Fontana II: Jeff Gordon post qualifying interview

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT/PEPSI IMPALA SS -- Qualified 3rd: TELL US ABOUT YOUR LAP:

"Oh, man, what a lap. We struggled a little bit today. We just couldn't get the speed out of the car and we were a little frustrated with practice because obviously having Pepsi onboard for the Pepsi 500 is a big deal. But we ran so well here earlier in the year and we feel like we've made gains since then and we're shaking our heads a little bit. We made some adjustments. I thought Steve Letarte made some great calls. We sat up in the trailer and debriefed after practice and came up with a game plan and it really paid off. I think the track came to us a little bit and now, looking back on it, I feel like we had a car that was good enough to possibly match Jimmie's (Johnson) lap. Had we had it a little closer in practice, I think we could have challenged him. I gave up a lot down in Turn 1. I just didn't want to overdrive it. And the car was awesome in (Turns) 3 and 4. Not that we could have beaten him, but I feel like we could have been real close to him. But to be third, I'm ecstatic."

-credit: gm racing