NASCAR Cup

Pontiac Racing Joliet race notes

RON HORNADAY, NO. 14 CONSECO PONTIAC GRAND PRIX: "Actually, we're real excited. We've been having our problems, but I don't mind having problems when you've got a car like we had today. We made almost halfway and it was pretty exciting. The car ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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RON HORNADAY, NO. 14 CONSECO PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
"Actually, we're real excited. We've been having our problems, but I don't mind having problems when you've got a car like we had today. We made almost halfway and it was pretty exciting. The car was definitely raceable."

(WHAT HAPPENED?) "We had caught that draft just a lap before that and she (the engine) hit the chip (RPM limiter) once. I guess that's all it took because it came apart. "But this is something to work with. We definitely know which way to go."

BOBBY LABONTE, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
(WHAT HAPPENED? "Something let go in the top end of the motor. It was running pretty good, then that caution flag came out and I let off. It had a little bit of a miss in it at that point in time. I didn't think much about it, but I got going again and on the restart it just went all of a sudden. It appears to be something similar to what happened maybe earlier in the year. It's hard to tell right now. It had the same feeling to it. But that's part of it.

"Our little Interstate Batteries Pontiac was running pretty decent there for a little while before we pitted and put tires on it. Then, it kind of slowed down a little bit. But maybe this was part of it or maybe it was the tires. It seemed like it took a little while to get going on them. But, it looked like it was a pretty good race for us for a while, but that's the way it goes."

JOHNNY BENSON, NO. 10 VALVOLINE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX:
(WHAT HAPPENED TO END YOUR BID FOR A GOOD FINISH?) "I think we just broke a valve or a valve spring or something. It was kind of an experimental piece. We told them (engine supplier Hendrick Motorsports) that we try it. It ran good, but we just came up a little short."

(HOW GOOD WAS YOUR CAR EARLY ON WHEN YOU WERE UP FRONT) "We were pretty good. I don't know if we were as good as a couple of the guys out there, but we were still pretty decent.

"Overall, we're real happy. The Valvoline Pontiac ran good. The guys did a tremendous job. Like I said, we just had a little valve spring or valve problem or something like that. But, it didn't look like we were the only ones, though.

"We had a piece in there that was - not really a test piece, but one that nobody had run in a race, yet. We said, 'We'll try it. We're all for it.' I'd rather be leading and break than to just be riding around in the back. Hendrick Motorsports has done a great job. We just fell a little short today."

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