Jerry Nadeau, polesitter for Friday’s Orleans 150 Winston West race -- "Last year we didn’t make the show for the Cup race. We’re really excited. This gives us more time to get suitable with the race track. The guys with Melling Racing prepared a good car. We came here with three or four guys and we have been thrashing all morning to get the car through tech. I’m happy with the lap time. This really helps us out a lot for the cup race. This is my first Winston West race ever so it’s good to be on the pole first time out. The biggest reason we decided to run was this is the first time at this track. Last year we did five laps of practice in the Cup and we didn’t make the show. We needed some more time and this is more lap time for us. It would be nice if they had more Winston West racing in conjunction with Winston Cup. We have enough cars to go out there and run and get some seat time.

It’s just basically seat time for Jerry Nadeau. It’s good to be on the pole first time out. It doesn’t wear you out. It’s exciting to be out there all the time. I’m used to long endurance races, 24 hour races. I’m just excited. The track time is nothing. If I could do it all day long, I’d love to do it. I’ve been a little under the weather the last three days. I had my toe nail pulled off about a half hour ago and I’m pretty sore and tired right now. I need to go get some good food and sleep good tonight.

It is quite a field. This is a very good series. It just seems like what ARCA used to be. That was a very slow series and finally it got very competitive. When I came out here I didn’t think there would be this many competitive race cars. You see Ricky and me out there on the front row, but really there is no slouches out there. There are a lot of young guys in this series. They are moving up and showing a lot of potential here this weekend. This should be very good for the series to grow and get noticed.

I’m not sure how many races the Cup guys move in like this. But I’m sure it’s hard for them to race against us just because it’s so hard in Winston Cup. You see how much money it takes with the Hendricks and the Roushs and the Yates. It’s very tough competition. I don’t feel like I’m a front-runner yet in Winston Cup. To get us guys to come and race Winston West, these guys should not be ashamed to be behind us. They can learn a lot from us. When I came here today, I really felt that this was fun. You really have a good time here. It’s like Saturday night racing. You enjoy it and you have a good time. There’s no rushing around and there’s not much pressure. I wish Winston Cup was like that.

I had an ingrown toenail and it’s been hurting the past couple of weeks. Dr. Dale did a heckuva job yanking it out. Now I’m just in pain. I was hurting bad and limped to the car. Once you start the engine there’s no toe there. You don’t worry about that. The doctor did a heckuva job.

Tony Toste -- We just got stuck in a hole and couldn’t get out. We’ve just been trying to fine tune so we can get a little better. I’m surprised the time was as good as it was. I let off a little early going into one. I just picked up the throttle as soon as that happened. We’re definitely happy with the time. We’re near the front and I hope we stay there tomorrow. I love this place. You can see pretty well and the track is nice and fast and smooth. You can have a lot of fun.

Ricky Craven -- We had some pretty good laps. We are using this opportunity to gain some knowledge and speed up for qualifying for Winston Cup. It’s a great opportunity. The Winston West Series is a very legitimate series. I’ve never raced with these drivers but I am surprised how well-prepared they are and the quality of the teams and the drivers. What we did today will prepare us for tomorrow. That was the key in doing this. The car is running good. We had a half-hour practice tonight. I wasn’t that happy with the car, but adjusted and tuned and we’re quite happy with it now. We made the best of that half hour. We have two more hurdles to clear. We’ve got this weekend and then Atlanta next weekend before we can catch our breath. I am very proud of them. I did run here last year and it’s really a nice facility. Las Vegas is as exciting as it gets. When it’s all over we get to enjoy ourselves some. There are several grooves.

Brendan Gaughan -- The track is still in pretty good shape. The times are a little bit slower than last year overall. It just had a little bit of dust on it. We blew the dust off it. I didn’t go as hard as I could have. We could have been a little bit higher up and would have liked to have been on the front row for my hometown race

Kurt Busch -- This is my first time in a Winston West car. I have been here once, racing the Southwest Series. This Winston West stuff is a light of fun. We’ve had a tight car all day long and it won’t turn. This last session was under the lights and the cars seem to like it better at night. It’s more stable out there. We’re going to erase that 11th place.

Source: Double D Motorsports and RacingWest
Posted: 3/4/99