ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN: “It feels great. It’s something that we pride ourselves on year after year, but they’ve been coming a lot farther and fewer between. We just put a great race car out there on the track today and a really nice lap there. I really thought somebody was going to beat us because we went so early and wth the sun going down. These guys have been working really hard to get us back where we need to be with getting poles and running fast and leading laps and hopefully winning races and battling for a championship. It’s so early in the year, but this is a great start.”

DOES IT HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING FOR YOU TO RACE AT YOUR HOME TRACK IN CALIFORNIA? “I’m more of a Bay Area guy. But I know there are a lot of fans out there pulling for the California guys and there is a lot of competition. Right now, you look at the guys from California who are running strong and winning races and championships and the Daytona 500 and it’s pretty cool. But I do love coming out here. I like this track and I like the area. It’s nice to come here twice a year - especially when the car is running like it is today. I have a lot more family and friends that come to the Sonoma race than come to the Southern California race. But I know the other California guys have a lot of fans and friends in this region that come.”

DOES IT MATTER TO BE ON THE POLE FOR THIS RACE? “It’s always nice to be on the pole. Anytime you can start up front, it’s a plus. Does it guarantee you anything? No, it doesn’t. We’ve had some good race cars here in the past where we’ve started deeper in the field and were able to get to the front. But if I had my choice, I’d rather start up front and on the pole. It kind of gets your weekend started out right. It gives you your pick of the pits, and really builds momentum. So I think there are just a lot of important things that come along with it, but it doesn’t guarantee what the outcome is going to be on Sunday.”

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