NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SAVE MART 350
SONOMA
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING NOTES & QUOTES
JUNE 22, 2012
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED THIRD HOW GOOD WAS THAT LAP? “I don’t’ think it was all that good. Hopefully, it will hold up. Since the first lap on track just a lot of slipping and sliding. I was shocked to hear I was on top of the board in practice earlier today. I wasn’t really proud of the lap in the first turn. I just think there is low grip and low speeds and the car really doesn’t take a really good set and get into the track which is tough for a driver to know how good the lap is. I really hope that it’s a great lap and hope that it is good enough for the pole, but I just don’t know.”
IS THAT A GOOD SIGN FOR SUNDAY? “The more difficult they are to drive the better the racing is going to be. I think that is a good sign come race time.”
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED SECOND THAT WAS A GOOD LAP BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT SHORT: “I thought it was a really good lap. To pick up from practice and have a good day like we did all day today with the Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due Marcos (Ambrose) laid down a heck of a lap. We came up just a little bit short. I knew that was going to be a tough lap to beat but I’m very pleased with that lap.”
TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP OVERALL WERE THERE CERTAIN PLACES YOU MIGHT HAVE GAVE A LITTLE MORE LOOKING BACK ON IT? “Well there always is. There are always places you can gain and its risk versus reward. There are some places where you can lose too. I felt like I was aggressive in areas that the car was comfortable in practice and it was giving me signs and feedback that it had good grip. I knew it was a better lap than what we had in practice, but I felt like there were some areas where I left a little bit. If you had to do it all over again I’d love to take those segments and try to do them again. All in all I’m very happy.”
LAST WEEKEND IN MICHIGAN YOU SAID YOU REALLY WEREN’T TARGETING SONOMA FOR A VICTORY HAS THAT CHANGED NOW? “Yeah, it has since I drove this No. 24 car today off the truck. The car has just been really solid ever since we unloaded. I’m pretty excited. There are some guys that are going to be tough to beat. Man our car is just driving so good and I’m having fun out there. It’s been awhile since we qualified like this and had a day like this so we will see what happens tomorrow. Our chances are good right now.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 51 PHOENIX CONSTRUCTION SERVICES INC. CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED EIGHTH HOW GOOD WAS THAT LAP? “Just trying to be smooth with it and that was a nice solid lap for our Phoenix Racing team. Solid red car looks great for a sponsor if somebody wants to jump in with us.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 12TH:
ON HIS LAP
“It was okay. It was really good the first part of the lap. We just got too loose in the fast corners; the last two right-handers, I was just way too loose. But it was fun. We made a big swing between practice and qualifying and we changed a lot of stuff on our car and they did a really good job. We’ve still got some work to be done but it’s nice when they change the car and it improves. I’m pretty proud of the guys.”
DID YOU LEAVE ANYTHING OUT THERE?
“I lost a lot of time where I got sideways; where you should be wide-open I’m half-throttle, drifting. And drifting is not fast.”
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 19TH:
HOW WAS YOUR CAR TODAY AND WHAT WILL YOU WORK ON IN PRACTICE TOMORROW?
“We had a little more speed than that for qualifying. The car was pretty comfortable. I think I was too conservative with my driving. But, it never helps when you spin out the run before the last run of practice (smiles); that knocks some time out of you. We felt we’ve got good speed. I want to make the car quite a bit more comfortable than it is, so I’m looking forward to practice and I’m ready to go back to work and getting in the car and running some laps.”
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/MOEN CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 23RD:
“The car was loose,` and we have some work to do tomorrow.”
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