Knoxville Nationals Friday quotes

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 11, 2000) - The following is a summary of quotes after Mopar-powered Pennzoil World of Outlaw drivers Mark Kinser and Dale Blaney competed in Friday's "A" Scramble in preparation for the 40th annual Amoco Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway.

Kinser, driver of the No. 5m Team Mopar Maxim, nabbed the fourth position after starting in eighth in the "A" Scramble. The defending Amoco Knoxville Nationals champion came into the evening with 480 points.

"It was a decent run. We were really fast at the beginning of the race, but midway through the race the crew chief said the tire bleeder - that lets the air our of the tire - might have been stuck. It built up a quite a bit of pressure in the right rear and stalled us out."

ON RUNNING THE LOW GROOVE; "That's the groove we setup for, but there is really two grooves out there. Since we started towards the back, I kind of picked the low groove because we set the Mopar car for that.

ABOUT TOMORROW'S FINALE; "We're looking pretty good. Everybody is working real hard and the car's running well. We have the horsepower, so we should be there."

Blaney, who pilots the Team Amoco Mopar Maxim, started on the outside of the front row and wound up second after battling Ryan Paulus for the "A" Scramble victory. Blaney headed into the night with 471 points.

"It was pretty good out there. The track is pretty racy because you can run anywhere. The bottom is good, the top is good and the middle is good. I think I improved tonight and moved up into the third row. That's all we can ask for."

WHAT WAS THE BEST GROOVE FOR THE CAR? "I about got him (Paulus) running through the middle one time and I thought I had him at the line on that lap. I went to the top to try to build up some speed, but I should have just stayed where I was. It could have been better, but I was losing speed off the top. I should have just stayed in the middle of the racetrack. I think I would have been okay if I would have done that.

ON TOMORROW'S FEATURE; "This is the best shot I've ever had at winning the Nationals. I'm really looking forward to it because we are capable of winning this thing. As long as I run a smart race, we'll be okay."

Mark Kinser will start on the inside of row two, while Dale Blaney is slated to start in fifth. The race is scheduled to be broadcast live on TNN at 9 p.m. Eastern Saturday night.