NASCAR Cup

Atlanta: Team Monte Carlo qualifying

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 3rd: "I wasn't wide open in (turns) one and two. I should have been, and probably could have been. In turns three and four, I had it on the mat. I'm real happy with Tony Eury ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 3rd:

"I wasn't wide open in (turns) one and two. I should have been, and probably could have been. In turns three and four, I had it on the mat. I'm real happy with Tony Eury Jr. and all the Bud guys. They've done a great job. This racecar was great rolling off the trailer and that's what we need. We missed that a little bit the first couple of races. And hopefully I can get us a good finish this weekend.

Could this jump-start your season?

"Yeah, we need a good finish. We need a couple two or three top five runs in a row to get us up in the points where we want to be and where we should be. We came into the season thinking we were really going to be the team. We've still got that feeling, we just need back the finishes up."

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 8th:

"Anytime you finish a lap or two here at Atlanta, you're happy because you can breathe again. We came down here and tested and the guys have done a good job on this Goodwrench Chevy. I just had to crack the throttle a little bit off of (turn) two and that hurt us a tenth or so. But our big concern is the race and seeing what happens when we untape the car. The Chevrolets have been so far behind the eight ball here lately when it comes to race trim, that we're a little nervous about that now.

"If you look in the record books, every time we qualify good, we race good. This is the same car we ran here last year at both Atlanta races. We raced it at Texas and Charlotte and all the mile-and-a-half high-banked racetracks. We've just got to keep up with the car."

Terry Labonte, No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 13th:

"We were kind of disappointed with our qualifying for the past two races. This is a brand new Chevrolet and the guys have just done a great job. We didn't get a chance to test it. It felt like it was pretty good right off the truck. We were a little disappointed with our practice qualifying run because we were too loose. We made a couple of spring changes and some air pressure adjustments and I was a little too tight in qualifying. But everything is going good and that was a good run for us. We're looking forward to Sunday."

Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 17th:

"It cooled down a little more than we anticipated. We played the guessing game and we were a little off. We were just a little to tight this time around."

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 15th:

"We didn't have any provisionals, so it's a great accomplishment for everybody on this Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo team to make the field for the first four races. Luckily, we didn't have any rain or anything to interfere with us. Hopefully we can continue to run this solid all year long and not have to worry about provisionals at all. But if we do, we know that we're going to have one so we're pretty happy about that. It was a great lap. I chickened out a little bit between (turns) three and four. I drug the brake a little harder than I should have and I was yelling at myself the whole way off of (turn) four. The car took it. I should have stayed after it a little bit, but we're solid.

Do you feel confident about Atlanta after finishing 6th in Las Vegas last weekend?

"I feel real confident about the race pace and what you need to do in the race. Qualifying-wise, I was a little too cautious in Las Vegas and came here to sep it up a little bit. We had a great car to do it. So it looks like we'll have track position and a good pit box. So we should be all right as long as we don't pit and the caution comes out again. But here at Atlanta, you're definitely hauling the mail here. You're getting it done."

Robby Gordon, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Monte Carlo - qualified 23rd:

"At least we're consistent. Every time I go to qualify, it's my best lap of the day so far. That's a couple tenths faster. Gil Martin (crew chief) and all those guys did a great job tuned and feeling comfortable for me. I'm pleased. If we can just qualify in the top 20, I'll be happy.

"Traffic has been my problem. The Chevrolets are missing it by a little bit right now. If we can pick that up a little bit - find some downforce somewhere - a Christmas present maybe?"

-tmc-

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