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echo: nascar
to: All
from: Mike Powell
date: 2006-07-10 16:58:00
subject: Cup Dodge Race Quotes

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger) -- 7th, top Raybestos rookie
finisher, best finishing Dodge

"We ran well all day. The car was solid all day. I don't think we ever really
ran outside the top 10. We ran in the top five a little bit and this is
probably one of the best cars we've had all year. The cautions hurt us at the
end. In fact, if the whole race had gone green we would have been good to go.
We're not having problems. We've just had some bad luck here and there. Today
we finally got the finish we deserved. That's where we ran and that's where
we finished and we just need to do this more often. We'd like to get back in
the rookie race, but Denny obviously runs well every weekend. It's going to
be tough. We're more concerned with just running consistent every weekend and
finish up as high as we can in points."

***

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) -- 8th

NOTE: Busch finished eighth and pushed his streak of top 10 finishes to five
straight. He also has three top fives during the last five races.

"It was a nice, solid run to keep our top 10 streak going. We learned a lot
today for the mile and a half tracks. To say the least we had good team
chemistry everywhere. We just didn't have enough to challenge for the win. We
could pass cars today, but track position was more important. We used some
good pit strategy to get up in the top 10 and once we got up there we managed
to stay. It gets pretty frustrating chasing the car the whole race, but we
got it the best it was all day long after the final pit stop. We wound up
pretty close to how we started chassis wise. Only with a track bar adjustment
and a half rubber put in the right rear. We're getting better and better on
these mile and a half tracks, and we'll eventually get it figured out. We're
going to Loudon next week and then back to Pocono. Those have been really
good tracks for us. We're just hoping to keep the momentum going."

***

CASEY MEARS (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger) -- 25th

"Really we had about a 15th place car. We really weren't that good. We were
good at Michigan, but we didn't get to run that whole race. We just haven't
been good on the mile and a half tracks this year like we usually are. I was
trying to make more out of what we had than what we had. We'd gain spots on
restarts and starts and try to hold guys off as long as I could. We'd get
15-20 laps on our tires and everybody would start going by us. The 17 spun
out and I guess Marlin didn't realize it (on last lap). The 17 was sideways
and smoke was everywhere. I started easing out of the gas and Marlin got into
the back of me and spun me out."

***

SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger) -- 15th

"It was a rough day for us. We fell back at the beginning. We were way too
loose off the corner. Then we kinda got it driving good off the corner and
were too tight in the center. We came in and made some adjustments to help in
the center and then we tried to free it up a little bit off. About
three-quarters through the race we got our car dialed in, but at a place like
this where track position is so critical it's hard to claw your way back up
there through those guys. We got back up there when the 42 spun in front of
us, and that cost us about five positions. That put us back there with all
the guys that had fresh tires. We just hung on to it and got a 15th-place
finish today. If the 42 hadn't spun, we might have finished four or five
positions better. We didn't need all those last cautions."

***

JEREMY MAYFIELD (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW "Ask Dr. Z" Dodge
Charger) -- 24th

"I think today was a good sign that this team can work together. We didn't
have a great car, but it was decent. What we didn't do was try to fix a
million things to make it better, only to make it worse. We just made small
adjustments and worked with what we had. We got better and better on the
longer runs, but weren't real good starting out. All the cautions at the end
killed us. We could have had a lot better finish if we'd stayed green."

Did this morning's press conference help get the team motivated?
"I think clearing the air this morning really helped everyone. We've got a
better sense of where we stand and we know that Ray is behind us. We know we
can be a good race team. We've just all got to work together. We did a better
job communicating today -- I tried to provide better feedback and they tried
to give me more input on the changes they were making on the car." What was
the highlight of the day? "We brought Dr. Z back in one piece again with
hardly a scratch on him. If he gives me another shot to run his Dr. Z paint
scheme, we'll try to get him a better finish."

***

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 McDonald's/Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger) -- 23rd

"That wasn't the finish we were looking for today. Track position was
critical today and we lost it early in the race. We stayed out while the
leaders pitted around lap 140 (second caution) and had the opportunity to
start in front of the leader at the tail end of the lead-lap cars. We managed
to pull away from the leader and when (Matt) Kenseth moved back into the
lead, we were able to match his lap times. Clean air was the key. We managed
to work our way back up to 15th, but the car was bouncing and loose in
traffic. I really had to just hold on the last 20-25 laps. Out front, our car
could turn good laps. In traffic, it was a hand full."

---
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