"Our performance was lackluster at best Sunday." -- Doug Herbert after losing to Doug Kalitta in the opening round of eliminations

"This has been the year from hell, even when we were winning there was always something wrong. I think it was because I was so afraid that I was going to hurt him (Dixon) on account of the tires (after the crash). It was that distraction that over-shadowed the entire season." -- Dick LaHaie, crew chief for Larry Dixon, after their second-round loss to Scott Kalitta, referring to his driver's crash at Bristol in the spring

"It's tough to lose that way two days in a row." -- Schumacher after losing to a .018 holeshot by Scott Kalitta in the semis

"Last year on our Forever Red tour, it was a pretty big bummer going out in the first round of the final race. We got a second chance and this is certainly the way you want to do it. I'm tickled about going out with a win this year." -- Kenny Bernstein referring to his official retirement season in 2002, and after winning his fourth race over the last five events

"The car left the starting line really hard and it just knocked the tires loose and started spinning them. When you watch the car on the replay, it's everywhere. It went wherever it was pointed last. When you spin the tires, even though you lift the throttle, the tires continue to spin like a big flywheel, so wherever you point it, it's going to keep going that way even though you've got the wheels turned. When you get back on the throttle, it goes the other way. It was a handful." -- Bernstein again, on his tire-smoking win over Scott Kalitta in the final round

"I quit counting." -- Bernstein again, on how many times he pedaled in the final

FUNNY CAR

"We almost missed it, but almost doesn't count." -- Phil Burkart on hitting a timing block in his third qualifying attempt

"Once the guys get back from vacation we're going to turn the trailer upside down, shake every part out of it, and start re-stocking it with new parts for the 2004 season." -- Bob Gilbertson on his plans for next year before qualifying 14th, then fouling out by crossing the centerline in the first round against Whit Bazemore

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"Drag racing is a game of inches. It's so unforgiving. You have only one shot at it, only four or five seconds. If you make a bobble, you don't have 400 laps to make it up. If you try to be aggressive, well, these cars have 7,000 horsepower, and they can be volatile. You are on the edge." -- Cruz Pedregon before grabbing the final qualifying spot with a 4.929-second pass

"Good things are worth waiting for." -- Gary Scelzi after establishing his sixth track record of the season -- a 328.38-mph pass in the third qualifying round -- and backing it up with a 4.769 at 327.27 mph in the final qualifying session that placed him fourth for raceday

"I tried to pedal it and it blew the blower off." -- Gary Densham on his first-round loss to Bob Bode

"We didn't lose a cylinder. It just moved to the left. It was a total surprise when it shot left and crossed the centerline." -- Scotty Cannon after being disqualified from his first-round match against Del Worsham

"I had no idea it would do that. We haven't had the shake for several races. It's very frustrating." -- Tommy Johnson Jr. on the tire shake that cost him the first round against Cory Lee

"If the fans continue to support me it will drive me to a higher level. The worst thing that could happen to me mentally would be if I thought I had lost the support of my fans."
-- Cannon again, on his planned return to Pro Mod next year

"That's not the way we wanted to end it. We were going for the record." -- Tony Pedregon on the end of his championship-winning season and after going up in smoke in round two against Lee while trying to back up the 4.721 he ran in qualifying number one