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JIFFY LUBE MIAMI
300 QUALIFYING NOTES
JOE NEMECHEK (No. 87 BellSouth Mobility Chevrolet) "I just got a little bit loose,
trying to drive it that way. I was going for the pole. That's what I came down here to do,
and I got it a little bit loose. We're gonna have to go with the backup car, but it's a
good car -- it's the
car we won with here last year, so we'll be in pretty good shape."
DAVID GREEN (No. 36 Stanley Pontiac) "I sat there for so long, going 52nd, that I was
worried about having a mental block, what with all those guys wrecking and not knowing
why. The temptation is there to change the car, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from
doing that. We stuck to our guns, and the car drove exactly like it did in practice.
That's why it ran close to what we ran in practice. I guess the track, without a lot of
cars on it and a lot of rubber on it, probably loosened up a little bit and got a little
slicker."
KEVIN LEPAGE (No. 40 ChannelLock Chevrolet) "We knew we had
a top-five car. The team's been awesome all year long, and (crew chief) Richard Lasater
made some great calls there just before qualifying in adjusting the car. It was just a
great opportunity to showcase what the team's all about in the last race of the year. I
wish 'em the best for next
year with Kerry Earnhardt. We were a little loose in practice, but we adjusted the car and
had a good lap."
MIKE McLAUGHLIN (No. 34 Gould's Pumps Chevrolet) "I thought
we had a shot at the pole, but we were just too tight. I thought we'd run at least a .50,
but the track changed a little bit. Nobody was running the speeds they ran in practice,
and I guess we slowed down with the track I guess."
DAVE BLANEY (No. 93 Amoco Pontiac) "Everybody's getting better here, and I'm getting
the experience I need to learn how to drive these cars. The cars and engines are great, so
these guys should be running up front. I'm feeling better every week just by getting laps.
We've been loose all day, but we made a whole bunch of changes. I thought the car was
perfect, but I didn't run the thing hard enough. I'm kicking myself right now, because it
was there -- I just didn't run it hard enough. I was the only thing holding us back
today."
MATT KENSETH (No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet) "That's the best we ran all day, but it just
wasn't very fast. We didn't have a very good handle on it ... and I have no idea why. Some
people picked up and some slowed down. The pole is pretty close to the same time and the
car before me ran three-tenths (of a second) faster, so it's hard to blame it on the race
track. We're not going to requalify tomorrow so we can spend the day on the race setup.
This car races okay. We'll just see if we can get it working the best we can."
JEFF PURVIS (No. 4 Lance Snacks Chevrolet) "It was pretty good. This race track is
real slick. I don't know what the deal is. Maybe it's the Hoosier tires off those other
cars over there (the All Pro cars, which use bias-ply tires) making it a little slick.
Some good cars got torn up today, so I just tried to make some conservative laps and get
it into the field as best I could."
BARRY BODINE (No. 05 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Chevrolet) "We picked up a little bit
from practice. We struggled in practice with a push, and when we went out there the oil
and water wasn't quite warm enough. The motor didn't quite run right and that hurt our
times quite a bit. If you're down just five horsepower, it's going to make a difference.
We're going to change some things for practice tomorrow, and go back to the basics to get
it running right."
ADAM PETTY (No. 22 Spree Chevrolet) "We went out too early, and the rubber ain't back
on the track. It's gotten hot, then cooled off, and I guess the car didn't like the way
the track was. We'll just have to try again tomorrow."
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