NASCAR Cup

Talladega: Dodge teams final practice quotes

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) HOW DID THE CAR SHAKE DOWN IN PRACTICE TODAY? "Everything shook out really good with the Miller Lite Dodge. We tried one big change during the second practice and the car relatively felt the same. We ...

Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:52 PM

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KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

HOW DID THE CAR SHAKE DOWN IN PRACTICE TODAY? "Everything shook out really good with the Miller Lite Dodge. We tried one big change during the second practice and the car relatively felt the same. We just really tried to keep the car out of trouble. We made sure that we got our timing set properly and all the gauges working right because when you're in an impound race, you have to make sure that everything is working today."

HOW IS YOUR CAR DRAFTING? "Like everybody else, the car is moving around a bit with other cars, but nothing out of the ordinary. It really feels like business as usual. There's a lot of excitement on every lap here; you just have to be really aware of who's around you and where you're at on the track."

THE WEATHER IS REALLY WARM, ANY CONCERNS? "Not at all. Our Miller Lite Dodge really feels comfortable. We want to make sure that we run the right tape in case we're running up front on the lead, but then we want to make sure that we have the right amount of tape off the front so that we don't overheat. It's a compromise, but Pat (Tryson, crew-chief) and the guys have a really good handle on things."

***

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Penske Truck Rental/AAA Auto Dodge Charger)

HOW WAS YOUR CAR IN PRACTICE? "Not too bad. We brought a new car and we're pretty happy with it in the draft. Our lone speed isn't that great, but in comparison to where we were at last year here, we're a lot better. I feel that Penske Racing as a whole has made some nice advances, but we're still not quite where we want to be yet. I'm happy that we're in the top 35 and don't have to worry about qualifying tomorrow. For me, that changes the outlook of this race because I only have to worry about Sunday now."

ARE YOU STARTING TO GET MORE COMFORTABLE HERE? "Probably a little I think. Our first race at Daytona last year went real well as did the race (in Daytona) in July. I feel like I know the basics of driving here. I'm still working on getting some friends out there and finding drafting partners. Each race that you go without causing a big problem means that you have one more guy on your side. It takes a while and I know that. You have to be willing to finish second here for quite a while before you expect to go out there and win because people don't want to push you if they can't trust you or you haven't tried to help them out as well. But I definitely think that the learning curve has narrowed a bit here."

***

RICHARD PETTY (Co-owner, Richard Petty Motorsports)

OF YOUR 200 CAREER WINS, ONLY TWO CAME AT TALLADEGA. WHY WAS THIS TRACK SUCH A CHALLENGE FOR YOU? "Talladega was never really a lucky race track for us. This was a race-car race track. If your car ran good, then you ran good. When we run Daytona or other tracks, we always felt like pit strategy or the way that Dale (Inman) set the car up or the combination of both were a lot better. Here, it's such a run wide-open deal. I don't think that we were ever known for having the fastest cars no matter what. We' were known more for being stable and being able to run the whole race and win by just having a better car, not a faster car. We looked at longevity on our engines; if you don't finish, you can't win. We wanted to make sure that we finished (the race) first. We just never really had a fast race car here."

***

Note: Engine changes in the No. 9 and No. 44 cars during the first practice session.

-credit: dodge motorsports

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