BUSCH: Post-race quotes

Report from Motorsport News International

NASCAR Public Relations

Texas International Raceway Race No. 8 / April 5

Coca-Cola 300 Quotebook

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 5, 1997)

Selected post-race quotes from the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Coca-Cola 300.

Mark Martin No. 60 Winn-Dixie Ford

"Jimmy Spencer just did an awesome job. He was in the lead, and he was working for it. We made him work for it, and finally he got a little slick off of Turn 2 and we got under him. It was pretty hard ( to get to the front). We were just fortunate to get by Jimmy. He made a great call putting two tires on and he just kept holding on and holding on, and finally he just slipped. He had less tires than we had."

Jimmy Spencer No. 20 Zippo Chevrolet

"Mark was just a little bit better. His car wasn't as tight as mine coming off the corners. I saw him back there waiting. I like to race against Mark Martin. He's a great racer. My car wasn't as good as it needed to be to beat him. I congratulate him for winning. We had a lot of little problems we overcame. Second isn't bad. We knew our car was tight. You never know how far to go. Mark went far enough on his car and we didn't. He knew once he got heat into the tires after 15 or 20 laps, he knew he was going to be better. I knew it too."

Jeff Burton No. 9 Track Gear Ford

"We lost a lot of track position there when we had a jack break or something. That hurt us pretty bad. It's just so hard to pass that track position was real important. Spencer got into the wall back there and I didn't quite have myself in the position I needed to be in to get by him, I guess. Mark got by him, but I didn't. It would have been neat to race Mark for the win. Spencer came down on me pretty bad and I didn't want to get into him."

Todd Bodine No. 36 Stanley Tools Pontiac

"I didn't expect it to be this good, to tell you the truth. The race track actually got to where it was okay to race on. We did it again, another top-five. We're still leading the points, and got a little more on Randy (LaJoie) and Phil (Parsons). The car was a little tight all day. We worked on it and got it better. We were just a little short at the end. I laid back a lot. I tried to make this the smartest race I'd ever driven. It was real easy to get in trouble. Lapped cars were pretty tough. We just tried to take our time and be there at the end. The car didn't have quite enough at the end to win. The track has potential. I don't think it's there yet. I think it still needs a lot of work. It's got potential."

Mike McLaughlin No. 34 Royal Oak Chevrolet

"We went for track position and only took two tires on the last stop and our car wasn't good enough. We have a great team, great people and great engines from Ron Hutter. We should have taken four tires."

Phil Parsons No. 10 Channellock Chevrolet

"As good as the car was, when I got behind someone the car would push. The car was perfect turning on a dime, but when I got up behind someone it would lose some down force. The track was all right down low. There's no second groove."

Buckshot Jones No. 00 Aquafresh Pontiac

"Our Pontiac was real good at the beginning of the race. But every time we came in to put on new tires it would tighten up. We'd loosen it up every time we came in and it would get worse. But we got a top-10, so we did all right."

Randy LaJoie No. 74 Fina Chevrolet

"I thought we had something for that 60 car today. A tire rolled across the pits, and we had to go to the tail end of the longest line (on the re-start). I had to dig to get back up there. I usually don't qualify good, but we worked our way to the front. I got to the front and we were riding along behind the 34. We were good. I thought we'd come out after the last pit stop in good shape, but a tire got away and we had to go to the end of the longest line. I used the car up pretty hard coming back to the front. We got a top-10 out of it. Some people have been saying you can't pass at this track. If you're good and you're mad, you can pass."

Jeff Green No. 8 Diamond Ridge Chevrolet

"We just missed a gear today. We didn't have any practice on the track today so we missed on the setup too. About half way through the race we lost some power in the engine. I think it was a valve spring. I'm a little disappointed in myself. We had a bad day, but still finished in the top-15 and we go home with some points."

Steve Park No. 3 ACDelco Chevrolet

"I got in there with a bunch of lapped cars. "The lapped car waved m to the outside and then pinched me into the wall. It's a tough place to pass. They're not showing any respect for the leaders. The car was capable of winning today. We're learning from the school of hard knocks."

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