Post by dalejrfan on Jun 11, 2005 21:11:51 GMT -5
LONG POND, Pa. – It might have been almost 14 years since Michael Waltrip last won a Cup pole, but he still knows the drill.
"I wasn't safe until Ryan Newman went out," he said.
Newman, who leads the series with four poles this season, didn't have anything for Waltrip, coming in 17th fastest and ending a streak of 20 top-10 starts.
The other serious threat remaining for Waltrip was rookie Kyle Busch, but the No. 5 Chevrolet scraped the wall on his qualifying run.
That left Waltrip with the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway (1:40 p.m. Eastern, Fox), his first since the 1991 season, ending a streak of 456 races without a pole. That streak came close to matching his far more famous one, of 463 races without a win before his 2001 Daytona 500 victory.
"I didn't see this one coming. I remember when I won a pole, you had to be about perfect to do it," he said. "We weren't perfect, but yet we were still good enough."
The pole left Waltrip and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., beaming.
Having spent most of Friday's practice sessions on race setup, Waltrip's team has high hopes for its first win of the season Sunday.
"Qualifying was just a bonus," said Waltrip, who drives the No. 15 Chevrolets for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "This proves how fast our car is. To have a car that races as well as it does and to make the few adjustments you're allowed and qualify like we did, too."
Waltrip was well-aware of the comments and comparison likely to come as a result of his unexpected pole, particularly after his DEI teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 34th fastest.
"I promise you this, I've already heard rumblings of it. People are saying, 'He can take Michael and run good with him. Just think what he could do if we gave him a real driver,'" Waltrip said of his crew chief as the room filled with laughter.
"I think it's going to be an all-out assault on Tony Jr. and I'll bet you he gets some offers to be somebody else's crew chief. I just want him to be my crew chief forever because he's definitely the best one I've ever had."
DEI shuffled its Nos. 8 and 15 teams in the offseason, trading car, crews and crew chiefs between the two teams.
While Earnhardt Jr. has struggled this season – and already replaced crew chief Pete Rondeau – Waltrip's transition with a new leader and crew members appears to have been much smoother.
"We had an adjustment period of about one day. We had a lot of conversation prior to heading to Daytona for our first test," Waltrip said.
"We worked through that first test. I think I gained their utmost confidence and respect that day to say, 'All right, he knows what he is talking about.'"
Eury Jr. said his main goal is to do whatever it takes to make Waltrip comfortable in the car.
"I don't care what anybody else's setup in the garage is," he said. "I have to concentrate on what he wants. That's what sets our team apart."
Kurt Busch was second fastest, Brian Vickers third, Jamie McMurray fourth and Scott Riggs fifth. Series points leader Jimmie Johnson will line up 21st.
NASCAR's new mandated gear ratios eliminated the need of shifting at Pocono, something which had been become common since the early 1990s.
Like many drivers this weekend, Busch said he had some adjusting to make to his driving style with the change.
"You're given a new set of rules and you have to balance it out with the best that you can feel it," Busch said. "So, if you're tight on all the corners because you can't shift, then you loosen the race car up.
"So now, you're more sideways through the corner, so you have to work just as hard."
"I wasn't safe until Ryan Newman went out," he said.
Newman, who leads the series with four poles this season, didn't have anything for Waltrip, coming in 17th fastest and ending a streak of 20 top-10 starts.
The other serious threat remaining for Waltrip was rookie Kyle Busch, but the No. 5 Chevrolet scraped the wall on his qualifying run.
That left Waltrip with the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway (1:40 p.m. Eastern, Fox), his first since the 1991 season, ending a streak of 456 races without a pole. That streak came close to matching his far more famous one, of 463 races without a win before his 2001 Daytona 500 victory.
"I didn't see this one coming. I remember when I won a pole, you had to be about perfect to do it," he said. "We weren't perfect, but yet we were still good enough."
The pole left Waltrip and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., beaming.
Having spent most of Friday's practice sessions on race setup, Waltrip's team has high hopes for its first win of the season Sunday.
"Qualifying was just a bonus," said Waltrip, who drives the No. 15 Chevrolets for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "This proves how fast our car is. To have a car that races as well as it does and to make the few adjustments you're allowed and qualify like we did, too."
Waltrip was well-aware of the comments and comparison likely to come as a result of his unexpected pole, particularly after his DEI teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 34th fastest.
"I promise you this, I've already heard rumblings of it. People are saying, 'He can take Michael and run good with him. Just think what he could do if we gave him a real driver,'" Waltrip said of his crew chief as the room filled with laughter.
"I think it's going to be an all-out assault on Tony Jr. and I'll bet you he gets some offers to be somebody else's crew chief. I just want him to be my crew chief forever because he's definitely the best one I've ever had."
DEI shuffled its Nos. 8 and 15 teams in the offseason, trading car, crews and crew chiefs between the two teams.
While Earnhardt Jr. has struggled this season – and already replaced crew chief Pete Rondeau – Waltrip's transition with a new leader and crew members appears to have been much smoother.
"We had an adjustment period of about one day. We had a lot of conversation prior to heading to Daytona for our first test," Waltrip said.
"We worked through that first test. I think I gained their utmost confidence and respect that day to say, 'All right, he knows what he is talking about.'"
Eury Jr. said his main goal is to do whatever it takes to make Waltrip comfortable in the car.
"I don't care what anybody else's setup in the garage is," he said. "I have to concentrate on what he wants. That's what sets our team apart."
Kurt Busch was second fastest, Brian Vickers third, Jamie McMurray fourth and Scott Riggs fifth. Series points leader Jimmie Johnson will line up 21st.
NASCAR's new mandated gear ratios eliminated the need of shifting at Pocono, something which had been become common since the early 1990s.
Like many drivers this weekend, Busch said he had some adjusting to make to his driving style with the change.
"You're given a new set of rules and you have to balance it out with the best that you can feel it," Busch said. "So, if you're tight on all the corners because you can't shift, then you loosen the race car up.
"So now, you're more sideways through the corner, so you have to work just as hard."