Daytona Pepsi 400: Dodge teams race quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 alltel Dodge Charger)

“We started 14th, finished 14th and fell to 14th in the standings. The only good result was we’re only 61 points out of 12th now and we entered the race 127 out of 12th. It’s going to be tough, but we really want to qualify for The Chase. We had a good car tonight, but we didn’t get a good finish with it. We’ll try to bounce back and get ‘em next week in Chicago.”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

“”The crew did a tremendous job repairing the car. We didn’t lose a lap for the initial repairs and when we made stops later, they continued to work on it. It just kept getting better and better. It’s a shame we were caught up in that incident that early in the race (lap 4). A pair of top 10s at Daytona this year. This was good for our team and a great way to start the second half of the season. We overcame adversity tonight and battled back to finish ninth. That’s the mark of a good team. It says a lot about this No. 9 crew.”

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BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger)

“It’s restrictor-plate racing. It’s gotta be kind of wild really. I had that first wrecked cleared and the 41 hit me in the back. We had to fight back all night. The car was pretty good, but I’m ready to go home.”

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

“We had to make some lengthy stops during the early cautions to undo some of our qualifying setup. We fell a lap down but got it right back. The car was fast, it sucked up well. We just playing it safe at the back of the pack and needed one more big adjustment before we could make a run to the front. But it seized up, something broke in the drivetrain or engine. I am not sure if we can fix it and get back out.”

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ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

‘How was the car tonight? “We had a good racecar, but we had gear problems from the beginning. We didn’t have first at the beginning of the race so we had to hang back and work our way up to speed. The guys had to push me off on the first pit stop. Once we got going, the car was pretty good. When that big wreck came out early, we had to go to the garage and change the transmission. The guys did a great job getting us back up and running. We didn’t have the night we wanted, but it was great having Scott (McDougall) and Ray (Evernham) working together on the box. We’ll go back to the shop and keep working on getting this team where it needs to be.”

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REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger)

“The 20 and 11 got together way up ahead and it got back to us. We were having some problems with the brakes even before the race, so we had some trouble slowing up to avoid the wreck. Somebody hit us, I’m not sure who it was, and we just never could get it back together.”