Richard
Petty was, as he himself might say, one happy cat Thursday night after sweeping
the front row in qualifying for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor
Speedway. Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose
qualified first and second for the 43-car starting field, with Almirola topping
the speed charts with a lap at 192.940
mph.
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| Almirola copped the Coke 600 pole |
After
the sweep, Petty said that while he has put cars on the 600 pole in the past,
Thursday’s performance was especially gratifying.
“I think I sat on the pole
in 1961 because they ran 100-mile races and I won one of them,” he recalled. “It
wasn’t speed, it was just that we won the race.
The 200-time NASCAR Cup
Series winner said Almirola’s pole was a direct result of the effort expended
by the No, 43 team and new crew chief Mike Ford. “There’s nobody that works any
harder than our crowd,” he said. “It really makes me feel good that our guys
have been working hard for a long time and finally got a little bit of
recognition. Everything came together tonight with both cars and… it shows that
what these guys have been doing has been right. We just haven’t had
circumstances right.”
Petty called the front-row
sweep “a confidence-builder (and) a big deal. We’ve got bragging rights for a
couple of days here, so that makes all of us feel good.”
RPM competition Director
Sammy Johns echoed those sentiments, saying, “The last time I saw (Richard)
this giddy, I think, was in Victory Lane at Sonoma. It means a lot. It’s a
pleasure to work for Richard Petty. He lets us do our job and like he tells us
all the time, it’s our race team. It’s up to us to go out and get it done. So
it means a lot to sit here next to Richard Petty and know we’re sitting on the
front row for the Coca-Cola 600.”
 |
| Petty was all smiles Thursday |
Almirola
called his fast lap, “really awesome. To get my first pole right here in
Charlotte, I get to drive home and sleep in my own bed tonight. That’s really
cool.” He also lauded Ford’s efforts, saying this is the first weekend he has
been able to put his mark on the team’s cars. “He came on at Talladega and we
ran Darlington with what already was in the car,” said Almirola. “(When) we
came here for the All-Star Race last weekend, he’s like, ‘I’m gonna step off
the island this week. It may or may not work, but we didn’t run good enough
last week for it to matter.’ We struggled last week, so we came (back) with
something totally different and it’s paid off. We’ve got a really fast car.”
Ambrose, meanwhile, said the
team’s front-row qualifying effort was an indication of better things to come.
“We’re
a two-car independent team trying to take it to the big super teams. It’s just
a great night for us (and)… our team really has it together. It’s a proud day
for us and we’re looking forward to more things to come in the 600.
“Nothing would make me
happier than to see the King smile in Victory Lane,” said Ambrose. “And that’s
our goal. I’m proud to represent him and even prouder to run well for him, so
it’s an honor to be a driver for him. He should feel good about what we did
today, because a year and a half ago he singlehandedly saved this team and kept
it alive. He’s still steering the ship for us and he’s here at the track.”
Ambrose did admit
disappointment in not claiming the pole himself, joking, “Aric might be missing
a toe by Sunday. I might have to stomp him on the foot because he pretty much
took my first pole away from me. He got his out of the way and I’m still
looking for mine, but it won’t be far away with the way we’re running right
now.”
Petty said it doesn’t matter
which RPM car succeeds, as long as the team performs well.
“I’m not pushing the 43 more
than I’m pushing the 9 car; or even when we used to run the 44 (and) the 45
car. It didn’t make any difference as long as we were involved in some way,
shape or form. It’s sort of like a Hendrick deal. If any of his cars win, he’s
a winner and that’s the way I always looked at it.”
Photo Credits: Getty Images/NASCAR, SI.com
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