NASCAR Winston Cup Pocono 500 Post-Qualifying Quotes: Chevy Drivers
7 June 1997
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Busch Pole Chevrolet Qualifying Quotes Pocono 500 Pocono Raceway June 6, 1997 LONG POND, PA - DALE EARNHARDT (#3 GM Goodwrench Service Monte Carlo) - "I felt like there was more in the car. We probably should have run our tires another lap in practice. We didn't want to run the tires with six laps on 'em that we had run two-tenths faster with in practice. I think we've got a good race car. I don't think, I know we have. My confidence level in this car is really up. It's run good every lap I drove it here. We're 12th. That's not the pole by an means, but that's an improvement on what we've done lately. Larry and the guys can work on it Saturday and get it tuned up and ready to race. I was going after a good lap today. If I had got through turn one comfortable and not had to breathe it any and had a good solid throttle through there, I would have been good everywhere else. When I slipped through there, I would have been good everywhere else. When I slipped through there a little bit in the center, that threw me off through the tunnel turn. I was off on my segment times from what I was through practice. I still feel pretty good about it. We'll get a good race setup in it now and see if we can't give 'em a run for their money on Sunday." DAVID GREEN (#96 Caterpillar Monte Carlo) - "This is my first time here at Pocono, and it's pretty tough. I tried to look at it like Nazareth. It's far different. The guys worked hard, and we're happy with that. We've turned the corner. It's a lot more fun now than it was the first of the year." TERRY LABONTE (#5 Kellogg's Monte Carlo) - "That's as fast as we've been since we've been here. The car was just a little bit too tight. We didn't pick up much. It was pretty close to what we ran in practice. That's about all we had." STERLING MARLIN (#4 Kodak Gold Film Monte Carlo) - "I thought we could run faster. We had a real good three-quarter lap in practice and then caught somebody in turn three. We had to check up. The car just never got a grip in qualifying. It slipped everywhere. We've got a good car, but we just messed up in qualifying again." GREG SACKS (#40 Coors Light Monte Carlo) - "This silver bullet is really running good. We picked up about a tenth from practice. We were real good in practice. I just wanted to duplicate what we did in practice. I didn't want to back up. We're real happy with that run. I've got a great crew. Robby has done a great job with these guys, and Mike Hillman (crew chief), and the entire team. The car has a good balance. That's the difference in the Ford and Chevrolets, just working out a good aero balance. You've got to get the car to fit the driver, and they've done a good job here." WALLY DALLENBACH (#46 First Union Monte Carlo) - "This is a brand new car. We came a long way in a couple of hours to get it working the way it did. I love this place. It's a good track for us. I hope we come out of here with a good run." RICKY CRAVEN (#25 Budweiser Monte Carlo) - "I'm happy with the lap compared to the way we practiced. I'm not happy enough with it to be jumping up and down. Our goal toad way to make the field in the first round. Some days that's not the goal. We usually come to the track shooting for the pole, but when you can't win the pole, you do the best you can do. We got in a good, solid lap, and now we can work ont he car and get it ready for the race." JEFF GORDON (#24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Monte Carlo) - "I thought it was a pretty smooth lap. I didn't really bobble that much. I felt it would be at least a tenth better than what we practiced. I didn't think it was enough for the pole, but it shouldn't have been that slow. I was happy with the lap until I saw the time. I wasn't happy with the time. I felt like I got a little more out of each turn than I had all day. I was really expecting a little bit more. I got aggressive in each corner, and we're scratching our heads a little bit. We found the problem (with transmission). It was just a little mix up. We put another in. I still like the other transmission better if we can get it worked out just right. We ran fast today. We did everything we needed to do in practice. We just should have been a little better in qualifying." JEFF GREEN (#29 Cartoon Network Monte Carlo) - "My inexperience probably hurt us a little bit, but I wanted to bring it back with four tires on it. This track is intimidating. It's going to take time. We've got a good car. We just want to race all day and see the checkered flag." MIKE WALLACE (#91 Spam Monte Carlo) - "We didn't run near that quick in practice, and I felt I left a little on the table in qualifying. I think we can go race on Sunday now. We've struggled all year long, and the team is getting much better. I'm getting better, too. I didn't realize how deep everybody was getting down in the corners. I was scared to go to where they were going, so I split the difference. I was smoother on the entry and drove in deeper, and I think that's how we picked it up. I'm really happy with that. We picked up half a second, and you've got to be happy with that." JOE NEMECHEK (#42 BellSouth Monte Carlo) - "I'm not sure what happened. I'm disappointed for the team. Something let go in the motor just after I shifted going dow the front straightaway. We've had some awesome qualifying engines. It's a shame it broke today, but we'll get 'em tomorrow. A lot of guys have run good today in practice, and now they're back in the back. If you make one little mistake here it costs you big time. Our car has been handling good today. It's just a tough break." DARRELL WALTRIP (#7 Parts America Monte Carlo) - "I told myself not to drive into turn one too hard. I'm usually guilty of doing that in qualifying, so I drove in too easy and got back on the gas too quick and got loose and wobbled a little bit. This car is so fast in two and three. We've been so good since we got here. This was a real bona fide shot at winning a pole. I left a little on the table, but we're real happy with it. This baby is ready to race. She's going to be a hound dog in the race. I can't wait." MIKE SKINNER (#31 Lowe's Monte Carlo) - "I had to let off in turn three or I was going to hit. I knew I had a pretty good lap everywhere, but I hit the throttle too early and tried to get the front of the car pinned down on the bottom and it started taking off. I stayed in it for awhile and it was getting worse. We should be able to stand on that and make the race. We had some problems early. I hadn't been to this track but one other time, and that was in an ARCA car We had a motor cut loose on us this morning, and we only got five or six laps of practice. We'll take that and work on the race package and try to get better for Sunday." Provided by Chevrolet Motor Division, General Motors Corporation Public Relations
