JADE BUFORD (No. 55 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage): “This shows a lot of the hard work from the team from over the off-season. That showed when we were fast right after unloading off the track. This is not a bad way to start the season. This is GRAND-AM, so you never know how tomorrow’s race is going to go. It could be crazy – so it’s not bad to be up front.” (Captured his first career CTSCC pole in Grand Sport qualifying)

JOEY ATTERBURY (No. 51 Roush Performance/Starstruck Ford Mustang Boss 302R) – “Qualifying was interesting. We only got one lap in because of an incident. It was a good lap, but I definitely feel there is more left in the car. We set up the car for a few laps. We were hoping to get a little more time out there, but we’ll settle for what we got and we’ll go on to the race tomorrow. Qualifying was exactly like last year – not many green-flag laps (Shelby Blackstock won the pole in 2012 driving this car). We’re happy that we are where we’re at.”

JACK ROUSH JR. (No. 61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R): “It’s great to be back in GRAND-AM. We just want this race to go well to set up a good season for 2013. Qualifying went well, so I think we’re in pretty good shape for the race. You never about these races, though. As soon as you think you’ve got it figured out, a curve ball is thrown at you. My wrist is coming along well. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about it on the track.” (Roush fractured his wrist – requiring surgery – in a practice crash at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in September that caused him to miss the final two races of the 2012 season.)

AL CARTER (No. 45 Fall-Line Motorsports/Eagle Technology Group/B+.org BMW M3): “We were just starting to get rolling, so I think you would have seen some quicker times. We only got to finish one hot lap. It’s going to be a good race. It’s good to see a few different manufacturers up front. I’ve got a lot of red in front of me (the two Roush Performance Ford Mustangs) and the pole-winning Aston. It’s going to be a good race. I would have been excited to be in the top 10, so it’s great to be in the top five.”

RYAN ELLIS (No. 30 i-Moto Mazda Speed 3): “I got a huge draft on my last lap. I was trying to help my team owner – Glenn Bocchino – get to the front, because he was a little bit farther turn. I got a good run out of the bus stop and picked up about a second. That pulled him up to P-4 and put me on the pole. This is huge. The only time I won a pole in GRAND-AM I also won the race (Daytona in 2011). I’m really happy to be back up front, and really happy to do it at Daytona. Obviously, this is one of my favorite tracks. We won the championship last year, so it’s great to have i-Moto up front this year. We’re a little down on power, but the car’s running great and we hope to have a 1-2-3 here.”

TYLER COOKE (No. 81 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i) – “That’s the best way to start off in a new car. We had a rough season last year with a different team, so to start off second like this is great. Qualifying went great, so we hope to keep it up for the race. I hope to work with the No. 56 BMW, and see what we can do from there.”

MIKEY TAYLOR (No. 171 APR Motorsport Volkswagen Jetta): “Qualifying went great. We were lucky to have a tow from the other competitors. I pushed really hard. We’ll work on the car today and see how we do tomorrow. It’s my first time here, and I’m hoping for the best. This is definitely a great way to get my first GRAND-AM race started. We’ll go in the race tomorrow and see how it goes. Ian (co-driver Baas) has been doing a lot of mentoring, and I really appreciate it.”

C.J. WILSON (Owner, CJ Wilson Racing): “I feel improvement is our biggest thing. We’ve added Stevan McAleer – who won the MX-5 Cup for us last year – to our lineup. Our team did OK last year, and we gained a couple of seconds in development. So we’re ahead of our pace from last year, and that’s good for our program. I feel we have four championship-caliber guys, so it’s up to us to develop the cars the best we can. We had some good and back luck last year. I really enjoy this series. There are 30-40 cars in our class, and everyone is trying to win. You have to get it 100-percent right to win. You have to have the crew, car and drivers all working right, along with having some luck.”