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IPS: Michigan: Post-race quotes

DAY 3 -- Sunday, July 28, 2002 Infiniti Pro Series Post-Race Quotes MATT BEARDSLEY (No. 12 Alpine Bank Old-Republic Land Title Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "My crew worked until midnight through tornado warnings and heavy rain storms to give me a ...

Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 11:54 PM

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DAY 3 -- Sunday, July 28, 2002
Infiniti Pro Series Post-Race Quotes

MATT BEARDSLEY (No. 12 Alpine Bank Old-Republic Land Title Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "My crew worked until midnight through tornado warnings and heavy rain storms to give me a fresh motor for the race, and my weekend was over before the green flag. The front row checked up just before the green, and by the time it got back a few rows, everyone was hard on the brakes. I got hit from behind in the right rear, but under the yellow laps thought everything was OK. As soon as I got to speed, I knew the tire was going down and had to pit for a change. My race was over, but going back out and mixing it up was good for the team. I did two laps over 182 (mph), which was the fastest all weekend. On to Kentucky."

RYAN HAMPTON (No. 34 Ryan Hampton/CGF Special Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "When we started out, the car was awesome. I could drive it just about anywhere, and it seemed like we were picking up positions. I missed a shift on the restart, and that set us back a little. I wish it hadn't rained because I think we could have picked up some more."

ROLANDO QUINTANILLA (No. 11 Roquin Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We had a very good car in traffic, but really we're still just shaking the car down. We've had such bad luck lately, so it was good just to be out there and finish a session."

AARON FIKE (No. 91 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We had a great car. We had no problems this weekend. I don't think they should have called the race. It had already been raining for 10 laps or more. To finish the race like that, it really is a bummer. I wish they would have waited."

DAVE STEELE (No. 43 Bowes Seal Fast/Hoosier Wholesale Automotive Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "I guess we ended up where we started. I was probably being just a little bit overcautious. This is a lot different than what I'm used to. These cars react differently, so you just can't jump out and try to overtake. This was kind of a one-race deal for me, but I'd be interested in doing it again."

JASON PRIESTLEY (No. 7 HomeMed Pharmacy Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "I am not sure exactly what happened when I spun. They were running two-wide in front of me, so I don't know if I got unstable air that planted the front end or I got into a pretty slick spot on the track because it was raining pretty hard. It is disappointing for the entire HomeMed team because we had a great car and were looking forward to a really good race. My guys work so hard to give me good cars, I just feel bad that we didn't get to run up front and dice with everyone. It is part of learning how these cars respond, but I always look positively at these types of situations as part of my education."

G.J. MENNEN (No. 99 Greased Lightning Automotive Cleaning Products Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It was a tough day for us. The Greased Lightning guys worked so hard to get the car ready and qualify third. We just didn't have it in the race today. We're going to get there."

RONNIE JOHNCOX (No. 8 Rev. 1 Racing Special Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It's pretty special to race at home with all the friends and family that can come out and watch. They normally can't come out and watch us race because we travel all over the place. It makes it a little extra special. I started coming to Michigan International Speedway when I was 4 years old. I've seen a lot of really good races out here. I've seen (A.J.) Foyt win here. I've seen Gordon Johncock win out here. I've seen Pancho Carter win out here, just some really neat races, some really neat memories. Once you get out on the racetrack, it's like any other racetrack: You have a job to do. You're going to race hard. You kind of forget about all of the things going on. Our race was shaping up quite nicely. I learned at Kansas that if you want to go run hard, you can do that in these cars. I just felt like fifth place was the place to be. We were in the big pack of cars. I made a couple of moves to advance up a couple of spots, but at that point in the race it really wasn't important to me. What was important was to stay in the draft of the leaders, which we did all day. If you wanted to run second, you could do that. I could've gone up and ran second. I probably could've lead, but you were going to have to race very, very hard very, very early to do that. With the situation that our team's in, it's important for us to go to the next race. That doesn't mean we're going to hold anything back. When these guys would give me the 10-laps-to-go signal, I was going to do everything in my power to get up to the front to try to win the race. Up to that point we needed to just bide our time, be patient and let some things unfold in front of us."

-irl/ips-

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