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Post Qualifying Driver Quotes Watkins Glen


SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, third): "I think the No. 9 car seems to race better than we qualify, and that's definitely been the tale today. We kind of hit on a setup later in the afternoon in the last few practices, and I think we're getting pretty close now. (Ryan) Briscoe in the Penske car is certainly quick, and it's going to be tough to beat him. Of course, it was like that last year, but we were able to come through in the race. It was unfortunate for Dario (Franchitti) with that crash, because now he'll start sixth, but I think he could have been on the pole. But both Team Target cars are in the top six, and we can win from there."


HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, 14th): "Needless to say, qualifying was a bit frustrating because the Team Penske car is better than where we qualified. It took us a little longer to get up to speed than we thought it would, and we just didn't have enough time to get a fast lap in there at the end of the session. I was hoping we'd be able to get one more lap before the end, but we just didn't have the chance. Starting 14th isn't ideal here, but it's what we have to deal with, so tomorow we'll have to see what happens."


RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 14 ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing, 16th): "It's a disappointing day. We only had an hour or so of practice, and we came here with quite a few unknowns. We switched back to last year's setup and gearing, which was better, and we needed to start with that and tweak from there. We desperately needed Friday's practice, but they've cut the schedule to two days, unfortunately. We'll make some changes this evening for the race, and we'll have the morning warm-up to see how they work. The good thing about The Glen is there are places to pass when you have the car to do it."


MARIO MORAES (No. 5 KV Racing Technology/Votorantim, fourth): "The KV Racing Technology team did a great job setting the car up for qualifying today. It really shows that the test we did here two weeks ago paid off, and I just hope that all of our hard work pays off for the race tomorrow."


PAUL TRACY (No. 15 GEICO/KV Racing Technology, 15th): "The GEICO/KV Racing Technology team has done such a great job this weekend to make the #15 car so good. I just have no track experience here at Watkins Glen. I am getting better and better with every lap, and we made some big gains in the last two laps. For tomorrow's race, we will just have to see how it plays out from there."


MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy, ninth): "I obviously would've liked to have seen the #26 car make it into the Fast Six. I kept pushing, but there just wasn't a lot left in the car. We decided not to make any changes from the first session to the second, and looking back we should have. Like they say, hindsight is 20/20. A little disappointing, but I'm still confident in the Venom team will have a good finish tomorrow."


HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 27 Formula Dream, 13th): "We were able to make some changes between the first two sessions that made the car better. I thought there was more time in the session, so I started to slow through Turn 7, but unfortunately the checkered flag came out by the time I got into Turn 10. I think if I had one more timed lap, we could have made the top six and made a run for the pole. The #27 car and AGR as a whole was strong last year, so I hope for a good finish tomorrow."


DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola, eighth): "I think we could have gotten a little more out of the Boost Mobile/Motorola car. The last lap was our quickest, but we had gained some understeer by then. If the car had been able to stay more consistent, we definitely could have started higher on the grid. There are so many good drivers this year; the field is super-competitive, so to be eighth is still good. This is the highest start I've had on a road course this year, so I think we can still pull out a strong finish."


DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Polaroid, sixth): "Qualifying is always fun here; it really physically tests you those three sessions if you make it to the Fast Six. You're really hanging it out there, and that's what I did in the Fast Six. I knew I had a guaranteed top six and the Polaroid car felt really good, so I just pushed hard and I got a little loose on the entry to that last corner, and it just bit me. There's so much grip in those Firestone reds (tires) and you have to take advantage of it, and that's what I was trying to do."


GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 02 McDonald's Racing Team, fifth): "It's a physical place, and to run all those laps it gets pretty tiring. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough to make it to that top spot. I hoped when Dario (Franchitti) crashed that would be the end of the session because I thought third would be as good as we were going to get. We're close, and tomorrow is looking pretty good."


RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, pole): "I'm excited for Team Penske. I love this place. I came in after (qualifying session) 2 and had the run on the new red tire, then posted the 28.1 (lap of 1:28.1322). I haven't had this much fun in so long. It's unbelievable the speeds you can carry through the turns out there today. The balance of the car has been great. I'm sorry that the final session ended the way it did with Dario (Franchitti) in the wall. Hopefully we can follow through and have a good race tomorrow."


JUSTIN WILSON (No. 18 Z-Line Designs, second): (Would the results have been different with the full 10 minutes of green-flag laps?): "I'm not sure. I don't know if we had enough to pass Ryan (Briscoe). He was always doing a great job today. I'd like to think we could have got there, especially since he was on used tires and we were on a new set, but it's just how it goes. I'm very pleased. Everyone at Dale Coyne Racing has done a great job. These guys here have worked hard to get here. We tested, and it's always a flat-out mad rush, so I've got to thank them and everyone at Z-Line Designs. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day." (How long will your sticker alternate tires last Sunday?): "I'm pretty confident they'll last, but I don't know. We'll see how things develop. It's nice to have one more set than most people. We'll see if we can use that to our advantage and make sure we have a good strong race. It's going to be a case of not making any mistakes."


TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven, 10th): "It was a frustrating day for me. We had a quick car during the first qualifying stint, and I'm confident the car was capable of making the Firestone Fast Six. I think we have a strong car for tomorrow,and hopefully the end result will show that."

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