BUSCH: Mexico City: GM teams race quotes

RON FELLOWS, NO. 87 NEMCO CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"We got run into. This is real disappointing for all the guys at NEMCO. The car was very, very good. There was some interesting driving going on out there, unfortunately. We got kind of lousy track position. But I think all the guys at Joe Nemechek are disappointed. We owe him one"

ROBBY GORDON, NO. 83 RED BULL CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

Note: Sidelined with motor problems. A difficult weekend, Gordon qualified on the outside of the front row, had to change an engine, and started the race from the rear of the field. Had an early spark plug problem. Then, a stream of oil followed is car all the way back to the garage. Gordon declined comment.

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 21 PELON PELO RICO CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:
Finished 2nd and leaves Mexico City in the Busch Series point lead:

"We didn't need much. This Pelon Pelo Rico Chevrolet was fast. All we needed was three chances there. But we've just got to say thanks to all the guys. They did a great job all weekend. We stuck to our plan and but it's been a good day for us. That was three second-place finishes in a row for us. Our car was good. A few of those guys just got lucky and caught the caution there. But our car was really good and really fast. I had a lot of fun. I wanted to win this race bad. But we came up one short."

MARTIN TRUEX JR., NO. 8 BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:
Race Winner:

"I knew we had a strong car. I knew it was good on long runs. We were counted out. There were a lot of guys who probably didn't think we could win. I talked to Dale Jr. last night on the phone and he asked me if we could win and I said our car was pretty good. He said to just keep in on the road and we'd be all right. And that's what I did. It was awesome all day long. It was the best it was at the end. My hats off to these guys. It was just awesome. Coming here, we never thought we were going to win the race. We always think we have a shot, but I haven't done this stuff for a while and when I used to do it, I never had much luck at it. But the guys gave me such a good car today. This Bass Pro Chevy was so great. At the beginning of the race I knew it was good. We adjusted on it and made it better and at the end it was the best it had been all day."

(WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU LEARNED TODAY IN THE RACE) "Well, we pretty much got comfortable with the car with the transmission we've got in it and the brake package we've got on it. We tried some stuff with the set-up and I pretty much came here the same way. We were running that good when we unloaded and we picked up three seconds from the time we unloaded to the time we qualified. Everything we did made it faster and everytime I went around the track I was more comfortable. I felt like I was faster. We just put it all together. Pit strategy was great. Pit stops were great. It was just a complete team effort today."

(IS THERE SPECIAL PRIDE IN WINNING THIS RACE?) "This is definitely extra special to be down here representing the United States. I'm so proud to be here. It's just an awesome day. To beat them in qualifying is one thing, but to out race them all day long is something we're real proud of." More to follow

KEVIN MANION, CREW CHIEF, NO. 8 BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

"All these guys did a great job this weekend. The competitors, the Mexican hospitality, the track here -- it's all been great. The guys in the shop worked so hard on these road course cars over the winter. It was pretty tough for a Busch team to build cars over the winter. I feel fortunate we have a well-funded team and a good effort. I feel bad for some of these lower-dollar Busch teams trying to put together cars. So I think all my competitors and all the people here at the race track.

"For a while, I was just telling Martin to save gas, save gas. We felt like there would be an overabundance of cautions. I didn't expect that many. We went up to VIR a couple of weeks ago with Martin and we took two cars. After about four or five laps, I knew we had something for them."

SHANE HMIEL, WIN FUEL CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:
Finished 4th

(WHERE IN THE WORLD DID YOU LEARN YOUR ROAD RACING SKILLS?) "I went to the Bob Bondurant school last fall and Ron Fellows taught me a lot out there. But this Chevrolet was good all day. To come out of here with a top five was a great points day for us. It was a whole lot of fun. That's the most fun I've ever had racing."

(ON HIS MEXICO CITY EXPERIENCE) "It was awesome. I came here with an open mind but I thought it was really going to be unorganized. But NASCAR did a great job and Mexico City did a great job. I hope we come back for the next 10 years. I think it's a great race track. American fans are great but these Mexican fans sure do love stock car racing."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ, NO. 5 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:
Finished 10th:

"It was a fantastic day. I'm very happy. This was a car that didn't turn over a lap before the race because of the crash yesterday. We made some changes and we overreacted a little bit. The car was too much push."

(ON STARTING FROM THE REAR) "That was frustrating. We started last. To come from the back and take a lot of chances and I was fighting with Martin Truex. I made a great pass on him and then he passed me back and my tires were going off at that point. I went to the back again and that was a little bit frustrating. Then I got into the rhythm again. There were people who were fighting a little bit too dirty at the back, chopping you off when you were on the brake and already committed, and I'm not used to that. The good and experienced drivers were very good. They knew you were committed and they leave you the open. I flat-spotted my tires one time. I was very quick through the chicane and that was giving me a lot of positions. But I don't even remember the car but I was turning to the right and I lost momentum and I had to lock and I even hit him I felt a vibration after that and my car wasn't the same after that. I felt more and more push.

"The crowd was great. They were awesome. I knew we could do it -- coming from the back. But I was very conservative starting from the back. All my predictions were wrong. I have to work each lap one by one. I never touched anybody until the last 20 laps. My car was clean. During the last 20 laps everybody started getting aggressive and I had to use my car too a little bit.

(WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO THIS AGAIN?) "This was just a start -- a one-race deal. We'll have to get used to it and we'll see. I'm sure I would take another one if it came about. I'm so glad I finished the race. There were so many things. Harvick passed me on one of the restarts on the left and there are so many rules to learn. I'm used to different rules. Pit lane speed limit is very difficult because we're used to having a button to control your speed. You have to watch all your gauges. I really couldn't tell if I was good or not and they would ask me my speed and I wasn't sure."

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