’s to last until about 50 laps to go and really try to get after it.  I feel like if we’re around with about 50 laps to go, then we have a shot at a good finish.  I want to keep my nose clean.  It’s a long day, 312 miles is a long way to go.  So we’ll see how it goes. Austin Dillon (No.31 Garage Equipment Supply Chevrolet) How was the track today? “It got hot.  A little bit greasier than what I’m used to.  I’m just kinda getting used to it.  The tires are gonna be huge here because it eats the tires up, but the track’s good other than that.” How do you feel about qualifying? “I think we’re gonna be fine.  I think we’re close to the top 10 right now with our qualifying run.  So now we just have to go out there and put a good lap down and run out front.  We don’t want to start in the back; it just takes more time if we have to start back there.” How do you feel about racing at Rockingham? “It’s pretty cool.  I’ve talked to a couple of the old guys that ran here.  I talked to Burton, he helped me a lot.  I can talk to him about some of the lines and where the track goes.  It’s just really cool to come to a fast place like this and where the grassroots of racing always were.” John Wes Townley (No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford) How was practice out there today? “It went pretty decent.  We had two test sessions.  So we’re kind of ahead of the game a little bit.  It’s a real neat track and it’s a privelge for us to come run here.  I really want to thank RAV Racing, Zaxby’s and Roush-Yates Motors for letting us come out here.  Without them, we wouldn’t be able to run here today.  We’re really excited to run here. How do you feel about qualifying?  “I feel pretty decent.  The thing is you gotta focus on practice so you don’t go out for a qualifying session.  You gotta be prepared, you got a car slipping and sliding all day.  You gotta, know where you are.  I feel pretty decent about tomorrow, though.” Scott Speed (No. 11 Red Bull Toyota) What’s it like to race at Rockingham when you’ve raced all over the world? “Honestly, all the ovals are kind of like the same to me.  This one in particular puts a lot of wear on the tires, so we’re sliding around.  You got very little grip, the track eats the tires away quite a bit. It should make for a very interesting race. It’s gonna be fun sliding around out there.” How do you feel about your qualifying effort tomorrow? “I think it’s not gonna matter at all. So we’re gonna get around the track and I’m sure be somewhere in the top 10, top 15.” http://www.autoracingdaily.com/19296/