Qualifying report

NASCAR Cup

Edwards top Ford in Loudon qualifying

Edited: Sep 22, 2012, 2:08 AM

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Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing Ford

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – “We had a pretty good lap with our Aflac Fusion, which is very good, and now we just go race. We’ll tune in the race car tomorrow in practice, but the track is very fast right now. We’re hoping that holds up for a top-five, but there are some guys that are really, really fast, so the race is gonna be a hard battle.”

Carl Edwards, Roush Fenway Racing Ford

Photo by: Action Sports Photography

WITH PASSING BEING SO TOUGH HERE HOW PLEASED ARE YOU TO BE STARTING UP FRONT? “That’s good. I think I could have done a little better job on the second lap. I just about wrecked into turn three. I got real excited and went in too deep, so it’s not a bad qualifying effort for us. We’ve had some bad ones here and this is pretty good. I’m proud of all the guys. They did a good job.”

CASEY MEARS – No. 13 Geico Ford Fusion – “We had some issues in practice with a small wire connection we had a really hard time finding. We missed about an hour of practice, so we only got the last 20-25 minutes. That kind of threw us a little bit of a curve ball today, but the guys did a good job. We definitely have a better car than we had here last time. We brought a little bit different concept and they did a really good job.”

DAVID GILLILAND – No. 38 Taco Bell Ford Fusion – “We made a little progress in practice, but it’s still not where we want to be or need to be. This is probably one of the more difficult tracks for me and just getting the balance that I need to go fast here is what we’ve struggled with, so that’s what we’re still working on.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 34 Shriner’s Hospital for Children Ford Fusion – “We had a decent qualifying effort and race in the spring until we had an engine let go late in the race, so we didn’t get a finish that we deserved. So far this time we’ve had some decent speed. We’ve worked on it a little bit trying to help the balance, but the car has been OK. We picked up a little bit in qualifying and I’m looking forward to a fun race on Sunday.”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion – “That’s about how we usually do in qualifying. In practice we had a couple of race runs where it seemed like the car was a little bit better than what we’ve been, but we’re just slow. We didn’t work on qualifying a lot, but on our first qualifying run we were too loose and slow, and then on the second one we were pretty neutral and not very fast. Then we were a little too tight and we were about the same speed in the high twenties, so it’s just been a struggle.”

ARIC ALMIROLA – No. 43 Trim Fit Ford Fusion – “We were just a little bit too loose right there. We were a little bit tight in practice, so we tried to free it up and we freed it up a little bit too much. That’s all right. We’ll work on it in race trim tomorrow and get a good car for Sunday. Todd Parrott and all the guys on this Trim Fit Ford Fusion have worked really hard and I think our car is pretty good.”

JOSH WISE – No. 26 MDS Transport Ford Fusion – “That run was pretty good. We tried some different stuff with the car this time and I think we found something, so it’s good to be able to find new things that can help our teammates. We might have a little something here, so we’ll just see how race practice goes tomorrow. It will be fun.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL – No. 98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford Fusion – “I’m always glad to make a race. It’s a tight go-or-go home field here at New Hampshire with 47 cars, so only a couple tenths, give or take, and you’re in or out. We put in a solid lap. I overdrove the second lap a little bit, but once I was locked in on that first lap I got excited and thought I could get a little bit more. Gene Nead and all the guys on this Phil Parsons 98 car do a great job every weekend and to constantly be one of the quickest go-or-go homers is very important to us and something we strive for.”

SCOTT SPEED – No. 95 Jordan Truck Sales Ford Fusion – “We have to have our own little race and that’s qualifying for us, but we came here and unloaded really well, and we were able to make it better. Practice worked out for us. When you have races like this where you only have an hour of practice, sometimes you hit it and sometimes you won’t, and it just seemed like everything we did in practice was a positive, so that turns into a good qualifying effort.”

Source: Ford Racing

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