| MICHIGAN
INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Sunday,
August 20, 2006 on TNT
Pre-Race
Quotes and Interviews
PHOTO
BY MIKE ISMAIR / AMERICAJR.com
AmericaJR.com's
Jason Rzucidlo reports from the entrance of Michigan International
Speedway.
BROOKLYN,
MI. – AmericaJR.com
was LIVE at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August
19th. Here's what some of the NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers had to say
about tomorrow's GFS Marketplace 400 race. Find out what they think
about MIS.
Jeff
Burton (#31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet): Pole Winner "We
spent a lot of the day working on race setup, and then did our qualifying
setup right before practice ended, and we really almost didn't make
the lap. We had all kinds of issues. Scott went to work and came
up with all kinds of ideas, and the car drove great. (Kevin) Harvick
made his run before I did, and he sent word down saying there was
a lot of frip in the track and to go get some, so that definitely
helped because I definitely drove harder than I would have."
Reed
Sorenson (#41 Target Dodge): "The
entire Target team has been anxious to return to Michigan. We were
a legitimate front runner during the race in June and we believe
we can return and be just as competitive. The one and a half and
two-mile tracks have been our strong suit this season, so we can
always look forward to racing on bigger tracks."
"We're
bringing a different car than the one we finished fifth with last
time, but we finished seventh with this one at Chicagoland. Jimmy
(Elledge) and I both feel like it's better suited for the track's
layout."
"There
are quite a few tracks left on the schedule where I truly believe
we have a chance to get a win. We're starting to return to some
of my favorite tracks, and ones where we have run the strongest
and scored some of our best finishes so far this season. I definitely
think there are many more top-five and top-10 finishes left for
this team before we take the checkered flag at Homestead."
Ryan
Newman (#12 Alltel Dodge): "That
was a good lap for our Alltel Dodge. I'd like to be in Gatorade
Victory Lane when it's over Sunday. I enjoy the race track. It's
a lot of fun. It's just a matter of getting everything right and
keeping everything right. That's been a struggle this year for us."
"It
seems like it's been good for everybody today. It's been pretty
constant. It seems to feel a little hotter than it is. When the
clouds are like this track stays pretty consistent. I love this
racetrack. Roger Penske helped built it. It's a fun racetrack. It's
the best track we come to all year for racing multiple grooves and
drafting down the straightaways. It's big and round so it's got
some fuel characteristics to it. If you miss pit road one time you're
going to be up the creek without the paddle next time."
Kurt
Busch (#2 Miller Lite Dodge): "I
hit one and two really good with the Miller Lite Dodge. It was a
little tight in four. I had to peddle it like a top fuel car when
you spin your tires. We laid down a pretty good lap. I'm just jumping
out of the Grand National car. A couple of guys might be able to
bump us, but I'm happy with picking up the time we picked up from
practice. I left the door open a little bit. It seems like turn
four keeps getting tighter and tighter every time we come back with
these style setups."
Bobby
Labonte (#43 Fruity Cheerios Dodge): "I think
the car will be pretty good Sunday. It wasn't the best lap for us
today. We had a little bit of vibration in it for some reason or
other, and hopefully we won't have that in it Sunday."
Elliott
Sadler (#19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge): Starts
Second "I think it was a great run for our team, the
first run under these conditions. That's as nervous as I've been
since my rookie year at the Daytona 500 because of having to get
the car in on time and wanting to go fast but knowing where that
line is as far as making a good, solid lap to get in. That was the
most important deal. The car has been fast since we unloaded. It
was a fun lap and to get a good front row start I think is pretty
impessive for our team. For us working together the first week,
that's pretty strong coming out of the box like that."
Ken
Schrader (#21 Little Debbie Ford):
"We've
been having some solid runs over the past few weeks, and we're looking
to really cash in at Michigan. We'll be in the car we ran at Pocono
and at Indy. It has been good, so we're gonna take that car."
David
Stremme (#40 Coors Light Dodge): "The first
race at Michigan was one of our turn-around races this season. I
was hoping we would have been able to go racing again after it rained
because we had a fast car and we had really gotten it dialed into
the race track. We played it safe with our pit strategy when we
saw the rain coming but I definitely thought we could have finished
better than 19th."
"This
track is one of my favorite on the circuit. I consider it my home
track and since it is so close to home several of my family members
come to the race and support me. It is always nice to have family
around. The Coors Light team has been working hard and we hope to
continue our momentum this weekend and get a top-10 finish for the
No. 40 Dodge."
Michael
Waltrip (#55 Domino's Pizza Dodge): "We're
trilled to have Domino's Pizza as a primary sponsor of our Cup car
for the very first time at Michigan. They'll be sponsoring the No.
55 Domino's Pizza car this weekend. It's a celebration of the launch
of a new Domino's product -- they're going to serve up Brownie Squares.
So our race car sort of kicks off that product and we're going to
host the Racing World's Largest Brownie Break at MIS. So, if you
like brownies, and you're at MIS, you're going to love us. We're
going to deliver approximately 60,000 warm Brownie Squares."
"During
the commercials with my girls was fun. We're certainly looking forward
to seeing what's next. We've got a big year up ahead, coming to
the track in 2007 with our Toyota announcement and Domino's being
a part of that. Domino's is just a great company that has taken
the lead and said, 'We want to be a part of NASCAR. We want to make
sure fans know we appreciate NASCAR.' That's why I like the company
so much, and I'm really proud to associate with them."
Matt
Kenseth (#17 DEWALT Ford): Starts Third
"It's very wide here. There's a lot of room to race all the
way around the track. You can go two- or three-wide the whole way.
It's always fun to come to Michigan. It's a good track, and I'm
really looking forward to race here this weekend."
Dale
Earnhardt, Jr. (#8 Budweiser Chevrolet): "Well,
you've got to be able to run all over the track. A lot of guys run
the bottom, and a lot of guys run the top. You go pretty much wherever
you can. If I've got a fast car, I'll run at the top. I like that.
We're comfortable. We're fast. In race trim, we're really quick."
Tony
Stewart (#20 The Home Depot Chevrolet): "It
was about a tenth quicker than what we ran in practice, so I'm just
glad we gained a little bit. I just wish we could have gained about
three more tenths."
Greg
Biffle (#16 Subway/National Guard Ford): "We
were pretty loose and turning really good, which is what you need
at Michigan. I was starving a little bit for rear grip, but when
we switched over to qualifying trim our car really came around.
I only got a chance to make one qualifying run and then we made
some adjustments, and I'm extremely happy with the National Guard
Ford now."
Kyle
Busch (#5 Kellogg's Chevrolet): "The biggest
thing is just trying to get grip here. Some guys are able to get
it, other guys can't. Yeah, the wide race track is good. That's
what makes Michigan so exciting and fun. That's the biggest deal
about it. For me, coming to Michigan, I tend to run well here for
whatever reason and the biggest deal is trying to finish and finishing
up front."
Brent
Sherman (#04) won the ARCA Hantz Group 200 race on Friday evening.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#8) won the NASCAR Busch Series Carfax 250
race on Saturday evening.
Good
luck to all the NASCAR drivers at MIS this Sunday!
Return
to our 2006
GFS Marketplace 400 Index.
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