Catchfence

2009 Raybestos Rookie Contender

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER QUALIFYING QUOTES FOR THE AUTISM SPEAKS 400 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, MAY 29, 2009.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 THE HOME DEPOT TOYOTA: “I’ve been struggling all day here. I don’t know what the deal is. We’re okay in race trim, started our mock runs, not good. Got a little bit better, a little bit better. This place is tough to get a handle on. This is the third time I’ve been here in a Nationwide car and I feel like we just now got that thing where I need it. Over here [Sprint Cup] I don’t feel like I’ve got it quite yet. Just one of those tough places. I don’t know where it’s going to end up.”

WHAT MAKES THIS PLACE SO DIFFICULT? “Everything. Getting in the corner starts your whole problem, how much speed you get in the corner. You’re working the gas trying to get the throttle down, using everything you’ve got. This is a tough racetrack. This place will eat you up and spit you out in a heartbeat. It’s one of those tough joints that are hard to figure out. I’ll get it. I’m confident we’ll get it. I mean we’ve been doing great lately. We’ll go back and look at our notes and see what I can do better, see what we can do with the car to make it a little better and we’ll be fine by the race.”

IS DOVER SIMILAR TO ANY OTHER PLACE YOU RACE? “It’s an oversized Bristol. It’s Bristol times two [smiles]. I ran my Nationwide car earlier. I ran a 10-lap run and I’d come in huffing and puffing. I ran that qualifying lap I’m huffing and puffing. The place takes your breath away. It’s one of those tough places. It’s a tough racetrack. That’s all there is to it.”

SCOTT SPEED, No. 82 RED BULL TOYOTA: “I learn every weekend. Every weekend is something new. I’ve got a lot of good guidance with the guys on my team and they all give me good advice. We just tackle it one race at a time.”

HOW MUCH DID WINNING THE TRUCK RACE HERE LAST YEAR HELP YOU TODAY? “My first five laps on this track I forgot everything. It was like going here for the first time again because this track is so unique. With these COT cars they are a lot looser on entry than anything else. The Nationwide car is very similar to the truck. You run it on the bottom. These things, you’ve got to drive this track almost completely different. It was a little bit difficult to figure that out at first but I think we have a handle on it. And like I said I think our race package was even better than that. We’ll be all right.”

CAN YOU COMPARE DOVER TO ANY OTHER TRACK YOU’VE RACED AT IN THE PAST? “Not really, but I like it. It’s unique. You know what I honestly like the most is the walkovers. I missed that. In Formula One we always had bridges that we went under. I don’t know why but it feels cooler, honestly.”

MAX PAPIS, No. 13 GEICO TOYOTA: “There is always a first time. Pretty sad to see the 13 GEICO car get loaded up and go home. We were five for five and this one was you know tough. I really thought we had it, we could have put it in the show. I got really sideways getting into Turn 1 the first time by and that cost us a couple of tenths but I guess that’s part of the sport. I was looking and Brad Keselowski and I think he didn’t make it too. Can’t always be Christmas.”

YOU CHANGED ENGINES EARLIER TODAY. “We had an engine problem but that didn’t change the outcome. It just made my guys work too hard [smiles].”

Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry. The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links. Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.com. For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit RaybestosChassis.com

- Camp & Associates, Inc., for Raybestos, Press Release