After a day of side-by-side finishes and drama, here's what the drivers had to say about the Gatorade Duel qualifying races at Daytona:
What The Drivers Said About The Duels
Duel #1
Jimmie Johnson (1st): “As I went by the start/finish line sideways, I looked up and hoped that it was the checkered flag because I felt like I was going to spin out. I stayed on the gas, saved it. ... I think we put on one heck of a race.”
Kevin Harvick (2nd): “I knew I was on the right side with Mark Martin [in 2007] and I knew I was in trouble on this one because I was ahead of him coming about halfway through the short chute with the side draft and got me to the tri-oval. Hey, you win some, you lose some, all you can ask for is a chance.”
Kyle Busch (3rd): “It came down to being pretty wild there at the end, didn’t it? It was fun.”
AJ Allmendinger (7th), who missed his pit stall: “I lost the pit sign and it just honestly blended in with everything. I guess it was first pit stop jitters and that got us behind. I’m just upset with myself. I knew that pit road was gonna be slick and I honestly just lost the pit sign and overshot it by a mile.”
Jeff Gordon (10th), who was forced to a backup: "Usually the 150's are pretty calm. So if that's what it's like, then the fans are in for a treat with the 500."
Greg Biffle (11th): "Let's face it, if the 13 [Max Papis] wouldn't have been in the outside lane on that last restart, we certainly would have had a shot at the win. He's a great driver, but he spun his tires and continued to kind of spin them all the way down I'm not sure what happened and why he couldn't get traction. I was trying to push him and I could have hung him out to dry through that short chute, but decided to stay behind him and help get him going."
Mark Martin (21st): “This is going to be one of those anybody’s races on Sunday. You just can’t get an advantage. There was no car out there in the race that had an advantage. So it is just going to be like a crapshoot to win the 500.”
Ryan Coniam, crew chief for fifth-place Regan Smith (5th): “This is the best driver out there. He did a great job. Wouldn’t want anyone else.”
Duel #2
Kasey Kahne (1st): “We ran second in the Shootout and they’re pumped, they’re excited and so am I. It’s nice to work with such a good team. I think we have a lot of races ahead of us this year that I think we can run strong in.”
Tony Stewart (2nd): “We’ve got a little bit of work to do, but I’m proud of our guys. The first half of the race, we weren’t very good, obviously. And we made a lot of ground on it in the second half of the race.”
Juan Pablo Montoya (3rd): “It was a lot of fun. It was fun until [Brian] Vickers screwed me, you know?”
Kurt Busch (4th): “Hey, I made it through a race without wrecking, so we’re excited.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (21st): “We didn’t want to get up there and race too hard and risk tearing the car up and having to pull the backup car out - that is a lot of work. We felt like we learned about our Amp Energy/National Guard Chevy. We think it is going to be good when the money is on the line on Sunday.”
Boris Said (27th): “Being locked in the show, it would be stupid to go out there and wreck for just a starting spot, whereas the 500 is so long, you can start anywhere and do good. I think it’s a good plan.”
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