NASCAR Winston Cup ITW DeVilbiss 400: Chevy Qualifying Quotes
16 August 1997
BROOKLYN, MI - The following provided by Chevrolet Motor Division, General
Motors Corporation Public Relations:
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Chevrolet Qualifying Quotes
ITW DeVilbiss 400
Michigan Speedway
August 15, 1997
WALLY DALLENBACH (#46 First Union Monte Carlo) - Qualified 11th - "That was a
pretty good lap. It ran real good through one and two and got loose through
three and four. We were just looking for a top 10. If we can stay there,
we'll be happy. We picked up a couple of tenths from practice. It was a good
lap, but I got loose in three and four and had to lean out of it a little
bit. Those Fords look tough. It might be ugly Sunday. It's pretty obvious to
me. They've been fast all day. We've got our work cut out to beat them
Sunday, but we'll give 'em hell."
STEVE GRISSOM (#41 Kodiak Monte Carlo) - Qualified 22nd - "That was a so-so
lap. That's faster than we'd practiced. We came off the truck, and we were
pretty good. We made some adjustments for our qualifying run, and it was a
little different after that. Track conditions changed just a little from our
last time out. We were lucky to make the top 25. Now we can use Saturday for
race practice."
ROBBY GORDON (#40 Coors Light Monte Carlo) - Did not qualify; 29th fastest -
"Something was messed up with the geometry of the car. When I touched the
brakes, it turned left. We worked on it and did the best we could, but we
didn't get a lot of practice laps before qualifying."
RICKY CRAVEN (#25 Budweiser Monte Carlo) - Qualified 3rd - "When you've
qualified as bad as we have the past two weeks, that'll do it to you. We just
had to get it going. It's amazing. Andy (crew chief Graves) made a really
good call for qualifying. It made a great difference. I got down into the
third turn coming to the green and I knew I had the car that I'd been looking
for all day. I think the weather came to us also. We changed the air pressure
a little bit and that really helped. Once Andy and I figure out what each
other needs, this will be a really great deal. This is one of my favorite
tracks. We struggled with the wind a little bit. But it died down before we
went out. I thought maybe it would come to us. We wasted two hours of
practice today. We just couldn't find what we needed, but we found it when it
counted today. We qualified third here last time, too. This is the same car.
We've led laps in this car every time we've raced it this year. Hopefully
that streak will continue Sunday, and we can bring the Budweiser Monte Carlo
home with a solid top 10 or top five finish."
JOE NEMECHEK (#42 BellSouth Monte Carlo) - Did not qualify, 30th fastest -
"We got loose in one and two. It actually got sideways, and I had to chase it
up the track. It took a while before I could get back in the gas. The car has
been running good in practice. I think we'll have a real good race car for
Sunday. We just made a little mistake today. Qualifying has been our strong
suit lately, but we didn't get to use the Front Row Joe deal today. We'll
rebound. We finished 12th last week at Watkins Glen, and had one of the best
cars, if not the best car, on the track. I think we'll be strong here Sunday.
Maybe we can give some of those fast Fords a run for their money."
KEN SCHRADER (#33 Skoal Bandit Monte Carlo) - Qualified 8th - "The track was
better for qualifying. It was a lot cooler. They don't get near as mad at you
if you wreck in qualifying as they do when you wreck in practice. You've got
to save a little for qualifying. We should end up in the top 10. We were
struggling in second round at Michigan a couple of months ago. This is a big
improvement for the Skoal team. We thought we were going to be OK on race day
here last time, then we had trouble in the pits. We made an air pressure
adjustment sitting on the line today. Right after we qualified, we radioed up
to tell Andy (crew chief Petree) that we'd done it."
MIKE SKINNER (#31 Lowe's Monte Carlo) - Did not qualify, 34th fastest - "We
were looking for a lot more than that. It hasn't been good since we rolled
off the truck. That's the fastest lap we've run so far. We'll work on it some
more tomorrow and try to pick it up."
DARRELL WALTRIP (#17 Parts America Monte Carlo) - Did not qualify, 26th
fastest - "I had a handful of something out there. We were struggling today
and this was definitely a turnaround lap for this team. It was a good lap, a
scary lap because this car was pretty loose. I wouldn't do it again, even if
NASCAR told me I would start on the front row."
DAVID GREEN (#96 Caterpillar Monte Carlo) - Qualified 23rd - "We picked up
about three tenths from practice. Any time we can do that, we're pretty
happy. We qualified faster here last time, but everybody else was faster,
too. Maybe we're learning. That's a big accomplishment for a rookie."
DALE EARNHARDT (#3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Monte Carlo) - Did not qualify;
28th fastest - "We've been off all day. It hasn't been as fast as it needed
to be all day. The car seems real good, but the speed is not there. We're off
in three and four more than we need to be. We ran pretty good here last time.
We've got a good race car once we get in the race, but this dadgum qualifying
doesn't make any sense."
DAVE MARCIS (#71 Realtree Camouflage Monte Carlo) - Did not qualify; 39th
fastest - "We really can't put our finger on what's wrong. I think we could
make some big improvements in three and four and that would help. We're going
to keep working on it. We're not high enough in the points to use a
provisional. We're 39th now, so we've got to pick it up to get in the field.
We've got to earn our way in. The team is working hard and everybody is
putting in outstanding efforts on this team. We'll keep digging and see where
we end up."
JEFF GREEN (#29 Cartoon Network Monte Carlo) - Qualified 13th - "I knew we
had it in us. We just had to get the right opportunity. We worked on it all
day. That's the fastest lap we had today. We weren't good off the truck, but
we're young and we're growing. I think we've got a great car and we're
looking forward to the race on Sunday."
TERRY LABONTE (#5 Kellogg's Monte Carlo) - Qualified 14th - "That's quicker
than we practiced. I thought we'd pick up a little bit more than that. I had
a good lap going, but I drove it into the corner too hard in three and messed
up a little bit. I think that'll give us a good spot. I probably should have
let off a little sooner in turn three, but that was still a pretty good lap.
We're not worried about starting back there where we are, although that's not
too far back for us."
STERLING MARLIN (#4 Kodak Film Monte Carlo) - Qualified 19th - "We got a
little too greedy. We had a real good lap in turns one and two. I got into
three pretty hard. The wind was blowing and I should have known better, but
we got a little loose and it ran up the track on me. We probably lost a
couple of tenths. I thought we could have run a 39.40, but we'll get in today
and we'll be OK. The sun was out so that probably slowed us down."
JEFF GORDON (#24 Dupont Automotive Finishes Monte Carlo) - Qualified 17th -
"My hat's off to Johnny Benson. That was a great lap. I didn't think anyone
could beat him. I think we're going to be pretty good in the race. I just
can't find any speed here for qualifying. That was the best lap we'd had all
day, but it still wasn't very good. This is the same car we had at The
Brickyard, and it raced pretty good there. Hopefully, it'll be better here.
We picked up a lot from practice. The problem was we were so far off in
practice. The last time here we qualified 12th. We weren't tickled with that
but then we had to bring out the backup car for the race because we wrecked
in practice. Right now, we're looking a lot better than we did here last
time. This is one of those tracks where you can pass. You don't want to have
to. You want to start up front everywhere you go. We've got to race the track
and the other competitors. We've got a good car and we real confident we're
going to race pretty good. We were pretty happy with that win last week. That
did a lot for me and the team. We're doing whatever it takes to run the best
we can. We just need to keep finishing the way we are and we'll be happy."
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