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| | Sunday, October 17 | |||||
| Here's what the leaders had to say following Sunday's Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
"I couldn't hardly believe we won, really. There were a lot of cars out there that were stronger than I was, and I got in front and they were really racing hard behind us. I got to hand it to Mike Skinner, he really helped me on the high side there (at the end). I kept working with it, kept working with it, and I finally got by (Dale) Jarrett on the outside. I really can't believe it happened.
"I wish Mike could have come up there and finished second with us. He deserves to win, that race team deserves to win.
"It's just unbelievable how this car can win the race here. I wouldn't have given it a chance. I'd give it a second-, third- or fourth-place finish, but I just kept trying and it worked out for us. When they got to racing behind us, it was just like a classic Talladega (finish) and it was mine. I thought Jarrett was going to make a run on us there at the end, but he just couldn't muster enough.
"I just didn't feel that competitive in the draft with (the leaders). I couldn't pull back to the front like I wanted. I couldn't lead the laps, I couldn't do anything I wanted -- like I could in the spring race, where I felt more dominate.
"I just never would have believed we could have won this race. But it just goes to show you, if you just keep hanging in there in the draft, keep working --sort of just playing chess with 'em -- maybe you can outsmart them."
-- Dale Earnhardt Winston 500 winner "That was all driver right there. You saw the opening laps of the race. Dale Earnhardt and that GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet is one tough dude at speedways -- Talladega and Daytona especially. But he's not bad anywhere else, either. "(Dale) thought the car was pretty decent yesterday, but came back last night and said, 'You know it's just not the car we had here before. We need to do just a little more to it.' So all the guys worked real hard, dug deep and we thrashed on that thing to get it a little better for him. And all you need is a little bit for him." -- Kevin Hamlin Dale Earnhardt's crew chief "You always want to win, and I thought we got into a position to do that. Man, I saw them racing side-by-side back there and that was good and that was bad. I didn't know which one to block. "Earnhardt and them got a good run and it surprised me a little bit that he was up there that far. I tried to cut him off, but all I was going to do was cause a big wreck. So, I got shuffled back a little bit. "But when you get beat by the the very best at this type of racing, any racing really, it's a little bit easier to take because he is the best. He's fun to race with, but I would have needed a lot of help to get past him. "We can't cruise yet. We are going to go to Rockingham and try to win. But (a bigger points lead) sounds good each week." -- Dale Jarrett Finished: 2nd Place "You get that close and you can see the lead, but you look in your mirror and see 'em five-wide behind you. I guess we should take well-enough today. "It was a Yates under the hood and probably most of the setup on the car was a Robert Yates chassis setup. All the guys on the No. 28 came over and worked with us and helped Mike McSwain, our chew chief. Gave us some ideas. I'd say it was their setup under the car. It took me about half the race to get used to driving it. I can't say enough thanks to what that group has done for us this weekend." -- Ricky Rudd Finished: 3rd Place "To run that hard, that fast, three abreast, it's almost unreal we didn't have more than that one incident. Everyone ran really clean and had a lot of give and take, but you were just waiting for (the big wreck) to happen. "We don't do a lot of adjusting at these places. We had to snug it up a little bit, but basically the way we started was the way we finished." -- Ward Burton Finished: 4th Place "I'll tell you what, we're crazy aren't we? I got to running along there and I was thankfully surprised at how good everyone kept their cars. There were some good handling cars out there that allowed us to run three and four-wide like that. It was just amazing how it all ended up. "But what was more amazing is Dale Earnhardt, because I got to racing with him for quite awhile around eighth or 10th. I dedicated myself to the outside lane there for the last 30 laps or so and Ward Burton was right there with me. "Then with about 10 to go you could feel it all around you, 'Aw, gotta go, gotta go!" I'm going, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 'I've gotta get a top 10. I've got to get a top 10.' "I really dedicated myself to the outside lane and I guess we went into Turn 1 on the white-flag lap and somehow the 31 got shuffled out and I was so high I thought I was for sure going to hit the wall. But my car was so strong off Turn 2 that I could run high, but if someone was in front of me I couldn't run it wide open because I'd hit 'em in the rear. But it just turned out great." -- Kenny Wallace Finished: 5th Place "We were real happy with the car today. It was the same car we finished eighth with at Daytona and the engine shop has been working really hard and that thing had a real horse in it. "I guess when they won all those races back then, it spoiled the reputation of the car and nobody wants to run with it. I got where I could take the lead a couple of times, but got hung out. I bet we came from the back twice. I'm really happy about how well the car drove. It was the first restrictor-plate race car I've ever had I could drive and run wide-open all day."
-- Bobby Hamilton "I can't say enough for all the guys on the team. Everyone surrounded around this team worked really hard to give me a great race car. "At the beginning of the day, I said I'm just going to ride here today. I saw some things I wasn't very comfortable with and when it's time to go (my team) would tell me when to go. We were up there in second, but got a little aero-tight at the end and Ward (Burton) got under me and after that I was just a sitting duck. I didn't have any friends out there the last three laps, but I expected that. I had a whole bunch of friends early on and they got us up to second." -- Kevin Lepage Finished: 18th Place | ALSO SEE Earnhardt wins Winston 500, sweeps Talladega races
Notebook: Rudd-Yates preview looks strong
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