Dodge qualifying notes, Martinsville

Friday, April 6, 2001.
Martinsville Speedway.
Bud Pole Qualifying. STERLING MARLIN (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"We haven't been real good since we've been here. We just haven't got it where we need to be. The front end slides. The back end slides. No grip. It's a new car, and we just haven't got a handle on it yet. The tire is a lot harder than we're used to, and the setup we're used to here isn't working."

BUCKSHOT JONES (No. 44 Georgia Pacific Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"The driver just made a mistake on the second lap or we could have been a little bit quicker. We're satisified. As long as you can pick up a little bit from where you practice, that's all you can ask for. If the driver had a little more experience, he probably wouldn't have made a mistake there. The car wasn't turning that great. It was sliding on the track. I got a little too close to the curb and almost hit it, and I had to come out of the gas. It hurt us the second lap, but that's OK."

CASEY ATWOOD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"The track changed a little bit. We got a little bit tight, but that's a decent spot for us, and we'll try to pick up a few more spots from there on Sunday. If we can stay out of trouble, maybe we can have a consistent finish. Running here last year has already helped me. It helped me in qualifying. When we came here last year, I had some problems. I was driving into the corners too hard and didn't have anybody here to help me out and judge off of. I got behind Gordon last year in the first practice and almost ran over him. I was driving into the corners too hard. I knew what to expect when I got here this time. Hopefully it'll be that way everywhere we go the second time around this year."

KYLE PETTY (No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"We picked up a tenth from practice, but I don't have a clue how we did it. We lost two tenths in qualifying from practice at Texas, and I don't know how I did that, either. We're so close being in and out. We've missed three races. Technically, if you didn't have provisionals, John would have missed a couple of races and so would Buckshot. We're struggling, and we knew all along we'd be struggling. We're so close. If you get a good lap you're in. If you don't, you go home. It's not like getting a good lap and being in the top five and getting a bad lap and being 25th. We're either in the circle or at the house. We're in the circle this week."

DAVE BLANEY (No. 93 Amoco Ultimate Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"The car just wouldn't get hold of nothing. It's a new car, and we just haven't got it very good yet. You don't want to start in the back of the field here, but we're going to."

WARD BURTON (No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"The car was a piece of junk. The guys are working hard, and I'm working hard, but we just aren't getting anything done."

STACY COMPTON (No. 92 Kodiak Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"We thought we could run a tenth quicker than that, but we just got a little tight. You're supposed to pick up in qualifying, and we didn't pick up like we felt we should. It's a decent lap, but we knew we could be a little bit better than that."

BILL ELLIOTT (No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid R/T)
"We were pretty good in practice today. I thought we would be faster in qualifying, but we just couldn't get it hooked up. We were coming off in the corners a little bit, but we ended up OK. The tires really didn't make a difference today. They'll be real good for the race. Some people say if you practice good here you qualify badly. I don't think that's true. Qualifying 17th here isn't bad. There's a big premium on qualifying at Martinsville. Track position is a big deal here. Qualifying in the top 20 really helps."

-Dodge Motorsports