Pocono II: Petty Enterprises qualifying quotes

The series is returning to the triangle in the Pocono Mountains for the second time in 2008. The racetrack, and the setups that are required for the unusual layout, are similar to the Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway, which hosted the series last week.

Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team will start the race from the 11th position. This is the fifth-highest qualifying effort of the season for the team. From the start of the afternoon practice session it was evident that Labonte was happy with the handling of his racecar. He radioed to crew chief Jeff Meendering that he was a little on the 'loose' side. Meendering adjusted the car accordingly and it paid off in qualifying. During his qualifying lap, Labonte summed up his car on one word, "sweet."

"We've had a fast car since we unloaded," said Labonte. "The car was fast at Indy too, so I was confident we would be in good shape for Pocono. It's really fast through turns one and two. I lost a little bit through turn three, but this track is a triangle and you have to compromise one corner. We practiced our race setup early in practice and were happy with it. We'll spend tomorrow's practice session fine-tuning that setup."

Chad McCumbee and the No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge team will start Sunday's race from the 34th position. McCumbee will be making his first start of the year in the No. 45. He made his Sprint Cup debut at Pocono last year with this team. McCumbee and crew chief Stewart Cooper worked heavily on the chassis during practice and the two are happy with the way that the car is turning in the middle of the corners. McCumbee lists Pocono as one of his favorite tracks and has a positive outlook for Sunday.

"We were a little too 'tight' at the start of practice, but we've taken care of that," sounded McCumbee. "If anything we were a little too 'loose' in qualifying. That's actually a good thing because it means that the chassis has been responsive to our adjustments. We can just go back the other way a little during tomorrow's practice to find the right balance that we're looking for."

-credit: pe