GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 National Guard/Subway Taurus (Finished 36th) - WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT FIRST PIT STOP. DID YOU THINK PIT ROAD WAS OPEN? "There was no flag out there and he definitely wasn't waving the red flag. I guess it was my fault. If they weren't open, they weren't open but there's been some confusion like that in the past. I'm not sure exactly what the deal was." YOUR RIGHT REAR TIRE JUST EXPLODED? "It exploded. I never touched anything all day. It just, bang, came apart and tore to pieces. I've seen the 19 car blow two right rears and when Bill Elliott was leading at Homestead he blew a right rear. I don't why it blows right rears, but now I'm a victim of it." YOU HAD A GOOD CAR. "Oh yeah, it was a really, really good car. It's too bad. I know we could have finished in the top five here easily."

MARK MARTIN - No. 6 Viagra Taurus (Finished 3rd) - "This is a great race team and I'm just so proud to drive the Viagra Taurus. I mean it. It's a pleasure and it's an honor. These guys are awesome. We had a killer race car on the long greens, but we can't help it the cautions came out. If that thing would have gone all the way we were sitting pretty, but I'm tickled to death to run third and be a contender - to get up there and lead the race on the long run. These guys are the best." A GOOD RUN. "We have such a great race team here. The Viagra team is just fantastic. I'm just honored to drive for these guys. I hate it that all those cautions came out there at the end. That was our shot, but I'm thrilled to death to run third here today and be a contender. If the cautions fell differently, we had something for 'em, but we knew if it went on the short runs that Kasey Kahne - I really thought he'd win the race, but Elliott Sadler sat up in the seat and got enough short runs there to pull it off." YOU'RE NOW 10TH IN THE STANDINGS. YOUR THOUGHTS? "It's not over." WHAT WAS IT LIKE OUT THERE? "It's just good to be a contender. I love this race team and respect 'em so much. They're just awesome."

ELLIOTT SADLER - No. 38 M&M's Taurus - VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW - "This is our best car in the shop and this team deserves it. I'm so proud of everybody at M&M's and Robert Yates Racing. This is what it's all about. It's cool to get our second win of the season and pretty much assure ourselves of being in the championship." HOW MUCH DID THE CAUTIONS HELP AT THE END? "A lot. I have the best crew chief in the business. He made a great air pressure adjustment at the end of the race and I didn't agree with it. I told him, 'I don't think we should do that,' and he did it. That's the reason why he's the winningest active crew chief in the garage. He got the car perfect for those last 12 laps. I drove my heart out. I'm so glad to be here in victory lane. It's unbelievable." THIS PRETTY MUCH CLINCHES IT GOING TO RICHMOND. "We need to get home to Virginia. I've got so many family and friends there that have supported me in my racing career. I can't wait to see my mom and dad. I haven't seen 'em in a long time. They haven't been to a Nextel Cup win with me, so maybe we'll get another one at Richmond."

DALE JARRETT - No. 88 UPS Taurus (Finished 8th) - YOU CONGRATULATED ELLIOTT? "Yeah, Elliott did a great job. The team is really doing a fantastic job all year and they got themselves ready and poised to win a championship I think, so I'm happy for them." HAPPY FOR YOUR GUYS, TOO? "Yeah, we fought hard. We just never got the car exactly right. I got in the wall early in the race coming out of four and we had to stop and repair that and just never got the car exactly right. We fought and got a top 10, but we were hoping we might get up there with Elliott." YOU'RE UP ONE SPOT, BUT STILL HAVE SOME GROUND TO MAKE UP. "It's gonna be tough. I looked up there one time and I think I was running in the top and everybody else I needed to try to gain on was right there with me or ahead of me. Those are the teams right now that are really performing week in and week out on a really good basis. We'll just go to Richmond and do the best that we can and see what happens." WHAT ABOUT THE START TIME FOR THE RACE? "The track changes and everybody knew that. It's the same for everybody, but the worst thing was the sun. If something would have happened on the backstretch, you couldn't see it at all. For about an hour-and-a-half there, it was just almost unbearable with the sun going down there, so they need to think about that a little bit, but, otherwise, it's the same for everybody." A LOT OF TRASH OUT THERE, TOO. "Yeah, I guess a lot of fans were eating a lot of stuff. We'd prefer that they throw their wrappers in a trash bag next time. I got a piece on my grille and made the car run a little hot one time, but that's just part of the guy." HOW DO YOU VIEW THE CHASE? "There's not much to talk about. You go to Richmond and do what you can do. That's basically where we're at. We'll go and get as many points as we can there and see what shakes out. I'm sure at the end of the race they'll tell me where I'm at. If we're in the top 10, great. If not, we'll race for 11th and see what we can do."

CARL EDWARDS - No. 99 Shop Rat Taurus (Finished 6th) - "That was fun. I had a blast. The whole night was fun. We had a great race car and I just drove, drove, drove. It was really awesome there at the end with just how good it was. You just don't want those races to end when you're that good and you're running sixth or seventh. You want to keep racing to get 'em, but I want to thank Shop Rat for being on the car. That was really cool and they were really fun and I just had a good time." YOU DIDN'T PANIC WHEN THE TIRE WENT DOWN EARLY. "No, we didn't panic. I was hoping they'd throw the yellow and they did. We got really fortunate there and that saved us. That was big." WHAT ABOUT THE LAST COUPLE LAPS. IT WAS PRETTY INTENSE. "That was fun. Those guys are such good drivers. It's amazing how good everyone is. It's unbelievable. I'm just really fortunate to be able to race with these guys. Ryan Newman didn't want me to work him over too hard because he's racing for that tenth spot in points, but I wasn't gonna cut him any slack. I could see how nervous he was. He kept holding his finger out like, 'Yeah, we're cool, we're cool.' I was thinking, 'Man, I'm gonna try my hardest to pass you, but, yeah, we're cool.' That was fun."

MARK MARTIN PRESS CONFERENCE - "We did have a great car and it's such a privilege to drive for this race team and these race cars. I just can't tell you how lucky I am to be able to work with this Viagra team. It was a great race car tonight. It was really incredible on the long runs - a little bit short on the short runs - all the cautions at the end left us holding the short end of the stick, but we sure had the hammer on the long runs. I was hoping it would run all the way down, but the last two cautions really put the hurtin' on us and I'm thrilled to run third - thrilled to death. At the end of the race those guys - the 9 and the 38 - could run a little bit faster for a few laps on their tires than we could and I actually really thought Kasey Kahne was gonna get his first win, but Elliott Sadler just sat right up in the seat and got it done. He didn't have much time left and he drove that thing. He got the deal done. It was awesome." YOUR TEAM IS GAINING MOMENTUM. WHAT DOES IT MEAN GOING TO RICHMOND? "I don't know." YOUR PHILOSOPHY FOR RICHMOND? "It's been a big focus to make the top 10 since Daytona. Unfortunately, we only made eight laps and left there 43rd in the points, so it's really been an incredible uphill battle. We have had such a great race team and run so good so much this year, but, unfortunately, we've had a lot of things that happened to us that really set us back a long way. We've just had to battle our way back and I really don't have any comments beyond that. Check with me on Saturday night about midnight and I'll give you a statement about the points." CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FORMAT FOR THIS RACE, GOING FROM DAY TO NIGHT? "It was incredibly hot out there, obviously. Everybody knows that. It was the slickest I had ever seen a race track this size and shape, and we, along with most others, were incredibly loose. No one knew how much the track was gonna tighten up and it really didn't tighten up that much, but it did tighten up enough so that once we got my car driveable in the heat we had to take some of that back out of the car at the end. But it didn't have the kind of personality swing that Charlotte does." WHAT ABOUT THE SUN? "It was pretty tough to see going down the backstretch. But, all in all, I think it was a good race. It certainly was from my standpoint." ANY CHANGES ON THE LAST STOP AND WHAT WAS YOUR STRATEGY ON THE RESTART? "We loosened the car up just barely with air pressure and hoped for a miracle. All throughout the race the 9 car would outrun me for 10 to 20 laps on new tires and then the 38 had a little bit, but, like I told you, he sat up in the seat and got it done at the end - Elliott Sadler did. We just didn't have time. My car just didn't shine on a 10-lap run." DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE NEW LIFE NOW? "The whole focus is on making the top 10 in points. The cars 15th through 10th are championship contending teams right now and if any of them make it, they will contend for that championship. I mean that. They all are capable of winning this championship. It's a dogfight to get in. If we don't get in, we'll just go win us some races. That's pretty good, too."

ELLIOTT SADLER PRESS CONFERENCE - "We had a pretty good race car all day. We were a little loose when the sun was up, which we knew when it got cloudy and dark that our car was gonna tighten up a little bit. We got a little too tight that one run when the 9 and the 6 pretty much left us, and I just have to give it to my crew chief. He made an adjustment the last stop that I didn't agree with and I'm man enough to say that I didn't agree with it. We made the stop and said, 'Trust me, this is adjustment we need to win,' and we got the track position we needed and when I took the lead, man, that thing was just on rails the last 10 or 12 laps and it was fun to drive. It's fun to drive and lead. I love racing Kasey and I love racing Mark. We worked together all day long and we were just in the right place at the right time. That's why I've got the winningest crew chief in racing and the adjustments he made was the reason we went to victory lane." DID YOU THINK KASEY OR MARK HAD ANYTHING FOR YOU AT THE END? "Yeah, I had been watching Kasey all night kill people in turn one and two on the outside. Todd and I talked about it that last restart. I thought it was gonna be a single-file restart and I thought, 'Man, I really need a lapped car under here.' Casey Mears pulled up, but he didn't race up and I said, 'I've got to do something different,' so I went through turn one and two extremely high to try to take the air off the 9 car's front end because I knew he had been trying to get on the outside of people all day. I knew if I got off of two good enough to where he couldn't get to me going into three and make me loose that I'd have a chance to stay in front of him. I hit a perfect corner. I probably couldn't do it again in a million years. We hit a perfect corner and got away from him a little bit and then we were able to kind of put some distance on him at the end. But I knew Kasey was gonna be good on the restart and I worked really hard so that when I gave it the gas it wouldn't spin the tires. I took off and got a great start and everything worked in our favor. It worked out good."

TODD PARROTT, Crew Chief - No. 38 M&M's Taurus - WHAT ABOUT THAT DECISION? "I guess with about 70 laps to go or 80 laps to go the caution came out and we had only like 10 laps on tires. That was a tough call. A lot of guys - the 9, the 24, the 48, the 6 - all got four tires. We talked about track position all day and our car was good on two tires. It wasn't the best on two tires, but we elected to put on two tires. The car got a little loose, but I just felt like if we could hold on to the top three or four - if we got a caution with 30 or 40 laps to go - we'd get on four fresh tires and have a shot to win the race. Elliott came on the radio and he said, 'I don't know. We're a little bit loose.' I said, 'Just trust me. Put a pound in that right-rear tire. That's what the car needs.' So we put four tires on it and that was the best the car had been all night long. That cat got up on the wheel. I'm so proud of him the way he drove tonight. He drove such a great race."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED - WHAT WAS YOUR VIEW OF THE RESTART WHEN YOU RESTARTED THIRD AND TOOK THE LEAD? "I tell you, I learned a lot from Kasey Kahne tonight. He was going through one and two on the outside and I actually found it when I was messing around with Robby Gordon on that restart. I went through the outside of one and two and I was like, 'Wow, that's a lot of grip up here,' so when we got the restart I went into turn one and Mark was kind of tucked in behind a lapped car and I knew the 25 only had two tires. I said, 'Shoot, I'm gonna get on the outside and see what happens,' and I came off turn two and I was like, 'Holy cow, I've got the lead.' I was going into turn three and just cleared three-wide and was gonna have a fine, clear path into three when the caution came out, but you've got to watch what the other guys are doing on the race track and where they're making passes at. I think Kasey made more passes on the outside of one and two than everybody else combined tonight, so as a race car driver I've got to learn to adjust to that and adjust to the track. When we got the green and went down in there, obviously, maybe Mark's and Brian Vickers' car was not good on the outside there. They stayed on the bottom and I got such a great run off of two and pinned 'em down that I just got a good run off of two. But I learned a lot from watching everybody else and paying attention, so I figured I'd try it and it worked out."

TODD PARROTT CONTINUED - HOW DOES IT FEEL TO ONLY HAVE TO START RICHMOND TO CLINCH A SPOT IN THE TOP 10? "That's great. That's a goal we set out to do at the start of the year. I think for this team to do that - to end up in the top 10 with what we've done and what we've accomplished this year - if we finish 10th in points that's a great accomplishment, but I think we have a shot to win the championship."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED - "I do too. It never ceases to amaze me how good we run at places that I'm not supposed to run good at. I think my best finish is 21st here coming into tonight and to lead some laps and run in the top four or five all night long, man, I'm pumped up. I'm not the best at Richmond either, but Todd has built me a bad race car for Richmond and I can't wait to take it. Hopefully, it'll make it through there good and we can take it on to New Hampshire. I've got two or three more just like this one that we've saved for the final 10. We've saved these cars just waiting to get in here and we're gonna show these guys what we're made of because we've got nothing to lose. I mean, I've got the winningest crew chief in racing and we're the biggest underdogs in the whole deal, so I figure we have nothing to lose. We're gonna go out there and race every race and every lap like it's the last and see what happens. But I didn't want to go to Richmond knowing that's a weak spot on my schedule and having to finish 10th or fifth or whatever to try to get in. That's why we decided to bring this car here after we had the problem at Michigan and gave up so many points, try to win the race and get as many points as we can and see what happens and it worked out."

TODD PARROTT CONTINUED - DID YOU THINK YOU COULD DO THIS SO QUICK? "Yeah, absolutely. Elliott's got a lot of talent - a lot of talent. I just knew with all the right people - we've hired some people over the winter and with the job Eddie D'Hondt did over the winter with our pit crew - he was in charge of that. That was his toy. He said, 'Let me worry about that. You worry about race cars and racing,' and that's what we've done. We've got a great team at Robert Yates Racing. We've a great teammate in Dale Jarrett and Mike Ford and them guys. They've done a fantastic job. I think the whole deal over the winter at Robert Yates Racing pulled together. A lot of bad things happened last year that nobody wants to remember and we just want to forget about. We all put our hearts and souls into it over the winter and we've done it all year long and here we are."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED - "I agree with Todd on that. The best decision we made was bringing him on board at the end of last year to give me and him some races to work together because the first four or five races we didn't understand each other - what I was saying and what he was saying. We were kind of speaking different languages and we both kind of put our feelings on our sleeves when we were talking about the race car, so we had to overcome that. The more we worked together, the better we got. When we showed up at Daytona this year, man, we were just in the full groove and getting better and better. Todd has done a great job of getting a great supporting cast around him. We have good people in the shop. Eddie D'Hondt has done an amazing job and I've learned so much, I cannot put enough emphasis on what I've learned from Dale Jarrett last season that has helped me so much as a race car driver this year. He's a big, big part of why we're here today. He's worked with Todd in the past and gave me a lot of suggestions and advice. Todd knows I like a car about like he does, so we almost just kind of fit right in together and things are working good for us."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED -- WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU CLINCHED? "I have to start. I think we can get a battery in there that will start the race. I told Robert Yates tonight when I crossed the checkered flag, I said, 'Boss man, this is why I came to Robert Yates Racing.' To win races and we've been in the top 10 all year long. This is a dream come true. I think we can win this championship. You know why? Because we have been very, very consistent. If you look at our past races - and we were running like sixth at Michigan when we had a tire blow - for the last six or seven races in a row, where we could have cracked coming down the stretch with pressure, we were like in the top 10 every single week except for only one race. That's showing that this is a strong race team and we've come a long way this year. I've never been to New York on stage. Everybody asks you every year. Are you going to New York? I'm not going to New York unless I get an award on stage. So I'm gonna go buy my tuxedo next week while I'm in Richmond because I'm back at home, and get all fitted up so I look all nice and snazzy when I get to New York."

TODD PARROTT CONTINUED - THOUGHTS ON RICHMOND. "It's gonna be crazy. I'm not sure what the points situation is. For us to clinch all we have to do is start, so it's a great feeling. But there's gonna be some awesome racing going on in Richmond on Saturday night, I can tell you that. I'm sure that things are close. I think our teammate is only like 40 points out of 10th. They tested Richmond, so they've got a great race going up there. I'm really looking forward to it. Like Elliott said, we're taking a new car up there. I'm excited about it because it's a lot like the car we had here and the car we had at Indianapolis. I've got some really good feelings about it, so just going to Richmond, it's a place I like. I love the place. I won some races with Dale Jarrett there and when I worked with Rusty we had a lot of success. I'm just trying to get it out of his head at these places he don't like and just try to turn things around."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED - DID THIS RACE LIVE UP TO THE DARLINGTON TRADITION? "I don't know. I think it's hard to replace a tradition with one race. I think California Speedway can make their own tradition and make their own racing. We definitely have great support from the fans here in Southern California this weekend, but I don't think you can replace a tradition in one race. I don't think you can even put that in the same sentence. Darlington was a big cornerstone of our sport and still is, but I am happy to win the first Labor Day race here at California. That means my name will be in the books for a long, long time. It's fun when you're on top. You're gonna say good things about the track and about the weekend, and what went on out here. But I would say California Speedway has a tough job ahead of them to make this Labor Day race as special as it has been in the past, but they've definitely got the people and the facility to do it. The track puts on great racing. We can race two and three-wide as you saw tonight, so I think they can build their own tradition and hopefully be here a long time." WHAT HAS THE PRESSURE BEEN LIKE THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE FOR THOSE WHO NEED TO RACE THEIR WAY IN AT RIR? "I think Richmond is one of the toughest races to go race to go clinch into something because it's such a tight race track. We saw a lot of wrecks there the first race and you slide around a lot. It offers a lot of two-wide racing, but it's such a tight track, so I do feel sorry for the guys that have to race to get in but that's part of the game. I think that's why they put Richmond at the end like that. As far as pressure, the reason Todd is laughing is that he's had to calm me down the last two months. I've been about to throw up before every race - just wanting to finish, wanting to run every lap. At Indy I was a nervous wreck. Last week at Bristol I was just white as a ghost before the race started. He's trying to calm me down. I blew my uniform out. I just had all kinds of problems last week before the Bristol race. That's why he's laughing because the last month has been like a circus around me. I've wanted this so much. I've been in racing a couple years now and I never got to go to the Waldorf. My sponsor has been in racing 14 years and they never won a race, let alone be in the top 10 in points. Mike Murphy was here tonight, the guy that got M&M's started and it was his first time in victory lane in 14 years of trying, so to be able to give back to people like that. Heck yeah, the pressure is off a little bit right now. I can relax this week."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED - HOW DO YOU BLOW OUT YOUR UNIFORM? "Look, I was so doggone nervous before Bristol. I don't even know. I was trying to zip it up and it didn't zip. I had to race the whole Bristol race with my uniform open. I had to duct tape it up. I had a big mess. Todd's trying to calm me down because he's been there, done that. That's what helps me. He's been in this championship race and won one and won races, and I'm over here about to cry every week because I'm so nervous. So he's keeping me calm and it works out good." WHAT WAS IT GOING FROM SUNSHINE TO DARKNESS? "One thing I did learn today is I will have a lot more tape on my windshield going into that back straightaway for next year's race. I couldn't even see half of the race down the back straightaway. I didn't have enough tape on. I ran a semi-dark shield, which just had a really good glare in it, but I could see really well at night. It's called a smoke shield, but the lighting system was great because I did have a dark shield on and the lighting was fine. The track did change. I think you saw guys that really hauled butt at the beginning of the race maybe struggle at the end. I knew as loose as my car was, but as much front grip as the car had in the daytime that I was gonna be pretty good come night time. We probably had the third or fourth-best car on long runs, but I think we had the best car on a 15-20 lap shootout. We got in the right track position and it paid out. I think we learned a lot as a team this weekend. I think everybody did and kind of know what we've got to do to start next year's race." HOW DID YOU FEEL AT NOON YESTERDAY WHEN YOU SPUN THE CAR AROUND TWICE? JEFF GORDON WAS RIGHT BEHIND YOU. "Yeah, Gordon came up to me and said that smoke was everywhere. He went left to miss me and barely did. I said, 'Jeff, that's why you're a four-time Nextel Cup champion. You know how to miss people.' So we laughed about it, but it was not a laughing matter at the time. We had the car so good yesterday morning. We didn't really mess with it and the track got really slick. I was a little loose and thought I could hang onto it, but I got behind some other cars and just took the wind off my spoiler. Like I told Todd, I just ran out of talent. It was too loose for me to drive. 'Todd, you've got to tighten this thing up. I'm not talented enough to drive it this loose,' so that's pretty much what we did. We came in and struggled yesterday afternoon in the beginning part of practice and then he put a setup in there that we hit on and we liked it in the last five minutes of practice and it worked out for us today. But I was scared to death because we've got a brand new car in the trailer that's never been raced or practiced or anything, so if I would have messed this one up I probably maybe would not be here sitting with you tonight, but everything worked out good." HOW DID YOU STAY FOCUSSED THROUGH LAST YEAR? "Last year we got off to a good start and then we had some things separating with the team - a lot of changes. I was trying to do too much. I was trying to carry the load too much. Poor Raymond Fox was kind of thrown into the Lion's Den with a rookie crew chief and no car chief or no engineering help at all, and here I am with my first year on the team trying to get used to these motors and different styles of cars. I was trying to do too much. I was driving over my head and was really just frustrated and when you're a frustrated driver, you're not a really good race car driver. We talked about that this weekend - Todd and I did - about a lot of stuff we need to work on during the race to make me more comfortable and he did a good job tonight. I was very frustrated because I had big plans and big pictures when I came over here to Robert Yates Racing and this year is what I expected how we would run last year. I think we're showing everybody now that we've got our teams together. We've got a great bunch of guys and we're showing it. We're still the only team in racing without a DNF and we're running a lot of laps and we're running up front a lot of laps. We've been qualifying good and been fast off the truck every Friday and we've got a lot of confidence in each other and it's paying off."

TODD PARROTT CONTINUED - YOU'VE PICKED IT UP OF LATE. "I think we just really understood and knew what we had to do to get in the top 10. We know we have a great race team. We have a great engine program. We have a great chassis shop, car building. Elliott, like he said, he's driving so much smarter now. He doesn't have to worry about much stuff going on, making all the calls and stuff. We're just doing what we know how to do. We're racers. We come out here to race. We work hard. We have a great time. I think that's the most important thing - this race team has a good time. We laugh. We cut up and we just have a good time. But, like I said, when it comes time to race we know what our job is and we just do it. I think that's a big reason why we're here."

ELLIOTT SADLER CONTINUED - "I think we're catching our stride. We're getting our cars better as the year goes on and we're getting more and more knowing what we need. We're just unloading so fast every Friday. We're not having to change a lot of stuff. Our motor program - Doug Yates and those guys on the motor program are getting better and better and better. I think you can tell with the way the 6 has been running, the 97 and the 16 here lately. It's a lot of fun working with this team and we're just getting better and better and better. We think we're hitting our stride right now and think we've got a lot to offer here in the final 10 races. I can't wait to get going. I'm like a pit bull chomping at the bit. I'm ready to get going. I'm ready to race. I'm ready to be only five points away from the guy in front of me and let's let it all hang out. Let's do some racing because Todd's got me some great race cars lined up that nobody has seen yet this year and we think they're gonna be fast."

TODD PARROTT CONTINUED - HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH ELLIOTT'S NERVOUSNESS? "I think it's great. I think it's cool to see the intensity in his face and somebody who cares about what they're doing and what they want so bad. I know the feeling. I've been there before. I've been about to throw up many times at many races and just to see it and to have the experience, to be able to work with him and all the guys on this team it's fun. It's cool. A lot of the credit goes to my dad. A lot of the things that he taught me about racing and how to act and how to treat people and just what to do in pressure situations. I'm having a great time. It's been so much fun to watch him the last two months. He doesn't know it, but I've had a great time."