Nextel All-Star Challenge - Chevrolet Post-Race Quotes

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

"When the race started, I really felt like the No. 9 car was going to control the race based on practice and qualifying because he got out there and got the lead right away. My car was really, really good, I kept trying a little harder, just trying to find where the grip level was with the car because when the sun was out and the track was really slick and I had a real loose race car so I was a little tentative at first.

"Then I got the lead and we came in and pitted. As I came to pit road, my spotter told me they were wrecking behind me and a car went by me in the grass. I looked up in my mirror and saw more stuff coming and smoke so I jumped back in the gas to avoid being hit from behind. I was speeding through that first pit area or whatever that section is.

"I was hopeful that NASCAR was going to let it go because of what was going on but I knew deep down inside, I had already committed to pit road and I probably wasn't going to be able to walk away from that one without a speeding violation. When I came out of the pits and was still on the lead lap after my penalty, at that point, I knew I had a shot at the win. My goal then was trying to get to 12th to catch the inversion. We ended up in 11th, I felt like I was right in the right spot to at least catch some of the inversion, but we missed it by one spot.

"From there, I just went to work. I knew I had a good race car, there were some good cars taken out already, but once we got going and got in a rhythm of things, I really felt like we had a car good enough to win the race.

"The last stop at the end with four tires, ended up being the right call. At first when the No. 29 left with just two tires, I felt like that was a very good choice to make at that point in time. But four tires ended up prevailing at the end. I think everybody in the garage area learned something there."

On car he will drive in 600 next week: "He is really going to need to convince me, because I think this one is pretty good, the one we were in tonight. We have two, no three cars that we rotate through. This is the car we have had success, the car we won Las Vegas with. We crashed it here in the tire test and put a rear clip on it and came back, it has been really strong. He is going to have to put his salesman hat on and convince me otherwise to bring back that other car."

On combination team has at LMS: "I think there is just a line around the race track that my driving style fits. We keep adjusting to it. We have had so much success here that I just stay set in my ways and work on my line that I need around this race track and we keep adjusting the car to it. Once the sun goes down and the grip is in the race track, we end up working our way to the front. I am not so sure it is the right line and that I drive this place right when the sun is out in the heat of day. But when the checkered flag is around the corner, we always seem to come to life. All I can say it is my driving style and the way I drive this race track, it just works."

On having a premonition of hitting right combination to win here: "I wish I could have Babe Ruthed that deal. I really felt like the No. 9 was going to be that car and the Gibbs cars. Those guys were so strong in the testing. Kasey ran a lap last night in qualifying that was much much faster than anyone else was. I really felt like it was going to be one of those guys. But then the No. 9 got crashed out and I think the No. 20 was caught up in something too. We were one of four or five really good cars that was left on the race track. Harvick had a great car, but I think the two tires ended up hurting him a little bit there at the end. When we were both on equal tires, I couldn't catch him, we were both running equal lap times. There at the end, Jeff had a damaged car so it was really just Jeff and myself. The 29 had two tires and I had four tires. I was really able to take advantage of the four tires."

On how timely caution was when No. 2 car blew an engine: "At the time, I was really happy to see that caution. I felt like I needed that caution to get into an inversion spot and I thought I had gotten there. But I missed it by one so I am not sure that caution at the end really played out for me that much. I can say that I was in the right lane when that crash started happening off of two. Maybe my positioning and where I was in the inversion on the inside really helped me get through that. If I had been on the outside when the crash started I would have been caught up in it as well. I was just in the right place at the right time."

On starting to sense this might be the championship season: "I believe so in my heart. I really do. It is no different really than the last two years that I have been out here competing, I just feel like we have always been there and as you all know, we always do so well until August and that is the big challenge for us this year is to make sure we can keep that momentum. We are making every adjustment to our race team through the approach that we have toward the end of the season. We are looking at everything and trying to do everything we can to put together out best 10 races at the end. We will try again as hard as we can this year and hopefully we can do it."

On his input on what car will be brought to race the 600: "I don't know, I will let you guys know next week when we come back Thursday. I will let you know how my negotiating skills worked out."

On new Hendrick contract being signed too early: "Possibly. I was able to work on my contract with Rick (Hendrick) and Lowe's during the off-season. It was very nice when that came together that we weren't racing and we didn't have to play any games or have the extra burden of going to the race track thinking about that stuff. I am just so happy to know where I am going to be for the next five years. I am not aware of a contract outside of Jeff's that is a five year term. I am very pleased with that, happy to know where I am going to be and tonight paid pretty well so I am not too worried about missing the opportunity to negotiate.

"There is still two years left on Chad's contract with Hendrick Motorsports just as there was on mine before I put this together with Rick and Lowe's. He is in a great situation, he is going to be my guy and I don't think there is any reason to look in to it. He will have his chance to re-up with everybody here before long I would imagine."

On feeling guilty about winning so many times around this place (Lowe's Motor Speedway): "Hell no. As long as it has Lowe's on it, there is going to be extra motivation to win here. We approach every race with the same attitude and give 100%. But there is nothing sweeter than standing on the stage with Robert Niblock, the CEO of Lowe's and seeing the smile on his face and knowing that all the employees around the country are just flipping out about this victory."

On tire chattering: "When the car is not handling right, it definitely picks up a chatter. Instead of the tire slipping like it used to, because it is so hard, it chatters now. That is kind of the tire slip that you feel. The way I kind of look at it and at times tonight, I did have it when my car was too tight, the front tires would chatter across the race track. It is something we are all paying attention to and trying to understand why because this is the only track where we have such a severe chatter with the tires. The other mile and one half and short track, you rarely, rarely see a chatter unless the car is so tight and you put an absurd amount of steering wheel angle in to it, then it will chatter. But very minimal amount of steering wheel angle here and the tires chatter and that is something we aren't used to. I think that is why most of the drivers have been paying so much attention to it and talking about it. "

On challenge to race side by side with Kevin then make more to pass him: "I really felt that was my chance to get the lead. Kevin was so strong, on the run before, in my mind I sat there and told myself, 'Well, if you make a big mistake here and fall back fifth it will be tough. It is worth the risk right now at this point in the race. When you need to poke your nose out there and see if there is enough grip and enough rubber down to make it work.' I got up there and I was really surprised that I had as much grip as I did. A couple times I got pretty loose especially in three and four, but I held on to it and got by Kevin finally. To me, that is really encouraging for the 600. I think that we will be moving up the race track. In one and two, there used to be a pretty big crown in the center of the race track that prevented us from running in the outside lane and that is gone. It is the same banking from the white line to the wall. I think as we get some more racing on it by toward the end of the 600 next weekend, we will have a couple of lanes out there."

CHAD KNAUS - CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS

"Where do we begin, that was a mess out there. My engineer and I looked at each other about eight laps from the end, and said 'what can go on next'. We had a very good race car from the start obviously and were able to take the lead. It came down to our green flag pit stop the first segment and Jimmie saw some guys coming up behind him and they were going fast that we needed to be for our mandatory pit road speed so we had to speed up and got pinched for a speeding penalty. Almost lost a lap there, we were right in front of the leaders but we were able to stay there ahead of them until the next caution. We just pedaled our way back. We were able to have a car fast enough and Jimmie was cool headed enough to be able to make the passes we needed them when we needed them and didn't push the subject until it was time to push it. The guys had incredible pit stops, the tires actually worked out pretty well for us and the strategy worked out well so it was a great night."

On the tire chatter: "It is an ongoing issue that we are fighting with right now. I think what is happening is that the chatter that you are feeling in the center of the corner is coming from a tight issue. As a race track like this begins to take on rubber, and the asphalt is changing as we are putting laps on it, the track will typically get tighter. As the car gets tighter, it will start to chatter in the front end, whether it is the right front tire chattering or the left front time, which ever tire doesn't seem too loaded the most. It is something that is going to be very, very difficult to deal with next week over the course of 600 miles. 400 laps around here is a long, long time. That is one thing our team has been very good at over the past few years is being able to adjust our cars throughout the race and we are going to have to put some serious thought in to it, we had it show up twice tonight in 15 laps runs and that is going to be difficult to stay on top of. "

On what car will they bring to 600: "We will talk about it and decide. Quite honestly, this car we brought here tonight hasn't been one of our best race cars. It was brand new last year. We put it in the wind tunnel, wasn't overly impressed with the wind tunnel numbers so over the winter, we cut the body off of it, put a new body on it and still wasn't overly impressed with it. So we took it to Texas and raced it there, the car ran competitive but it wasn't really what I was looking for. We brought it here to the test and wrecked it and fixed it. We brought it here as a learning tool to get prepped for next week. We hit on some stuff and it worked out ok. We will talk about it, look at the damage on the race car and see what has to be repaired and kinda go from there. The car that we are bringing next week is the car we ran at Fontana, it is one that is close to my heart so I would like to bring that one."

On winning championship this year: "I think we are definitely on track. As I have said before and as all of you guys have heard, I am trying out some different things so that I am different at the end of the season and will be ready for the end of the season. I think Jimmie has matured a lot, and he is ready as an individual to go out and win the championship. Although we have been in championship battles, throughout all of our career, every season, I don't know that we were ready as a team, nor was Jimmie ready a s a driver to pull it all off. Now I think our team has matured enough and Jimmie has matured enough to actually go out there and do it. I am excited about it. We are taking things as they come, we are dealing with them as they pop up. I think what we are fortunate enough to do it. Believe it or not, I think we are behind a little on the race track. I feel like we are in the aggressor mode trying to catch the guys that a re a little bit faster than us. I think we do a little bit better when we are there. Every year, we have been the dominate car and have went out there and although we have won races this year, I don't feel like we are the best car out there. It has changed a little bit and I think we are a little more comfortable in this state. Of the cars out there, I think the No. 9, the No. 29 and a lot of those Roush cars are very competitive. We are making great strides and we are working very hard as a company at Hendrick Motorsports to get that back, and we are making steps in that direction as you can see in the performance of our team. But we aren't the dominate team and that is what we strive to be."

On winning too much here at Lowe's too much: "Hell no! (Jimmie gave same answer) I guess after five years with someone, you begin to think a like. To come here to Lowe's Motor Speedway and win is very important to us being sponsored by Lowe's. Even if it wasn't, it is so close to Hendrick Motorsports. We have over 560 employees, and probably about half of them were here tonight and the other half will be here next weekend. For us to be able to come here and carry the flag for Hendrick Motorsports and for all those people, for the employee owners at Lowe's and all the friends and families is very important to us. All those peoples are bringing their families here, that is important. So when we come here and run well, it makes everyone happy and leave here with a smile on their face."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS: FINISHED SECOND

On the race: "Our main goal coming in was to finish. We were 0 for 5 before this so we weren't part of the wreck-fest tonight. We were able to give ourselves a shot there at the end of the race to put us into position and I knew going into turn one I just needed to keep him on the inside there to give myself the best chance. I knew the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) was just a touch better than we were but all in all it was a great night for us. Hopefully the car we have for next week is better like we think it is and we'll be in good shape."

How close were you to the wreck and how did you get through? "Lee Spencer must not be in the press box, if we have no questions so I guess I won't take a ration from her this week. She is at home? Oh, maybe we should write a letter to her telling her how she should be here covering this race since she is the master of opinions. What was the question? I forgot.

"They were just side by side and on new tires you have to tip-toe through on the bottom because it takes the air off the outside of the inside guy. Just gotta tip-toe through. No. 9 (Kahne) just got loose and slipped up into the six and they all started wrecking. I was on the bumper of the No. 9 already so it was just one of those things where I was probably going to have a good run. I was in the clear when they went up."

About the track surface and tire for next week: I think everyone was geared up to run 15 or 20 laps tonight which next week, you won't be able to do that. You need to gear up for a full run. I think the biggest thing we learned was just to get your tires prepared properly and you can do some different things with them to continue through the race with some different tire strategy. That was probably the biggest thing, you know, the car will have to be a little bit different next week to make it all the way through the run. We made some pretty aggressive changes there in the first segment to get our car going in the beginning of the run and give up at the end of the run. I guess you have to be careful the first few laps when you're side by side and I think next week there will probably be a lot more give and take than there was tonight - everybody was just pushing it to the max.

Two tires - right or wrong? The car was loose but I knew I had to do everything I could to stay up beside the No. 48 on the restart. I cleared the No. 24 (Gordon) on the high side coming of off two and I was able to get in front of him but it was just time to go and the right side tires were cool. We ran just as fast as we did on four tires so I felt like either way, even the run before with the four tires. The No. 48 was just a half a tenth better than we were and he had everybody covered. Even before everybody wrecked we were the second best car before that happened. I feel like the best two cars finished where they should have.

Hard tire a concern for next weekend in daylight start? The characteristics of the racetrack are still the same as they used to be. Temperature affects the place a lot. Our strategy coming into the race tonight, we didn't practice at all in race trim in the daytime just because we knew it was a nighttime race. We didn't want to give ourselves a chance to make any adjustments on the car just because we wanted to go off for the nighttime test. Next week we'll probably go back to our notes in the daytime and probably have some practice during the day. You just have to go off what you did in the test and I think everything was relatively close tonight as far as being comparable.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS, FINISHED THIRD

On the race: All in all it was a pretty decent night for us, I guess it was sort of what I expected where I thought I was going to be really loose on new tires and I was and that would be really good on long runs and we were. I thought that we would see some guys loose control early in the run and we did, a bit of a survival race, we were so close to being in that one wreck on the back straightaway. We had some damage but we were able to fix that; luckily the red came out and didn't lose really any positions. We had a flat tire and a caution came out. We had some things definitely go our way tonight. Unfortunately, because my car was so loose we had to tighten it up so much for that last run. Once I got into third I was just sitting there riding around. I couldn't do anything. Every time I'd get close to No. 29 (Harvick) I would just lose the front end. I'm happy for Jimmie. Those guys just own this place. For us to have finished third, it was a good night.

On a hot, slick track for next week's race start: It's going to be exiting. Tonight we probably didn't have the cars quite as adjustable because we knew we were going to be starting under good conditions. I think other than the rain washing some of the rubber off the race track there at the beginning, that made the track a little slicker. Next week is going to be a real handful, I mean a real handful. Holy cow, those are some serious fireworks. Next week is going to be a real handful but what we'll probably do is start with a little bit different spring package and maybe do something with spring rubbers to maybe get the car a little more adjustable. We can do a lot with air pressure at the beginning of the race. Tape and different things like that. We're actually going to be running two different races next week. I know we just keep talking about tires, tires, tires. But these tires are so, so finicky and you've got to be so careful on it that next week is really going to be a survival race.

The Lowe's team says they have a better car in the shop. I feel the same way for ourselves. We have a better car as well and I mean, yeah, his car was good tonight. They definitely did a lot right. One thing about Jimmie's car is that it would take off really good unlike a lot of the other cars out there. That same package if they have a little bit better, when he says he's got a better car he probably likes the body on the car and it showed five more counts of downforce in the wind tunnel. I'm sure it's very close like ours is but maybe you think it's just a little bit better. I think most of us knew coming into this race we would have our best car for the points race, the 600. It doesn't surprise me that they feel like they've got a better car. Track position's important and to me where Jimmie won the race tonight other than fighting back through a lot of things was the restart before the last one where he battled the No. 29 (Harvick) on the outside and fought with him that hard to stay on the outside of him like that - to get that lead when the caution came out. That won the race for him. He fought that hard because track position was so, so important. If those guys get track position next week like they did tonight I expect them to be the guys to beat for sure.

What tires did you take on the last pit stop? We took the tires that we started the race with. They had about 25 or 30 laps on them, I think. We just did a ton of adjustments. I kept getting stepped on the outside. Every restart I was on the outside and it was just killing me. There was no grip out there and then on the colder tires my car was just so, so loose. Just a couple breaks if it could have gotten us in the inside, like that last restart where we started on the inside and we about got to second. The car just took off so much better on the inside. I think that we definitely knew that we didn't want sticker tires and if I could have had a set back there that could have had some tire heaters on them I would have liked to have had those. Tonight it doesn't matter how many laps you would have on them as long as they're not cold. There's no getting around that.

On Jimmie Johnson's streak here: I don't even know that I've ever had anything like that before. I know that with Bristol we've had some runs and in Dover and Darlington but he's just very comfortable here. I think that Chad really pays attention to detail and they've had good race teams and fortune. That's just a deadly combination to try to beat and that's what we're all chasing right now. You just can't ever count him out no matter what happens to him throughout the race. They seem to find their way back to the front. I was lifting out here on a helicopter last may and I thought 'I'd stay if I thought Jimmie was going to win' and as I'm lifting off I see him passing Labonte on the outside. There was no way. I just couldn't believe it. I think he really has a knack for getting everything out of it. It doesn't hurt that this is his sponsor's speedway, sort of. A little bit of extra motivation, and I'm happy for that as well. You never know why somebody just clicks at a place but they certainly do have the combination here.

More on tires: To sum this up, and then I feel like we need to get off this, we have this tire for next week; we're all on it and we all have to battle with it and it is what it is. There's nothing that's going to change about that. Hopefully this track loses some grip by October and they can come up with a new tire for it then. Here's the way to sum it up: I had a flat right-rear tire; I went into turn three and got sideways. I ran another two laps because I wasn't sure that it was just the tire that got loose. That's how little grip the tire has. You have no idea if you even have a flat tire. I felt like I was running on run-flats. I don't necessarily blame Goodyear for this, they had to do something. This track had so much grip and they were building up so much heat that they were backed into a corner. None of us like it but I'd rather have this situation than be blowing tires, chunking them out like they did in the tire test. I wish that there was another solution. I don't necessarily think that we need the fuel cells that we have. I think that's way overboard. Other than that, it is what it is and we're going to do everything we can to make the best of it next week.

On the crash: I kind of saw it happening and all you can do is react but I was about in the middle of turns one and two and I saw the tail of No. 9 (Kasey Kahne) start to step out. I thought that it was going to get pretty ugly and sure enough it grabbed the right wheel and he corrected it and went into the outside wall. I just turned left trying to get away from him. I saw another car spinning into it and Kenseth was on my inside. I don't even know that he could necessarily see it and we collided. Tore his right side up and tore his left side up but luckily it was just sheet metal damage. Some other guys had a lot worse damage.

On the restart move by Jimmie: I could not have made that move because my car was so loose on the outside of a guy that unless I pinned a guy down - there at the end, Bobby Labonte got a run on me and he was pretty good on short runs. He got a run on me and the only way I was really able to keep him from passing me is to put my left side on his door and just take the air off his spoiler. I couldn't see enough of what was going on with Jimmie and Harvick but I just kept seeing Jimmie staying on the outside of him and having a little bit of an edge coming off the corner. But he could never get clear of him going into the next corner. I didn't think he was going to be able to do that for very long and then the caution came out. I was pretty impressed with that fight. I know my car was just out of control on the outside of guys and Kevin had the preferred line and was real strong on new tires as well. That was pretty impressive.

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

This is just awesome. I knew I was going to have to really get a good restart to stay with and pass Kevin (Harvick). For a minute there, I thought he made the move of the race. He had a great car and did a great job. We were racing our butts off there side-by-side for a couple three laps. I was really happy and having fun racing with him, I knew he would race me clean and hard. I put together some good runs on the outside and finally got by him on the outside. The caution came out and from there I had control of the race. I kept the nose clean and everything was good.

"I just saw some cars up in front of me moving around and checked up when Kasey (Kahne) and Mark (Martin) hit and dove down to the inside and sure enough, guys were crashing. My biggest scare today was coming to pit road when I got my speeding ticket. Everybody was spinning behind me and I looked in my mirror and they were chasing me down. That is why I sped up and ended up getting my speeding violation. We rebounded from that and won the thing.

"Just before the inversion, all of us sitting there from sixth to 15th trying to figure out where to be running about half throttle trying to figure out what to do. I was thought I was safe there in 11th but I missed it by one spot. But this car was so good. My guys have been working very hard to get this car right for this race track with the new surface and the new tire and we got it right when the money was on the line and I can't say enough for this team and the Chevrolet I am driving.

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS: FINISHED SECOND

"Couple corners there after the restart, they just out-accelerated us on the restart and just got a good restart and flat out took off on us. No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) was tough, got up on the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson). I let him clear me getting into turn one and I needed to stay up beside him to keep him from getting down there. All in all it was a good night. First time we've ever had our GM Goodwrench Chevrolet rolling at the end of one of these things. It's definitely good momentum, got a good car. Some pretty aggressive adjustments, gave ourselves a shot and that's all we can ask for."

On the crash: I saw the No. 9 (Kasey Kahne) and the No. 6 (Mark Martin) get together and I was already to the bumper on the No. 9 and just was in the right spot on the bottom and cleared it before they got all the way around.

You always expect something to happen here. This night is a car destroyer. I'm not a big fan of the event but we all come and run it and had a good time tonight.

For next weekend: I don't know that you learned a whole lot other than you can put two tires on and be competitive. We were geared up to run 15 or 20 laps there and next week you're going to have to run forty.

JEFF GORDON, No. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS, FINISHED THIRD

"I was moving pretty good and the car was better, but once we got to third, and I got up behind Kevin (Harvick) we just got way too tight because of how much we had to tighten the car up. I was losing so many positions at the beginning of the run, we were just trying to make it all up there at the end. We just have to find that balance. It seems like the 48 had that balance and was able to take off strong and stay strong. I am proud of those guys and congratulations but I am really proud of my DuPont Monte Carlo SS team. I thought they did a great job. There were times we had the best car on the race track, but unfortunately at the end, third was all we could get.

"You could find grip about eight or ten laps on the tires. The thing is that the tire gets so tight on you in the long runs. You have to start out so loose and yet the tire is so hard, you slide the back end around the corner for the first eight to 10 laps then you push the front end of the car the rest of the time. I think that is why we didn't see much of a second grove come in tonight.

"I knew it was going to be a bit of survival, and it is a good test for the DuPont Chevrolet team for the 600 next week. We have a real good car for the long runs so, I am excited about next week. If I had a bigger fuel cell, I would be in great shape. We couldn't find the balance of cold tires, versus hot tires. We would be really good on old tires, but then we wouldn't be really good on new tires. We would be really good at the beginning of a run then not good at the end of a run. We needed a little bit better track position, but all in all a great effort for our team."

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

"That's the first time I actually got to sit in the truck and watch the other guy (Matt Kenseth) in the interview. I had a pretty definitive view from what I saw. I got a run on him like he said, at least he got that part right. You could see where they start the camera view that he's a whole lane-and-a-half low. You know, you don't go in the corner that way. So, obviously he's blocking there. If he wants to complain about me getting under him there, I mean, I was there and any other weekend that would be acceptable. But it's the Nextel All-Star crash fest. I think he screwed up on this one. If he thinks I did that and that was my fault, he's screwed up in the head."

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

Involved in multi-car incident
"It is the Nextel All-Star Challenge race. It was what ever body goes for. You go for broke here. You either check'er or wreck'er here. Unfortunate circumstances for the Kellogg's Chevrolet; we had a couple guys up front that got together and started a whole melee. There was no real place for me to go. Greg Biffle was behind me and he couldn't see the wreck through my car. He got in the back of me and it was on from there.

"We were awful strong that first segment and were able to win it. Coming back through the field was going to be a little bit of a challenge but we were dedicated to it and up for the challenge. This is kind of the nature of the race. I don't really understand why guys were going for it so hard quite this early; we were only after the first caution of the second segment. All in all, we learned some stuff today so we can come back for the 600 and hopefully be stronger.

"I felt good about my car buy I didn't feel too excellent about it; we had a great race car. In the beginning of the run everyone kind of ran us over but then at the end of the run we were starting to pull back away from them. There's something to look forward to in a 600-miler because you need long runs in order to run the 600 miles. It's something we can take into next week.

"The way our car was handling there was a few issues we need to work on but all in all the Kellogg's Chevrolet was strong and we could have made it to the end."