Bobby East, No. 21 State Fair Corndogs/Edy's Dibs Ford:
"We know our truck sucks up real good compared to other people. We're just real happy with the way it handles. It handles real good. We're pretty much going to do our maintenance on it, tape it up, go out there for qualifying, untape it and race and see what we've got. We think we have a good F-150."

Were you able to do any drafting? "Oh yeah. I think we were four-wide, once. We got to mix it up in the draft quite a bit, but we got a lot of laps in. We probably got as much as anybody because my truck was driving so good. These guys, they did such a good job at the shop that we were able to come here and get a lot of laps for me and that helps me."

This is your first restrictor plate race. "My truck really works good with the other Fords. I've kind of talked to a couple guys about that and of course my teammate, Marcos, I plan on working with him all day."

Ten of the 36 starters in the race will be Raybestos Rookies. Can you guys work together in the race? "I hope so, but I'm thinking that as good as my truck is, I think by the end of the race a few people are going to want to work with us just because we've got a really stout piece. There's a few Raybestos Rookies I think know that we're going to get hung out so we might try and stick together and see what we can do."

It must be good for your confidence to see the No. 21 near the top of the sheet. "It's not just this week. It's been really the past month we've brought really good trucks with really good setups. Last week and the week before we just unloaded good and that helped out a lot and you've got to credit John Monsam [crew chief] with what he's done with all the guys out there. And like I said earlier, a lot of this is due to what everybody does at the shop every single day. I just can't thank those guys enough."

What would be a good day for you on Saturday? "A finish . I haven't got a top-10 all year. I need a top-10."

Marcos Ambrose, No. 20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford:
"When we first went out there and we made a lot of changes to it. Who would have thought when you're running wide-open you can trim a truck down to go from really a 30th-place truck to a top-five. I made the call over the radio that it's okay in the pack but outside it's a bit of a slug. We worked on it. The first time on a big speedway like this you've got to be happy to run top-10. It's really just a chest pump right now. Everyone's really just working on race setups and we ran in the pack for a long time. We were bound to get a decent lap time out of it, running in the draft like that. We'll take it. it makes us look good for half a day anyway ."

You and your teammate are both in the top-five after the final practice session. That shows this team has done their homework. "Well, we sure have and that's the ability of these motorcar teams now is pool their resources. The team has come so far in such a short space of time. You forget that last year they were still throwing walls up in the workshop and didn't have a truck team. So here we are eight months down the road and we're running competitively most weeks now. We've got a good core group of people that run on the truck series and we've got a lot of resources now to lean on. That's why the Wood Brothers/ST Motorsports team was joined together, to try to get some of that action."

Are you happy with your season? "It's just a year of missed opportunities, I've got to be honest with you. I've really made some fundamental mistakes. I'm kicking myself right now about 'em still. We could have easily really had seven or eight top-10 runs. We've had our chances to win races and we've let it slip just a little bit. You expect that on a rookie deal and I'm the first to admit that I've made plenty of mistakes. I haven't made too many mistakes a second time, but I'm sure when I do the team will get on my back. But that's what this year is all about. It's a year of learning for everyone on the truck team, from the truck driver to the truck racer. Everyone in between is on a learning deal."

What would be a good day for you on Saturday? "To finish, just to finish intact and with a strong run. I try to forget about results this year and just be competitive, look strong, drive confidently. If we do all those things we should run top-10. As long as we do our job well and have a good strong day and finish intact, I'll be happy."

Kerry Earnhardt, No. 13 Thorsport Chevrolet:
To post a time in the top-10 must be a boost for your confidence. "We've always been good at the superspeedways, as long as you've got the equipment to do it with. Lance [Hooper, crew chief] and all the guys have really put this No. 13 Pork Chevy Silverado truck together and they're doing a little bit of massaging on it. It's always been a fast truck. We took it to Daytona and was real fast there testing. We changed some front shocks on it and hurt it so we struggled at Daytona. But we've got the truck pretty fast. Lance has done some things with the front springs and shocks. We're going to wipe the rubber and dirt off of it and line her up for qualifying tomorrow."

What would a good run in the race mean for this team? "Our confidence has been building up. The morale has been around. We've had a few good runs here lately, Nashville and last week at Vegas. At Loudon I think we done decent. The team's really turned around. Lance is working hard. We've got a group of young guys and we're having to train 'em. Lance is making a pit crew out of them, actually. They're doing some pretty good pit stops now. From what I understand, he's wearing them out on pit practice: four times a day in the morning and four times in the evening. I think it's going good. The guys are really turned around. It's a good group of guys. Everybody gets along with each other and works good together."

Do you have to be patient here during the race? "Oh, at any race you've got to be patient. At Talladega, if you lose 15 spots, so what? You can make 'em back up in a lap or two. That's how those guys are gaining spots, by being patient. That's the way we're going to do is be patient and hopefully be toward the front at the end to be able to make the pass on the last lap."

Are you comfortable running three-wide here on the new pavement? "Yeah, we were three and four-wide out there during practice and never bobbled or anything. Lot of grip in the track. Nice job paving the track. It took the characteristic of Talladega away. Talladega had been known as a rough track but fun to race. It's taken the roughness out. It's not the same Talladega but it's still fun."

Erik Darnell, No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford:
"Our truck is actually pretty good. We're really excited to have Northern Tool on this weekend for the first race and the first race of many. Our Ford was pretty good out there, pretty good in the draft. We never really got a good run or anything to really throw up a lap on the board but then again, the practice sheet here really doesn't mean anything. It drove real good in traffic and I think it will run decent by itself. I think we're going to have a pretty good truck for the race."

Was it good to race hard in the draft during the final practice? "I think we were four-wide out there just in practice and you know it's going to be the same way during the race. It's not really like Daytona where you can kind of get strung out and get away from each other a little bit. They are all real bunched up, real tight here and I think that's the way the race is going to be. Those guys were going at it in practice just to get a feel for it."

What would be a good qualifying run for you? "It doesn't really matter. I think the truck's probably capable of top-15 but I don't really know exactly where it's going to end up. It doesn't really matter where you qualify because you can go from the back to the front in two or three laps. And vice versa, you can go from the front right to the back again. It's going to be all about riding out there during race time on Saturday and getting down to the last 25 laps and going for it."

Did you get any drafting help in practice? "Not necessarily. I stayed behind Johnny Benson for a little while out there. I was around my teammate, David Ragan, for a little bit but other than that, you just pick and choose and go with the line and see what your truck can do out there."