Nextel All-Star Challenge - Chevrolet Friday Quotes

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

About your new radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio: "We're excited about this. This is something that we've been working on for eight or nine months now. Everybody knows I like to talk, typically. This is a natural deal for us and they said I could talk about anything I want whenever I want. There was no second guessing whether or not I wanted to do this. This is a great partnership for us; obviously this is gonna be a lot of fun. This is probably the first time that there's a forum where we can just sit down, Matt and I, not really feel like we're doing a formal interview but feel like we're just sitting around a table just talking. Talking about what happened during the week, what controversial topics are going on that week. It's going to be fun stuff to do this and Paul Brooks at NASCAR was really a big part of helping us get this done so I want to thank Paul and everybody at NASCAR for helping out with this. The meeting we had in New York a couple weeks ago - everybody at Sirius has really made us feel welcome, not only as a partner but as a part of their family. I'm really excited about getting going this fall; we're going to do a couple shows this fall to get the cobwebs out and learn from our mistakes before we get going hard core in January. I'm really looking forward to it."

It will be kind of like 1999 when you were the rookie; trying to keep you out of trouble. "But really, when you look at it, I was just talking about our meeting we had - we were sitting around and we started, zingers back and forth. And Scott Greenstein, the president of the entertainment division said 'this is exactly what we're hoping the show to be. You guys having fun and having people like Celine Dion and Garth Brooks, Kid Rock; anyone from the entertainment industry plus the racing side of things. A.J. Foyt, in maybe the month of May. For us to have fun, but also, if our moms are listening, they may not agree with our opinions on stuff but they're not going to be embarrassed the next day. Well, mine may be, but she's still on my payroll so I'm not going to care if she's embarrassed or not, we're going to have fun with it no matter what.

"With my background in racing not only through the Nextel Cup side, so many aspects of my career we can cover and talk about, I won't sound like an idiot because I've been a part of all of it at some time or another. So we'll be able to talk about whatever that topic is in racing that weekend. Matt will be able to talk about the new hair car products out on the market. One other neat thing about it too is that it's not going to be about, say, Matt Kenseth comes on the show and he's had five top-10s in the last six races. It will be more about what Matt does away from the track, what Matt has as far as the fun side of things. Motorcycles, but more importantly, whatever Katie's doing that week. It's going to be fun. This is something we think you guys will like - I think it's going to be more behind the scenes. All the TV channels do such a great job of keeping the stats and everybody knows about what's going on during the weekends but this will be about what you didn't get a chance to see and what you don't see on camera. Everything is going to be fun.

"There's going to be some great website content where fans can log on to the website. It's kicking off at www.tonystewart.com. You can link on and then subscribe. To me it's a big honor to be a part of the Sirius family just because I'm such a big fan. Plus you don't have to pay for the subscription."

How do you feel about becoming a member of the media? "I've got big shoulders, always have always will. It's going to be fun. Now owning a race track, I've hit motorsports from just about every angle. From a driver, a fan, a crew member, a car owner, a promoter and now, a media member. I don't know what's left. I haven't driven an ambulance or a wrecker and I think I can skip that part of it anyway. I think we've pretty much covered every aspect of it now."

Will your radio duties migrate to race commentary, possibly to Busch or Truck series? "I don't know. I've done some of that in the past with ESPN with Thursday Night Thunder races and I've done some Busch races but with the race teams that I have and the race track it's probably going to keep me from doing a lot of that stuff in the evenings. This is something that I know every Tuesday night I'm going to have time for. No matter if there's a race at Eldora or there's a USAC race or an NST race somewhere. I don't know if I'll do any TV stuff or not but this is something I was more excited about than the TV commentator stuff."

Why did you pick Matt Yoakum as your co-host? "He was all we had left. He was the last guy left available. Seriously, the great thing is Matt and I have worked together a lot through the TV stuff so we're really good friends so it's kind of a natural deal for us to get together like this."

What's the track like? "What's that got to do with satellite radio? It is what it is. With the track being fresh like that they had to make a tire that was going to live. They've definitely done that. We're not going to run out of tire. We just have a lot less grip right now."

Do you have a strategy? "You just gotta play it by ear. I don't think any of us have really made long runs since this has been repaved. I think for the most part we've got to sit here try to figure out what we have to do to make long runs. Nobody really ran more than eight or 10 laps at a time, I mean, Kasey Kahne had the longest run and I think it was eight or nine laps this morning. I think it's a big question mark for all of is right now."

You like less grip better than blown tires? "We never had trouble. We cut a tire last year but don't blow tires historically anyway. But if it makes it safer for everybody it's a better deal. Track position is probably going to be everything because I don't see guys being able to pass very easily. When you take mechanical grip away from the cars you instantly make the aero grip more important. We're putting ourselves in a position where track position is going to be absolutely everything."

So it's like a hot, slick race track? "Not really. When the car loses grip it loses grip all at once. It's not like a hot, slick track where you lose a little bit of grip and you can slide around and still keep control of the car. You'll have some grip and when it loses grip it loses a lot of grip because the tires is so hard. It just can't grip the track. So it's making it pretty difficult right now."

Do you think this will be wild as usual or cautious because of tires? "I don't think it's going to be a case where everyone is extra cautious; I really don't know. We won't really know until tomorrow. My guess is that it's really going to be hard to get close enough to cause problems with each other. I think everybody will kind of just settle in."

Is this tire too hard? "Yeah, it's too hard for the cars to feel comfortable to drive. If they go soft then it wears the tires of 'and we're down to the cords and blowing tires it's too soft. At least from this side we're on the safe side and know that we've got a tire that none of us have to worry about running out of before the end of a run. This is the hardest tire I've ever ran on any kind of car. It's a tough situation for Goodyear too. They're trying to give us something that we can all be competitive on but something that's safe too. The good thing is they're looking out for the safety of us first. It's up to us to make the best of what we've got now."

You got a 100 million dollars for the deal with Sirius? "I got 99 million. I'm just kidding. I didn't get close to that. To me, this is such a great learning experience and a great opportunity to work with Sirius that the experience itself is the value of it. You can't really measure it at this point. It's going to be fun; to have some of the special guests that we're going to have on the show and to be able to talk to the fans and see what the fans have on their minds and to be able to talk about it live is an aspect that I'm really excited about. I think it's really going to bring a lot of fun to it. I mean, everybody knows me. It's not going to be some vanilla cookie-cutter show. It's going to be a show that's going to have some arguing going back and forth occasionally and we're going to speak our mind. If people don't like it there's always another channel to turn to. I think that this is going to be one of those shows that people have really looked forward to for a long time. It's not the same thing that you can get anywhere else. It's going to be very unique and because of that I think it's going to draw a big audience."

You've said that your opinion doesn't matter because you're a driver. Does that still apply? "That's the great thing about it - we'll be able to talk about whatever we want. Even on topics that I'm not necessarily the big input on. We'll still be able to talk about those topics and from Matt's side he'll have input from it and from the fans' side we'll get to talk about it too. There will be weeks where we have crew chiefs and NASCAR officials on and to hear their sides of the story. It's going to be fun to talk about this stuff live on radio where we really haven't had this kind of forum here in the past. We don't have to worry about F.C.C. fines or this and that. we really have an open line to talk about anything we want. It's a pretty remarkable format to be under."

What does it mean to be a NASCAR star in the U.S.A.? "For us it's the highest level of racing so to be one of 43 drivers that starts a race every week and there's over a million drivers in the U.S. that want to be in one of these 43 cars, it's a huge honor to be here."

What do you prefer, open-wheel or NASCAR? "I like NASCAR better just from the standpoint that we're able to run so close to each other. With IndyCars you're a little more aero-dependant and line dependant. The competition level is so high here between teams. It's not so much just the drivers but there's so many good quality teams in this series that in a week there's 10 or 12 guys that can win at this level where in the IRL and CART right now there's really only three or four guys that you can count on as being the favorites to win."

Have you ever raced in Europe? "I'm barely able to speak English so I don't know if I would survive a race in Europe. I'm still trying to perfect the English language let alone trying to speak a foreign language."

In 1999 and in 2002, you raced in both the Indy 500 and the NASCAR race the same day. How do you do it? "Easy, you get yourself in debt to where you have to race that much. No, it's just fun. To me, being a full-time driver in the Cup series and growing up in the state of Indiana where the Indianapolis 500 is, that's always been a lifelong dream of mine to win at Indianapolis. The first year Home Depot sponsored both the Indy car and the stock car and the second year it was a partnership with Home Depot and Target. Chip Ganassi helped us the second year. We had a lot of help. We had a trained that went with us to make sure we would be fit to run both races. We ran the 500-mile race and we had about an hour break in between during the flight to relax and get ready and shift the gears in your mind back to stock-car racing. Obviously missing the drivers meeting we always had to start the tail so you had a couple of laps by yourself to ready yourself for what is going to happen. A 600-mile race is a long day so if you've got a good enough car to win then starting at the tail was no issue."

You met George Bush. What did you say to him? "Anything I wanted, which was great. It was cool. George Bush is really a neat guy. He's really down to earth. The one thing that was probably my biggest memory is that no matter where we went or what was going on I felt like I was in the safest place on earth. Knowing I was with him because whatever happened I was going to be right there with him and you know he's going to be safe. It's just neat. Somebody that has that much power and that much influence over so many countries and of course the United States. It's just neat to be with someone who has that much responsibility but really seems down to earth at the same time."

You referred to media questions as not so intelligent sometimes. "I'm sure I'll probably ask questions that aren't so intelligent also. The good thing is I'll be able to do like I've done with promoters and sanctioning bodies and I'll be able to look at it from a perspective that I haven't seen before. I'm sure I'll get a greater appreciation from the media side."

A lot of tough questions you want to ask? "I'm sure they'll come to me as we go. Right now I'm still in driver mode today but by the time we get going with the radio show I'm sure week to week there's going to be things that pop up and always remind me of the topics that I want to talk about next week."

Who do you want to interview? "Everybody! I want to get as many people as we can get. I think it's going to be fun to have the diversity of guests that we have so it's going to be really cool."

Who's your favorite to win the Indy 500 right now? "I think the competition this year is probably as tight as it's been for a long time. Obviously the Ganassi team and Penske team are probably the two teams to watch right now. For the most part, there are still quality cars - you look at the practice speeds and for the limited amount of track time we had it's pretty competitive so far. I still think it will be a good race in all honesty."

Do you think it has lost a bit of its luster? "I don't know. I think the split has probably hurt more than anything. I think I'm probably more excited this month of May listening to the fact that the two sides are talking with each other and hopefully after May is over with we'll be able to hear an announcement that maybe we'll be able to get these two sides back together again."

Do you think it might happen? "I don't know. I'm really on the outside looking in. I not really involved that close to it anymore. It's something I hope happens for sure because I think it will be stronger and better getting both sides back together."

What about Sprint cars? The great thing about owning those race teams is that it's a nice opportunity for me to help guys that are coming after me. I didn't get where I am by doing it all myself. I had guys give me a break and give me a chance to drive good cars. It's nice to be able to go and help some young guys do the same thing now. At the same time it keeps me close to the sport and it keeps me involved with the series that have helped me get where I am. Down the road, there's a seat available. If I got an off night and I want to go drive a race car I can go do that whenever I want."

Have you ever thought of getting you feet wet in other series? "No, I think with the two different USAC teams I've got and the winged sprint car team that's plenty with owning a race track."

Even if you're not racing anymore? "It's so busy with the racetrack and those teams that it really doesn't leave much time. When I quit driving I don't want to be busy seven days a week anymore. I want to be in a position where I can just sit here and do what I want to do. If I want to go race on a Friday night I can go race, if I want to go on vacation for a week I can do that without having to be obligated every week like we are with the Cup and Truck and Busch series."

How hands-on can you be with your teams right now? "Not as much as I would like, obviously, doing what we're doing now. This helps me pay the bills for that. The good thing is I've got really good people in the right places running the organizations. We've got great team managers on both sides and great crew chiefs so if you do that, the rest of it takes care of itself, it seems like."

How many teams do you own? "On the Outlaw side three and on the USAC side five or six."

For the 600, is this going off in to the unknown with the new track, fuel cells, etc.? "I don't think so. We've already been testing here and we've had practice here today. I think a lot's still a question mark as far as how it's going to be to race with people because none of us really ran around each other a lot."

Will smaller fuel cells change the pit strategy for a 600-mile race? Yeah, it's going to seem like it never ends because even if you do get a green-flag run it's going to be half as long or less. It's just one of those deals where the pit crews are going to be worn out; they're definitely going to earn their money.

About Mark Martin: "I honestly think that the one thing people bring up first is that he left here and didn't win a championship but I think everybody will overlook all that when they think of Mark Martin right off the bat. I think that's the third or fourth thought that will come across their minds as far as what he's done for this sport is be a mentor to so many drivers. How he's really helped establish the etiquette of this sport is something I'll really remember him for. He's always been a very competitive driver but he's a driver that everybody respects. Just because he's very fair about how he races everybody. He's very patient and he's best at teaching other drivers about it. Just the leadership he's shown is what everybody respects, I think. You look at what he's done not only in not only in Cup but in the Busch Series when he was running two races every weekend. He's won a ton of races and a ton of big races so I think he's somebody that everybody will remember for a very, very long time."

About the radio show again: "I think it's just going to be fun. We've got a great opportunity to do a show where we can talk about dirt track racing, NASCAR racing, Trucks, sports car racing, whatever's going on that week. The good thing is I've pretty much ran in every one of those series so I can talk intelligently about it and we really got an open forum to talk about whatever we want. If it's something we don't like we can talk about it. With phone calls from the listeners and the guests that we have we'll be able to talk about what's on their minds; add a lot of different angles to the show. It should be good."

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., No. 8 Budweiser Monte Carlo SS:

On how track, car and tires were during practice: "The track is in great shape, it is real smooth. The tire is a terrible choice, it is real hard. You can't get a hold of the race track, it is just really really hard. They did an awesome job on the race track."

Is this going to be a wild All-Star race? "I don't know, it is hard to say what we will get."

On qualifying changing strategy: "There is none, you just go as hard as your car will go every lap. That is what I do every week. I don't really know that you can have a strategy, if there is one, I am not smart enough to figure it out."

On enjoying the Challenge: "It is the only one of its kind. I enjoy it; it is a lot of fun. The All-Star race is a fun race. We always have fun."

On any changes in the grip of the track since testing: "Not much, the tire is real hard and it is hard to get a hold of the track. The grip is only going to get worse from here because the asphalt on the track gets older every day. You just go a lot slower that you think you are capable of going. I feel like I am crawling around there. It feels real slow. You can't drive hard, as you want because the car will just slide the tires. It is putting to hard surfaces together. If you have one that is soft and grippy, it will get a hold of that hard surface which is what a tire normally does. They have it real hard, so you can't run real hard and it slides. They had to put a tire underneath us we wouldn't tear up. I don't think they have anything to worry about with this one. It is pretty tough. I am not saying it is wrong, I am just saying it is really really hard. The hardest tire we run is Talladega and this is two steps harder than that. So there is nothing like it."

On what is being learned for 600 next weekend: "I am just trying to get my car where it will get a hold of the race track. We are looking for what ever it takes to get a hold of the track. That is what I am looking for here this weekend, 600 weekend and every weekend after that."

Will you use the same car for 600? "That is up to Jr. (Tony Eury, Jr., crew chief). He knows what he wants to run here. He has the good ideas as far as what kind of car we need for the 600. We normally don't run the same car. It is the same you do at the Shootout at Daytona in February. You bring a car that gets out of here reasonably in one piece, you have reached your expectations."

On team attitude this weekend versus next weekend: "They just get serious next week. Everybody wants to win, there are bragging rights here, but if you don't win, well...oh well. Next week it is back to the same old grind of getting the points, getting the good finishes and winning what you can win. "

On if guy that runs the fastest winning the race: "The guy that wins will be the guy that is going to have the car that can run the best the longest. I know that goes for pretty much any weekend. But with this tire, from what I have seen, I go out there and run about three laps and my tires start chattering around the race track. I have watched guys that I am around and they are chattering around, sliding up the track, slow, pushing and sliding, doing everything they can to hang on to it. So it is going to be won by the guy who has the least of that happening. I talked to Jr. and he told me he knew I had a lot of sh** going on that I didn't like and my car is kind of sliding all over the place but I am not as bad as I think I am. There are a lot of people a lot worse off than you are, which is hard to believe cause that thing is pushing pretty bad."

On whether he would rather have a softer tire and risk failure or tires like this: "There is nothing to be nervous with this tire. It is easy. You just go real slow and ride around. It is not fast, it is really slow. Last year was fun up until you blew a tire. I don't think we can go any faster than we can go right now. I don't think there is another second. I don't think you will spin out, you will just push. The front tires just slide because they are the first one in the corner. With a hard tire, that is how it works. Some guys say they are a little bit loose. Martin (Truex) says he is loose in, I have gotten my car where it is loose but the front still chatters even when it is sliding the back. It is still going to be fun, I am not trying to turn this into a bad thing at all. That tire is real darn hard. I would have rather taken a couple of chances on a softer tire. We are way away from the tire we ran last year, they went a long way. I would have rather met somewhere in the middle even if we would have had to take a few chances. We are going to have guys blow tires. We had guys blow them at the test and it wasn't the tires fault. We had tires that rubbed this or that, that is a setup error. It doesn't break loose all of a sudden type of thing, it just chatters, you can't turn the wheel and the tire slides across the race track. Most everyone I see is pushing."

On inversion game: "I just go. I would feel awful if I got beat by who rode around to get the inversion. I don't think anyone really worries about it, you just go. If I am sitting there and I am running third and it is going to be a whole lot of work to catch the guys in front of me, I probably would just sit and finish third. But I am not sitting in third to get the inversion. I am riding third because I can't catch them. You race what you have. I think the 20-lap run to the finish is ok, but I think 10 laps at the end was better. That was TNT, that was exciting. 20 is a lot of laps, you can just run around there and get bored. But 10 laps was fighting fast, it was the last round of the match if you know what I mean, not 20 laps."

On being a celebrity: "I don't think about that a whole lot. I just go out there and race and have fun, if it makes us popular, that is just a bonus. It gets you to the front of the line every once in a while, so I guess there are a few good perks that go along with it."

On family heritage in racing in the U.S. "We do have a lot of that here. We have a lot of race cars and a lot of racing here. In Formula One where there are only 20 or so guys, other than Villeneuve and his family heritage, there aren't a whole lot of guys with racing heritage. It is a real hard sport to get involved in. You pretty much have to know somebody to get in and if that somebody just happens to be your Daddy, it makes it a lot easier on you that it does on the next guy and allow you to put yourself in good equipment. If it is your family, it is right inside the garage door, right outside the house. I would love to go over there and run, they make a lot of money, but I don't know if I am good enough. Those guys are good over there."

On mental preparation to take chances in the All-Star race: "I don't know that I take more chances or drive any difference. It is a million dollars. If you aren't leading or riding right on the guy who is and go for the lead on the last lap or two, you really don't drive any different. If you are put in that position at the end, that is when you decide what you are going to do that you wouldn't do in a points race. You might give that guy a little benefit of the doubt in the 600 where as in the All-Star race, it might get pretty nasty."

Thoughts on million dollars to the winner of All-Star: "A million dollars is bad a**. To me that is a dang a lot of money. I remember when it was a couple hundred grand. When I won it, it was $500,000. Now it is a million dollars, that is a lot of money. The dollar value to other guys might be different than the dollar value to me, my money value talks different. But it is still enough to get us to do some pretty stupid stuff out there."

On Sport Century special done on him: "I saw it and this is what I think, we told the story and we have all read the story and we have talked about the story and I think this is the best summarization of myself and how I feel about it. How I saw it happen. I was really happy with it. The Driven was really good but I think this is definitely the best if people who want to really know who I am. There might be some things in there that I would rather have skipped. But it is all true and it is all real. I think it is the best job I have seen done."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

Do you try to play the chess game of inversions? "No, what we do is try to get the best starting position that we can with the best race car that we possibly can and hope that it falls your way. I feel like you know it's going to be inverted somewhat and we certainly lean towards that so it's not a bad idea to necessarily fall back or at least be back a few positions. All I know is that I want the best car I possibly can have and 20 laps in the last segment is still a lot of laps.

Can you have a strategy for the inversion? Yeah, one is with this tire - number one - is don't wreck. It's near impossible to drive down pit road let alone be out there at 190 mph. Right now cold tires are a real handful when you're trying to get the car to come to you and the track to come to you, I think is your number one strategy. Next is just to have a good, balanced race car along the run.

What do you think about this event? I love this event; I think it's a great event and it's exciting for everybody. The competitors, drivers, pit crews, the crew chiefs, the strategy, all of that. For the fans as well. It's very exciting.

What are your expectations with the new surface and hard tires? Well, the toughest thing is to get heat into them (tires) and once you get heat into them they're not too bad. Today we had a day practice with a pretty hot race track and a tire that just doesn't have a lot of grip so it was a handful for everybody. We're going to be racing at night; I think the trick is to just get some temperature into them as fast as you possibly can.

You sounded pretty happy on your radio the way the car was handling today. Man, you must not be listening to my radio. I'm very happy with my race car, but not in these conditions. It's really a waste of time to be out there at two or three o'clock in the afternoon when we're racing at night.

You said you'd be better off when it's cooled down a little bit? I think so. I think we're going to be real good like we were in the test. I thought in the test we were real good at night. A lot of guys have got their cars tuned up to run pretty good; they might even qualify pretty good but hopefully we're going to race real good.

On taking chances: Well, with this tire you have to pick and choose when you can take chances and in this race you have to take chances. The only way you're going to win this race is to take some chances. But I think it's about picking and choosing when that happens.

How is the tire affecting what you can and can't do? It's affecting it a lot. Like tonight, for qualifying. You can't get the tire to stop in your pit stall, you can't get it to take off, you can't get any temperature in it to take off to run just a couple laps. I think the trickiest conditions we're going to have is qualifying. Especially for tonight. You're going to see a lot of penalties tonight from guys missing pit road, missing their pit stalls. Possibly even guys losing control of their cars on the race track because it's so hard to keep temperature in their tire. Once you get about five or six laps on the tire and get some temperature in them they feel really good.

So are there concerns for the actual race? Not as far as having tire problems but for getting grip there's a lot of concern. I'm very concerned. I still feel the same way - I think the tires are way too hard, the fuel cell is too small and we're just going to have to do the best we can with it. I think 600 miles next week is going to be a race of survival and a race of being smart, especially with this race starting during the day. I think that you'll have issues with trying to get temperature in those tires and the car being underneath you under slick conditions during the day and still be good at night.

What do you mean by not wreck? It's just so hard - you have no feel. The first 10 laps out there during the heat of the day, I've about wrecked four or five times. It's literally that out of control. It's not a fun feeling and everybody's experiencing the same thing. After you get temperature in the tire it's not bad. Running at night under good conditions if we get some temperature in the tires we're going to have a lot of fun with this tire. We're not going to have to worry about it blowing and having tire failures but there's still a major concern as far as just having enough grip to be secure out there.

Is this one big test session for the 600? We're all competitors and we get out on that racetrack all wanting to win. There's some guys who are going to want to go for it more than others. If a guy picks and chooses correctly when he goes for it he can take risks to win. If you try to take risks too early on a set of tires you're going to find yourself in the wall without a chance to win this race. I still think there's a lot of strategy that's going to come in and obviously a good car is going to be important. There's some guys that are better are colder tires and some guys that are better on older tires and that's going to be the real balance as to who's going to win this race.

Is this race something you consider a lot of fun? Yeah, I do. I like the challenge it puts out there. It's fun, it's different and I always look forward to this event.

Mark Martin says that only sissies play games with the inversion. I can see Mark Martin saying that. That's kind of the way I've always looked at it. If you knew exactly what the inversion is going to be and you're trying to win the race then your objective is to win the race. I've always just gone out there and run as hard as I possibly could and if it's mean to be it's meant to be. You just try to get your car into the best position you can in every single segment.

If you mess with the inversion, sometimes it will bite you. You don't know for sure what that inversion is going to be. I think the only guys that play the inversion are guys who don't have a shot of winning with their car being fast enough to win.

How does the track compare to last year? The race track is fantastic. I think they've done an awesome job with it. It's smooth, it has a wide groove to it, I think race track-wise I'm very happy with what they've done.

How would you have described it last year? It certainly wasn't optimal. They definitely made some mistakes trying to grind the race track. I think they were trying to prolong the inevitable of needing to pave this race track and I never blame anybody for trying to do what's best but that work certainly didn't turn out all right.

How much more do you have to 'race the racetrack' this week? For me I'm finding that I've got to race the racetrack a lot at the beginning of a run and five, six seven laps on a run I can't pay attention to what the other competitors are doing; I've just got to race the racetrack. Once I get past that and my car really comes in strong I can worry about the competitors.

Are you more worried about the hard tires this year or last year's tires blowing? Good question - I think I was more concerned with tires blowing but I'm still very concerned about the hard tires. It's not a lot of fun. I just really question the fact that they know we've got a hard tire and not a lot of grip and the only practice they gave us was a day practice for a night race and night qualifying. I don't think that made much sense at all.

If guys push it early will it cause more wrecks? If guys push it early, yeah. Like I said, these tires don't have any grip until they get a lot of heat in it and then it's pretty good. Every time there is a caution when they drop the green I'm going to be concerned with myself and everyone else around me and that's going to happen every time. Every time you put cold tires on when it's green or after a caution I'm going to be concerned.

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

What is your opinion of the level of competition this year? "There are a lot of good cars and it is highly competitive. There is probably eight or ten cars that have a chance of winning, and qualifying is going to be really important with only 30 laps to get it done, and we are just on the edge of being close with fuel."

Which one, tires or the new track surface, would you says is your biggest challenge? "sThat is a tough question; I think that collectively, they are both a challenge. These tires are very difficult to get a hold of; they are a huge challenge. Although I think Goodyear did the right thing by bringing them here, the track is really smooth. I think that if we came here with a normal tire, we would definitely have problems. I am a huge proponent of this tire and even though it doesn't feel great, I think it is the right thing to do for safety."

With the smaller fuel cells, are you using this as kind of a test? "This and the 125's at Daytona are really the only chance that we can race before the next week. I think that we are able to do things that we wouldn't normally try, and it is important to come here and learn a lot. If you gave me a choice to win the All-Star Race or the 600, I am going to pick the 600 every time. We are here to do the very best that we can, but at the same time test new things and see if they can help us."

Do you think the smaller fuels cells are a good idea for a 600 mile race? "I think the smaller cells are a bit of an overreaction, but at the same time, if we are going to err, let's do it on the side of caution. With the new tires, as hard as they are, to get them to live on new asphalt has been tough, this fuel cell is the right thing to do. We have never had a tire of this compound before but I support NASCAR 100 percent on their decision. Had we gone in this direction in Atlanta or some of the other places that there were problems, we possiblly may have not had these problems."

How much has the track changed with all the activity that has been going on? "I think we will be able to answer that question much better after tomorrow night. The track has been very slick, very hot, but the more rubber that gets on the track, it tends to lose grip, so it will be interesting to see how this track will react."

Are the drivers that are in the Busch Series more sponsor driven than they have been in the past? "I think that the drivers want to do it, the sponsors can't make you do anything, I think that they have the desire to do it. I have heard every reason as to why drivers want to race in the Busch Series, such as, for the money, experience. I do it because I like to race, and I love how competitive everything is and it puts me in the rhythm for the year. Certainly you have to have sponsors to race, but having the driver and the owner raise their hand and say that they want to race, that's the first step."

Do you see more sponsors saying 'we want a cup guy' because it gives them more exposure? "Well, I think you're seeing that, I think you've seen it for years. I don't think that's a new thing. There are a lot of sponsors that enjoy the opportunity to work with a Cup driver on Saturday as well as on Sunday. It enables them to market their product with a Cup driver and a recognize name. Certainly that is a draw for the sponsors."

Will it make it tougher for Busch guys to break through? "I think it's tougher for Busch car owners. It's kind of hard to separate them but I don't have a lot of sympathy for the Busch drivers. Because if you look through the Cup field, the Cup field is littered with Busch drivers who have had the chance to run in the Cup Series because of the opportunity given to them for racing the Cup guys in the Busch races. For the Busch drivers it's a great thing. For the Busch car owners, I think there has to be some sort of concession given to them so they can be more competitive. Currently the Cup-oriented teams are dominating that series. I really think that NASCAR can look at some procedural thing to make it so that the Busch car owners have a way to be more competitive. One of the ideas I have is to give them an extra set of tires and if you're a Cup driver that's in the top 30 in points, bill us for it. Just take it out of our purse and give that set of tires to the Busch regulars and let them have another set of tires to practice on. With the tire rule - which I'm a huge proponent of - the negative of it is that you don't get a lot of practice. You really only get one set of tires to practice on. I think the Busch car owner teams would be much benefited by having another set of tires to work with, another set of tires to practice with as opposed to us who would only have one. That could help close the gap from a competition standpoint."

Kurt Busch gave a million dollars to Kyle Petty's camp today. How far could that go in changing some people's opinion of him or softening his image? "If Kurt's giving money to enhance his image he'll be sorely disappointed in the result. That's not a negative connotation on Kurt, that's just the reality. I respect Kurt a great deal for stepping up to the plate and doing something for any charity. You do those things because it's the right thing to do, not because it may benefit you in the public. I don't think Kurt's motivation was to improve his image. I think Kurt's motivation was to be able to look at himself and say 'hey, I'm doing a good thing. That's way more important than what your image is."

Is the Coca-Cola 600 too long? "We have a place for a 600-mile race. It is a tradition that is rich in heritage and rich in history; it carries with it a great deal of prestige to win it. I think it's important for a sport to have a longest race of the year and I think it's a great think. I think it's a bad thing to have a competition of how many race tracks can have long races. I think that's a bad thing. If you occasionally have a race that's too long it's a very unique situation. I think that adds to the schedule. I think that winning the Coca-Cola 600, being the longest race of the year, adds something that otherwise you wouldn't have. I'm a huge proponent of it and I do think that Pocono is too long and I think that the quality of the race would be benefited by cutting that back. I think that the fans would see a better race. There's always the fear of feeling like you're shorting the fans something. I don't think the fans care if it's a five-hour race or a four-hour race. I think what they want to see is a good race. I think that the quality of the race at Pocono would be much better if it were shorter. It's too long. As far as Martinsville, I think it is what it is and if you look at the amount of time that Martinsville takes I don't think it's excessive but Pocono is too long."

How was practicing on this tire? "It's not the best feeling tire in the world but I think NASCAR and Goodyear did the safest thing in bringing this tire. It's the safest bet that whenever you have a new surface, especially on a race track like this, whenever you bring a tire that's real aggressive you're going to have tire problems. With what we had going on at Atlanta earlier in the year and what we had going on at other race tracks and what we had here last year, to bring a tire that's very, very tough, it's no doubt the right thing to do."

Can you compare this to any other tire? "Well, you can, but the end result is that you have a situation that's much like when you go to a race track and it's old. There's not a lot of grip out there. If you threw away - if you didn't know it was new, and you weren't expecting all that grip, then it wouldn't be a big deal. The big difference, though, is you got to scrub your tires, stickers don't feel good, that is the big difference. As long as we have time to scuff our tires there's no big issue. The end result is really all that matters and I think the end result is that we'll see a better race, more cars in the race, more cars that can be competitive because of this tire."

What kind of race do you think we'll see tomorrow night? "You'll see a wild race just like you always did. I think the All-Star race has always been and always will be wild. Whatever tire you put on it and whatever track you run it at, that's the way it's going to be. It'll be the same tomorrow night."

How will you set up the car? "It's really hard - a lot of times we go places and we're really loose when we start. We want the car to be sideways, really loose. Because later on that's going to pay off. Here, you can't drive them loose. When you're real loose, with these tires, you can't make any time at all. With the small fuel cell, you'll have to pit pretty soon and you can't make it up. That strategy is different. I think you've got to be tight with this tire than a different one. It's going to be really interesting to see who puts on tires when. It will be really, really interesting. There's no evidence that to a certain point, new tires aren't better. And then you get to a certain point and new tires are better. That strategy I think will be very interesting and it's not clear to me which strategy is best right now. I think we'll learn an awful lot tomorrow night."

Is this just like any other weekend? "I think there's more question marks than normal. You can't simulate race conditions in practice. I think there's a lot of question marks going into the race and qualifying too. I think there's a lot of question marks about when you put tires on. I think there's more to figure out this week than normal. Most of that centers around the tires."

Is it all about the tires? "There's a point - if you had 40 laps on a set of tires and you let them sit overnight, they'd be faster than anything with 10 laps on them. But if you had 10 laps on a set and went and ran them to 40 laps, and you had 30 laps on a set and you ran them to 40 laps, the 10 lappers are going to run better. There's a trade-off with when you put tires on based on how many laps you had. I don't know that putting tires on with 10 laps to go is going to be the way to go; there's no way anyone is going to run the race on one set of tires."

I take it there's going to be a lot of thinking tomorrow night. "I think there's going to be a lot of guessing. You can call that thinking, but the guy that figures it out, the guy that does the best, we'll say he's thinking. Everybody else will be just guessing. But the reality of it is that there's an opinion on what's best based on our test and what we've seen today, some people will have guessed right and some people won't. When we start pitting tomorrow night, there's going to be a huge question then, 'am I doing the right thing."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS:

On strategy for qualifying and then the unknown of the inversion: "I have tried to play the inversion in the past. I think I actually won my first my Challenge by playing the inversion right, it all worked out for me and we got a good starting spot for the final segment. The first year, I think I won the first and second segment and came back and finished third in the final one. I have tried both sides but it is so tough to guess where that inversion spot is going to be. You see a pack of cars that are all running together and only running about half throttle trying to be in the magical spot when there is no way of knowing where it is. We've tried it but I think if you have a chance to win the race, you just go and win the race. It still pays the money, it is still the race you won and the racer takes over. If you can't win the race that is when you start looking at where that transfer spot might be or where that inversion spot might be I should say and try to get that right."

On difficulty of track now: "I just have such a different feel right now, or a different opinion because I was here on the soft tire and thought the track was Lowe's Motor Speedway. Everything I did here before all worked again. Then I came back on the harder tire and we didn't have the advantage that we should. In my heart I think the track is still Lowe's Motor Speedway, we just have to get our setup right and better work this tire than we have been."

What makes this Lowe's Motor Speedway? "I don't know, I have been trying to recognize whatever it is since I had success when I first came here so I don't lose it. I am not sure I know what it is or where it came from, I am just lucky to have had it for as long as I have."

Can you identify the changes? "It is just a whole new race track, not what it was before they started the grinding process. At that point, I felt like I was one of two or three guys that really could drive the track, and with the grinding just smoothed everything out.

Do the changes made here at LMS change your attitude about this race? "No, it's funny because your emotions go back and forth, and you think this is just a points race, and you think about the million dollars that is involved. There are only a few races that pay this much, so it is just a balancing act with your emotions. You are hoping to get the inversion right, and get the pit stops timed right to get track position in the first segment. There is definitely a lot of strategy involved."

How do you feel about Saturday night, knowing that it is going to be a basically winner takes all event? "I am very comfortable with the speeds here, I don't think that they are going to be any higher than what we have seen in the past here. When I was here on the soft tire, I was running stupid fast laps, and the car was stable, but unfortunately, the tire wouldn't survive over a long run, but it was fun."

How much is Saturday night going to be a learning process for you guys to use next week? "It is going to be a huge learning process for us. We all had a good idea as to how the old track was going to change; going from daylight practice to night qualifying, then to the 600, when we start in the day, and go into the night. Right now, we are all guessing, and the team knows that we need to tighten the car up in the sunlight, but we are not sure how tight we need it. Then, going into qualifying, we are not sure how much we need to loosen the car up, so we are really learning this track again. It is going to be critical to get as much time on track and take as many notes as possible so we can use that information to get an idea as to how this place will change".

Jimmie, you just signed an extension on your contract with Hendrick Motorsports, keeping you there until 2010, how has that affected you this week? "I definitely feel very fortunate to be in the situation that I am in, and it was a big sense of relieve. I just feel very fortunate to know that I am with Hendrick Motorsports through 2010, and I don't think that there are very many five-year contracts out there"

Do you think that with Toyota coming into the Cup Series next year, that Hendrick wanted to go ahead and sign you so that you would be locked in and Toyota wouldn't be an issue? "On the Hendrick side, Rick loves stability, he likes to know who his sponsors are going to be for a long period of time, and who his driver is going to be, but I really must say that it was the Lowe's side that wanted to extend their relationship with Hendrick Motorsports and myself. We actually had all the details worked out over the off-season, and made a formal announcement to all the employee-owners at a Lowe's event, and now this has been released out to everyone else, so luckily all this took place during the off season, so we didn't have to worry about anything but racing."

How much consideration do you put into the purses of this race? "The purse is everything. Granted, you could put a five-cent trophy up there, and we would still race just as hard because everyone wants to win, but when you put a million-plus dollars on the line, there is isn't anything like it. I think Daytona is the only other race that pays in that ballpark, so it is a lot of cash."

What kind of chances would drivers take to win a race here at LMS? "I think if the situation was there, and you were in second, it wouldn't matter who was in front of you, I think everyone will take chances. I can't remember it being down to a last lap pass, I am pretty sure what the outcome would be; second place would win, and the leader would be in the wall."

Jimmie, what would you do with the check from this race, do you have any real estate in mind or anything? "No, I don't think about it that way. Maybe I'd go buy myself an old car; I have been collecting old cars for a while now. I need a Harley, so I'd like to get a motorcycle, maybe I would go spoil myself with something like that, then I could dig a hole in the backyard and bury the rest and forget about it."

What is Chad (Knaus, crew chief) contract situation? "I am not sure what his situation is. I know he is good through 2007, and I know that he is going to be with Hendrick Motorsports for a really long time. I am just not familiar with what his situation is."

Do you ever see yourself racing against Chad? "I don't ever want to see myself racing against Chad. I know Chad has a vision that is really big and large, he actually does a lot more that just being a crew chief at our organization. If I were looking into a time machine, I would see Chad being a crew chief on the #48 for a very long time, and then being still at Hendrick Motorsports in some sort of engineering capacity, and still being around and contributing."

Have you seen a big difference in his personality since he came back from his suspension? "Yeah, without a doubt. I have seen him try really hard to do a lot of things, but coming back to the track and handling things in the manner that he has, he has done such an amazing job and I couldn't be more proud of him."

In what ways has Chad changed personally since he has returned? "You know Chad as good as I do, and just the fact that he is taking some days off here and there recently to recharge his own battery says a lot. Before, he would work seven days a week, 18 hours a week, he has finally realized that no one can keep that pace up, and he is now enjoying the things that he has earned in his life. He has a nice house, boats, he has been on the lake, and he can spoil himself. He is really making a huge effort and I am really proud of him."

What is the worst paying race on the circuit? "Man, I don't have a clue. I thought it was like a Martinsville or a Bristol, where you tear the sides off the car. No, we know the better paying ones, I guess we just try not to concentrate on the lower paying ones."

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOG'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

What are you feeling going in to tomorrow's race? "You're going to see an exciting one, I'm sure. This is one of those races where there are no points on the line and it's all about money. We're going to go out and race our hearts out and the guys are saying the same thing on pit road. We're not going to have to set up the car for a long run; we're not going to have to go 600 miles so everyone's going to be looking for the spurts and how quick they can go in a 30-lap run.

Are you trying to come up with some sort of strategy? "It's kind of difficult any time you try to plan for anything. Any little plan diversion will throw you off. Anytime you try to set up a particular schedule about something and it goes wrong then you're just completely different anyway so we're just going to go out there and play it by ear and see how it goes. If you can start second from the pole, obviously that's what you want to be able do. Go out there and in clean air leave everybody behind but that's always tough.

What do you think of non-points races? "Yeah, they're cool, I mean, it's fun. This is the second one of the year. You have the Bud Shootout but this race here is pretty fun because it's at Charlotte and I enjoy this place. I love running here. The tires are a little bit harder this year - I'm not a fan of those, but everybody's in the same scenario. So we just have to be better than all the rest.

On fuel cell change? "Yeah, a lot of what this weekend is going to be about is a test session for next weekend. Hopefully they'll come back and do another test and change some rules and tires before the 500 in the fall."

How comfortable are you with the tires and track? "I'm pretty comfortable with the track; I like that. I'm not a fan of the tires but we're all running on the same stuff so like I said, we just have to be as good as anybody else?

What kind of racing do you expect this week as opposed to next week? "This weekend it's all out; you go for the win! Second place is the first loser. Next week's a points race so you want to make sure you're around for the finish of it. It's 600 miles, an endurance race. You have to set your car up for the long run; you've got to make sure you have everything right."

What do you think of your brother donating a million dollars to Kyle Petty's camp? "It's awesome, I mean, what else can you say about it? He's obviously started his foundation and has a lot of feelings for the kids and sports and sportsmanship. To donate a million dollars to the Victory Junction Gang Camp and wanting to develop some sort of sports facility I think is awesome."