Dover: Kahne post qualifying interview

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger)

"That was a good lap for our Budweiser Dodge. It was real similar to where we were in practice as far as speed goes; going out first hurt us a bit. The car was fast all day. I'm real happy with the car and the way that it drove. The new R6 Dodge engine was great. The guys back at the shop gave us a real fast race car."

DID THE TRACK CHANGE MUCH FROM PRACTICE TO QUALIFYING?

"Not really. Usually here there's a big difference from practice to qualifying, but not today. The track felt very similar to practice and drove the same. I would say it was pretty close."

WHAT ARE YOUR EARLY THOUGHTS ON THE DODGE R6 ENGINGE YOU HAVE IN YOUR CAR THIS WEEKEND?

"So far in practice I can really tell the difference. I can really get off the corner and on to the straightaway because of the torque it has compared to the R5. The new engine is something that we've needed and I think that it's going to be really good with cars around me as well."

IS THERE ANY ANXIETY IN RUNNING THE NEW ENGINE KNOWING THAT YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO MAKING THE CHASE?

"Not at all. With where we're at in the Chase standings, we need to get any advantage that we can and this new R6 certainly helps provide more horsepower. We started making gains about a month ago and we have to keep improving our Budweiser Dodge to catch the guys in front of us."

-credit: dodge motorsports