Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 8th
ALEX ZANARDI
I’m pretty happy. When you’re talking thousandths of a second [between grid positions] you need a little bit of luck. It’s the fastest we’ve been in three years. My expectations weren’t that high because of the way we’ve run here the last two years, so I’m delighted to be in the top ten. I’m very proud of our team. They’ve done a great job and really worked hard at giving us a better setup for this track, so I’m encouraged.

	Marlboro Penske Mercedes Qualified: 18th
AL UNSER, Jr.
The team gave me a beautiful race car today. We've done a lot of testing in the old car here. We've done a lot of development in the new car as well, but every time we came here it was either too cold or raining. The setup on the new car was pretty far off when we unloaded off the trailer. My guys spent all night working on the old car to get it ready, and they did a great job. We'd rather be in the new car for sure, but with so little testing the setup was definitely wrong.

	Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Ford Qualified: 4th
GIL de FERRAN
I’m a little disappointed with fourth, because I would’ve liked to have qualified on the pole. We tried to get the car as neutral [handling] as possible, but I ended up with a couple of wiggles through turn two. It’s a little bit bumpy in turn two this year, with the [new] patches on the asphalt. But it could be a good place to pass in the race.

	Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Qualified: 3rd
MICHAEL ANDRETTI
The car is really good. I'm kind of disappointed because I thought we had a shot at the pole, and it's been a long time since the last pole [1995, Long Beach]. I thought I might have had it until I went into Turn 3 and developed a push. We need to get the ball rolling again. It would be great to win tomorrow in front of the hometown fans.

	Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford Qualified: 9th
BOBBY RAHAL
I’m pleased considering the car isn’t 100 percent for an ultimate lap. Having a well-balanced car here is absolutely the most important thing you can have. I’ve seen a lot of fast guys, including me, who qualify real well and then go backwards 30 laps into the race. We had a good working car yesterday with some longer runs with full tanks and in race setup, so I’m confident about tomorrow provided we don’t get caught up in the nasty stuff that might come at the beginning of the race. The ebb and flow of this place in traffic is unbelievable. You can have a five second lead, and it’s gone in a lap. Momentum is everything. You have to have a car that you can run high through Turn Two and hard into Three. That ‘s the easiest place to get a run on a guy, and that’s what I was working on yesterday.

	Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford Qualified: 7th
BRYAN HERTA
I felt pretty good about the run. I didn’t think there was a lot more out there for us, frankly. But obviously we’re still off a tenth or two. That’s what the fast guys are doing, so we’ve just got to keep working on the car and get it done tomorrow. It’s hard to gauge a car on these one mile ovals. Every time you think the car is not going to go loose, it does. Then sometimes you think it will, and it doesn’t. It’s kind of a guessing game. We’re getting better at it than we have been as a team. I think that short ovals have definitely been one of our weaker venues and we’ve worked hard on it over the winter. We came away from those winter tests with a different approach and setup and it’s working. It’s all a fine line now.

	Hogan Truck Leasing Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 15th
JJ LEHTO
It was difficult on the first day to get the setup right. Then in qualifying we ran our quickest time. Today was my first day of qualifying ever, since we had problems in each of the previous (oval) races during the qualifying session. This was my first qualifying session and only my third race ever on an oval, so we did pretty good. It's gonna be busy tomorrow. This is a new experience.

	Budweiser/Ralph's Della Penna Racing Swift Ford Qualified: 13th
RICHIE HEARN
Well this is the part of the weekend to do it. I really wasn’t prepared for the car to be as good as it was. But I had decided to hang it out and either pop a good time or crash trying. We made some small changes with the rear bar, but some of our gain was probably just more of a commitment on my part. I didn’t want to crash in practice, but in qualifying I’ll risk it. A couple of people are going home after today, and I didn’t want there to be any chance that I was one of them. I was hoping for a top 10, top 15 start because track position is so important here. I really want to stick with that lead group until the first round of pit stops. If you get lapped right away, your game is over. Passing here is probably going to be at a premium more than ever because this field is so close. I think a second covered the whole field this morning. Even the guys in the back are going to be hard to pass. It’s not going to be a given that when you get up to somebody that you are going to be able to pass, because they might not be able to get out of the way even they are trying to. The trick is going to be to stay on the lead lap. If you start too far back and then you go a lap down, you are basically done for the day.

	Kmart/Texaco Havoline Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford Qualified: 6th
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI
I’m pretty sure that the Goodyear tires that we have will do fine in the race. We are defiantly going to be very competitive in the race. There’s not a big difference between yesterday and today. It’s just bloody tight. It’s a matter of getting (the setup) right, or not. It’s hard and not made any easier with it being so competitive out there. We didn’t have to chance much for the new tires. Mikey (Andretti) had tried them , and we knew what to expect. We’re happy. I think that we are going to be up there.

	Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 5th
JIMMY VASSER
Not too bad, that was the best we could do today. Everybody wants the pole but we’re just a couple of tenths off, and fifth is a pretty decent place to start. Now the focus is on the race. That’s the whole key to this place—finding a setup to run the race pace consistently and not go loose.

	Bettenhausen Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 19th
HELIO CASTRO-NEVES
I believe the decision (by Goodyear) to change tires affected us a little bit. We just have to work more now. I am disappointed because we were so great in practice. We didn't change the car at all. We have no reason to be slow. They say the new tire will last longer. I hope they're right. I was flat out in the corners. In the race, the tires will have to work well.

 

	Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 14th
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
This car is fast, but I didn't qualify the way I wanted to. We missed big time on the tire pressures for qualifying. We didn't change anything on the car from this morning. The tire pressure is the only thing it could have been. The tire pressures didn't come up like we anticipated. I went into turn two and there was a big lift (off the throttle). The sensors said the tire pressures were really low. Something didn't work right. It will be a long day tomorrow.

	PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 21st
MARK BLUNDELL
I'm not too happy. We're not as quick as I feel we should be. We've got the race to look forward to. We improved a great deal since this morning, but just not enough for qualifying. Were a good team, and we've got the resources to make up for it. We are running the ‘98 car for the first time. We struggled slightly.

	Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Reynard Ford Qualified: 23rd
MICHEL JOURDAIN
After losing an old engine this morning, this was the first chance I had to take this car out. On the first lap the car went so loose that it scared me just enough that I didn’t push the car as hard as it could have been driven. And given that, I didn’t start the second lap very well. We were on track going earlier, so I think we can be O.K. for the race. The traffic will be difficult.

	Visteon Reynard Ford Qualified: 12th
SCOTT PRUETT
It’s so hectic out there. It’s pretty hairy getting around this track in under 20 seconds with 26 cars out there. We were a little too aggressive in qualifying. Typically we pick up a car with a little understeer in it, but today it went loose. So there was still more to get. It’s incredible how fast everybody is. It says a lot about the FedEx Series and where it’s going.

	LCI International Tasman Motorsports Group Reynard Honda Qualified: 16th
TONY KANAAN
It wasn’t that bad. We had a little bit of a push (understeer), but we’re being a bit conservative this weekend. We still have the same two goals on a race weekend: to make the field and then finish the race on Sunday. This is still a ‘learning time’ for us. When it gets to be ‘show time’ we’re going to go for it.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Qualified: 17th
DARIO FRANCHITTI
We didn’t want to get too pumped up over qualifying, but instead we worked on preparing for the race tomorrow. During my run, the car was really good through turns one and two, but we had a bit of understeer in turn three. The turns here are all so different, it’s very difficult to find a proper balance all the way around the race track.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Qualified: 10th
PAUL TRACY
I’m disappointed. We qualified on the pole here last year (and won the race), so it’s frustrating not to be further up the grid. We just didn’t get the car to work in these conditions. The track temperature has come up a bit since this morning and we ended up with a push (understeer) during the [qualifying] run.

	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 1st
PATRICK CARPENTIER
Our engineers exchange a lot of information and it was very beneficial for both of us. Greg ran well this afternoon and I felt like the foundation was in place and we were able to build on it. It's a long race, but I know that if you qualify on the pole there's a good chance of winning. With the times the guys were running, I was hoping that the conditions would have been a little bit better this afternoon, because I couldn't have run that [pole-winning] time this morning. Our team orders are not to let Michael by. The pole means a lot in terms of confidence. We had a good season last year on ovals, not so good on road courses. We tested last week at Portland, and we were very quick on the road course. I think it's gonna be a good year, not only on ovals but on road courses.

	Smith-Kline Payton/Coyne Reynard Ford Qualified: 22nd
DENNIS VITOLO
Well, we’re in the Show. That was my concern, just being in the show. The car was brand new this weekend. We made so many changes including an update kit we put on it. We were planning on a test, but we were missing some parts so we missed that opportunity. So considering that we came here without any testing, and given the depth of this field, I’m just happy to be in the Show. Now the plan is to get a good race car. Every time we’ve gone out the car has gotten quicker, and it has gotten better. The engine ran great and everything has worked well.

	Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Qualified: 11th
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
We had a little bit of a push, but not much. I think we got the most out of the car. The most important thing is that we have a good race car that can run safely all day. This is a strange place. It takes an extra commitment during qualifying, a little bit more of a chance than during practice, and the car dances more because of it. But I kept my foot down, and I think I did my best.

	Forsythe Player's-Indeck Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 2nd
GREG MOORE
I think Patrick getting the pole and me starting second is going to light a fire under everyone on this team. There aren't any team orders, other than to try not to take each other out, that's for sure. We're two different drivers with two different styles. This morning the race car was quite good. We worked real hard this morning on traffic. The most important thing is to have the car consistent and working well in traffic. I've got a good feeling for Sunday. In qualifying, I thought I could do a five-flat (18.5-second lap). We were close.