NASCAR Cup
Atlanta: Ford Racing drivers qualifying quotes
KURT BUSCH - No. 97 Rubbermaid Taurus "We started behind the eight-ball today with a distributor problem. We weren't quite hitting on all eight cylinders, but on that run there we hit on all eight. We've got new car. These new downforce rules ...
Published: Mar 9, 2003, 11:06 PM
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KURT BUSCH - No. 97 Rubbermaid Taurus
"We started behind the eight-ball today with a distributor problem. We weren't quite hitting on all eight cylinders, but on that run there we hit on all eight. We've got new car. These new downforce rules are applying weight differently to all four corners, so we're doing the best we can with it. The 18 has got it figured out and the 12 has always gotten it figured out. We're third right now and we should be in the top 10 with the Rubbermaid Ford."
THIS TRACK IS FAST FOR QUALIFYING. "There are elements about this track that you never feel secure with, but once you run more often and you've got a comfortable crew chief that gives you valuable information, you're able to build a rapport with the track. This track will challenge you just because you need so much throttle-on time here to be fast. You'll see a wide range from first to last in time, whereas at Vegas you won't because there's so much that can happen here with momentum."
DID THAT MAKE YOUR HEART SKIP A BEAT? "It will challenge that, for sure. It will make you take a deep breath and you've got to make sure you focus. You don't want to slip and you want to look really far ahead of you because you get there pretty quick."
DAVE BLANEY - No. 77 Jasper Engines Taurus
"We were horrible. We were really good this morning in practice, but we didn't know what was gonna happen with the conditions changing a bunch. The sun came out and warmed things up. We were so loose I couldn't even run the throttle at all, so I'm pretty disappointed in that. That's all we've got."
ELLIOTT SADLER - No. 38 Pedigree Taurus
YOU'VE GOT A DOG ON THE CAR THIS WEEK. "I hope we scared it with as fast as we ran. I'm very happy with these guys. This is a brand new race car. We came and tested here a couple of weeks ago and did a bunch of race runs. We didn't do anything with qualifying, but this Pedigree Ford Taurus is fast and I'm looking forward to Sunday. We've had a lot of good race cars the last few weeks, we just have not had the good luck to go with it. Hopefully, we'll have an uneventful day on Sunday and see if we can get this thing in Victory Lane."
DOES IT TAKE GUTS TO QUALIFY AND RACE HERE? "The track doesn't change for the race. I mean, it's still a very fast race track and you have to move around a little bit to find the different areas on the track that you think might make your car work better. It's a scary track to race the whole time, but it's fun, it's fast and that's why I like it here. The one good thing about Atlanta is that if your car isn't working good on the bottom, all you've got to do is when you stop you can adjust your car a lot as a driver. At a lot of tracks we go to you can't do that, but that's why I enjoy coming here to Atlanta."
RICKY RUDD - No. 21 Motorcraft Taurus
"We really didn't know what we had when we went to qualify. We were only like three or four cars from the bottom of the speed chart, so we needed a lot of help. I tried to give Pat the feedback and he made a big change. I wasn't sure if it was the right way or not, but I knew when I drove into turn three coming to take the green that he went the right way because the car was a lot quicker. We had problems that were a lot bigger than the clouds and the sun. They took a stab at it and they hit it pretty close. We obviously could have been better. I told them we needed one more of those changes again and we would be right."
DALE JARRETT - No. 88 UPS Taurus
"That wasn't bad. We weren't real good in practice. That's about the time we ran in practice, but everybody has slowed down a little bit. We didn't lose anything there, but we made a lot of adjustments. We made one at the end that we probably should have left alone, but we heard a lot of people being loose, so we took the track bar down a little and should have left it there. I was a little tight in one and two. That's where I felt I lost a little speed, but in three and four it was great. I don't know if you ever get both ends perfect, but that wasn't bad. That will get us a decent starting spot."
BRETT BODINE - No. 11 Hooters Taurus
"I'm disappointed. I felt like we should have run better than that, but we got a tight set of tires that just seemed to make the car awfully tight in qualifying. That's as fast as it would run, but I think we'll have a good race car. I'm real proud of the guys for rebounding after Daytona. This is a tough group you're trying to race against. This whole garage area is full of great people and great race cars and we're just proud to be part of it."
IS TODAY A BENEFIT OF TAKING A COUPLE WEEKS OFF AND MAKING SURE THE CAR WAS RIGHT? "It's our plan. We're nowhere near completing our plan and that's why we're not gonna race Darlington next week. We're gonna try to be better prepared for Bristol and Texas and Talladega. We're just a small race team trying to do the best we can against these Goliath's and, hopefully, we can show that we can do something on Sunday."
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