(NOTE: Jacques Villeneuve appears to be the main topic of discussion this weekend at Talladega. Ford Truck driver Erik Darnell gets into the act, discussing the former FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION's lack of superspeedway experience..... gm)
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FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES: Mountain Dew 250 Qualifying // October 5, 2007 Talladega Superspeedway
Erik Darnell, driver of the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150, qualified third for tomorrow's Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. He spoke about his run and other issues in the infield media center.
ERIK DARNELL – No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150 – "I think we knew from practice yesterday that we were gonna have a pretty decent run in qualifying. We focused primarily on getting the truck to run well in the draft yesterday, which I think we accomplished. I really thought we'd run a little bit faster today than what we did based on what we did yesterday in practice, but it's still a pretty good lap and we'll be starting up toward the front and, hopefully, will be able to stay up there for the whole race."
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON JACQUES VILLENEUVE AND THE OTHER ROOKIES IN THIS RACE TOMORROW? "Just like a lot of those drivers who haven't competed here before, they did get to compete at Daytona, so they've got an idea of how the draft works and how these trucks work in the draft. I know there are some of the guys out there that haven't, but going off practice yesterday, a lot of those guys got a feel for it. It'll be a little more intense in the race. It's gonna be pretty wild out there, I think, but going off of practice and what these got to run earlier this year, I think they'll be alright."
IF YOU WERE MAKING YOUR FIRST CUP START, WOULD YOU PREFER TO DO IT ON A SHORT TRACK, INTERMEDIATE TRACK OR SUPERSPEEDWAY LIKE THIS? "I'd probably do a short track, especially for someone like myself who comes from a short-track racing background doing late models. It would just be something I'd be a lot more comfortable with. Not having a feel for those cars, not knowing what they're gonna do – the horsepower and all that – I'd rather go to a short-track before I came to some place like this. Even after the short-track, I'd probably rather go to a mile track or an intermediate before I had to come here. This is a totally different type of thing. My second truck series start ever was at Daytona and I ended up finishing sixth. It was a good run for us, but I definitely would like to have some more experience on the short tracks before I jumped in to do this kind of thing."
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