Charlotte: Kahne post qualifying interview

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) 2nd

"That was a good lap for our Budweiser Dodge Charger; it just wasn't good enough to stand up for the pole. We made some adjustments that went in the right direction for us. I was a little bit free coming off of Turn 3, but other than that, it was a good, clean lap that will allow us to start up front and gain a great pit stall."

IS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT YOU LIKE?

"I enjoy racing here. I enjoy testing here too. We just keep trying and trying to get it to drive the way I want. There are tracks as a driver that you kind of know. You know what the car needs to feel like to go fast and there are other tracks that I don't know as well. (Lowe's) seems like one that I do know and we've run up front a lot since 2004. We'll just keep working on it and hopefully what we do know we'll be good enough on Sunday."

WHY HAVE THE OPEN-WHEEL DRIVERS IN CUP STRUGGLED A BIT THIS SEASON?

"I think these cars (Cup) are difficult to figure out and get in a groove. You figure out what you're racing--Dario (Franchitti) and Sam (Hornish Jr.), they've done that stuff for a long time. It was good to see last week that A.J. (Allmendinger) and Sam both ran really well in the Open and they were both in the All-Star Race; Sam finished really well in that. So I think that they're picking it up. The same with Patrick Carpentier; he qualified well and Cup racing is so much different than the way they race in Indy cars. I've done some testing over there, but I've never raced over there. There's a huge difference I would imagine. I just think that it takes a little bit of time to figure it out and I think they're getting better and better. Obviously Dario is hurt right now, but I think they are getting better and better every chance they get to get on the track and be involved in these races."

-credit: dodge motorsports