DENNY HAMLIN, FEDEX FREIGHT CHEVROLET: YOU WON BOTH RACES AT POCONO AND MOST IN THE GARAGE AREA THINK YOU WILL DO WELL HERE AT INDY. WHAT DO YOU THINK? “It’s really hard to tell. We did test this car, this is our Pocono car and that Pocono car has only run twice this year and it’s won both times. I really feel like we’ve found a car like Kahne and those guys found in their stables. It’s hard to tell. We were satisfactory in testing here but I think the true test is going to be the first hour of practice.”

DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING ON THAT CAR BEFORE YOU BROUGHT IT TO INDIANAPOLIS? “Of course, we just fixed that quarter-panel again and kind of put it back together. It’s a car that I just really feel comfortable in, even when I sit in it. It fit my body well and everything has been great. We’ll see what it’s got today. The setups are very similar so hopefully it’s got that same speed.”

WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE? “It definitely gives you a lot of confidence knowing that we’ve got a race car capable of doing it if we just put it in the right position and if I relay the right information of what that car is doing. We’ve really got to concentrate these first couple of hours of practice and make sure that we’ve got it right.”

DO YOU SEE THINGS GETTING MORE INTENSE EVERY WEEK AS WE GET CLOSER TO RICHMOND? “I think so. We’re driving as hard as we can every single lap so when we find someone that maybe holds us up or certain situations like that, it’s very easy for your temper to get off track. It’s just something that you’ve really got to restrain. Tony has been good to teach me that. He’s not always displayed what he teaches but in the same aspect he’s really helped me with that part of it and I feel like it’s really shortened my learning curve. When you’ve got a yellow stripe on the back, it just draws attention. It’s good for the fans to know which guys are Raybestos Rookies and all but I think it kind of hinders us out on the racetrack. I feel like veterans see that and regardless of who you are, yeah, I can run top-10 and I’ve won a couple of races but still, when they see that yellow stripe it just gives a sense of being careful around that person. And it’s the same way in the Busch Series. I see a guy with a yellow stripe and I treat him a little bit differently that I would somebody else. That’s just the nature of the game and we’re all playing by it but hopefully next year things will change.”

WITH SIX RACES LEFT BEFORE THE CHASE FOR THE NASCAR NEXTEL CUP, HOW DO YOU EXPECT THE PRESSURE TO CHANGE THE WAY GUYS RACE EACH OTHER IN THE COMING WEEKS? “The biggest thing is that we’re going to do the same things we did the race leading up. The intensity is going to grow and with the points so tight, we saw with Junior you can go from third to 11th in a matter of a couple of weeks. We’ve got to make sure that we don’t make any mistakes and that’s the biggest thing and just try to stay out of that controversy. That’s the biggest way to eliminate DNFs is don’t get in it with any other drivers and keep your nose clean.” DO YOU THINK SOME DRIVERS MIGHT TAKE SOME RISKS THAT THEY WOULDN’T ORDINARLY DO? “It’s hard to say. Maybe some guys on the outside looking in might do some things that they wouldn’t do and when we were one of those guys and we could be leaving here. We’ve definitely got to treat it as any other race even though there is a lot of pressure of the Brickyard and spend these next five, six weeks doing the things that we’ve done all year long. The biggest thing as a Raybestos Rookie is I’ve got my crew chief, Mike Ford, constantly on the radio talking to me about ‘No pressure, let’s not worry about this Chase’ and hopefully I’ve got years down the road to prove myself as a championship contender. I don’t have to do it this year. There’s a lot of guys in the Chase that are fighting to get there for the first time, second time. I’m just a rookie trying to find my way in this sport and find my position and where I’m supposed to belong so I don’t think I necessarily have to make the Chase this year.”

HOW MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY IS WATKINS GLEN FOR YOU? “I traditionally thought we were good at road courses and then we went to Sonoma and really struggled, however, we came out of there with a very strong race run and finished 12th. A lot of times we struggle in practice, struggle in qualifying. When it comes to racing it seems like we really step up. And road courses, I love ‘em. I can’t wait to go to Watkins Glen because I know our potential as a race team there. As part of the Gibbs organization, I’m very confident in what I have and hopefully me and Tony can leave there 1-2.”

WHAT WOULD AN INDIANAPOLIS WIN MEAN FOR YOU? “Obviously an Indy win is big. To my crew chief, I think it’s bigger than the 500 for him. It definitely has that kind of a feel, like the Daytona 500 has. Indy is such a special place for racing and Daytona is too but it seems like this place has really got a lot of history behind it and I love to have my name on those bricks.”

AS A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE, WHAT HAVE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT HERE? “Well, the biggest thing is that it’s very hard to pass so you’ve really got to be patient. This is a racetrack that you can really get frustrated at somebody and things end up going the way you don’t want them to go. I realize that it’s hard to pass and I realize that you’re going to have to be patient and pass somebody. I really have a good car and we really got to concentrate on having a car that can do that during practice.”

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST THING THAT SOMEBODY HAS ASKED YOU TO AUTOGRAPH? “That’s really hard to say but probably their shoe, just a shoe right off their foot. They took it off their foot and handed it to me and I gave it back [laughs].”

DOES YOUR SUCCESS AT POCONO GIVE YOU A LOT OF CONFIDENCE HERE? “It really does. This is a flat track. It’s very similar to Pocono. We had the same car, same setup. The corners are a lot alike. When I came here I had a lot of confidence in testing coming off a Pocono win and we just did not test that well here. Then again, we had cars that I felt like were inferior and didn’t really need to be on the racetrack at the time. We saved our best bullet for race time and it’s time to bring out the big guns and see what we’ve got.”

HOW SPECIAL WOULD IT BE FOR YOU TO BECOME THE FIRST RAYBESTOS ROOKIE TO WIN AT THE BRICKYARD? “It would be huge. It’s something that I’m not really thinking about. I’m just trying to get out of here with a top-10, top-15 finish like we have been all year long. If I can do that, I’d really consider it a successful race. We know we have a great car here. I’ve just got to make sure that I can get it done.”

IS THIS THE SAME CAR THAT RAN BOTH POCONO RACES? “It is the same car, same setup and everything. We’re just trying to keep that mojo going for a couple more weeks and maybe get another win out of it. We haven’t named it yet. It’s definitely got a special place in the garage stall at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s just a car that they built that is quite a bit better than anything they’ve every built and really cannot figure out why. All they did after June was really fix the quarter-panel and luckily we didn’t have to change right-side or anything so that was very important.”

WHAT ABOUT INDY IS SIMILAR TO POCONO? “This track is very unique. It’s got four corners but they’re shaped similar but at the same time it’s so flat you find yourself getting behind somebody and kind of losing yourself where you’re at on the racetrack. I found that out in testing that it’s such a hard place to pass because it’s hard for you to hit your marks looking through somebody else’s windshield. This racetrack is going to be pivotal as far as track position. I think the top-five guys are going to have the best advantage.”

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP-FIVE FAVORITE PLACES TO RACE? “Obviously, Richmond being the hometown is my favorite. Pocono is right behind it and then you’ve got Phoenix. Brickyard seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun. I haven’t been here racing yet but it’s got to be in the top-five just because of the prestige, for sure. One other place that I love is Texas.”

WHY DO YOU LIKE RICHMOND? “With the hometown it’s very special to me and I also run really, really well there. I couldn’t be happier to have the race for the Chase in there and I feel like if I just have an opportunity come Richmond that I’m pretty confident that we can get in.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY RITUALS BEFORE YOU RACE? “I always start the day off wearing my watch. If we run bad in practice then I’ll take it off for the race. It’s a thing that I’ve always done. It seemed to work great. The watch on or watch off definitely tells whether I had a good practice or a bad practice. I use that as my good luck charm.”

IF YOU HAD THE DAY OFF WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR FUN? “I’d probably play golf on the golf course. I walked around it yesterday and it definitely seemed nice. I’d like to play that.”

ARE THERE ANY TRACK LEADING UP TO THE CHASE THAT MIGHT HELP YOU OR HINDER YOU? “I think it’s probably unanimous that Bristol is really going to be one that’s going to be a curve ball for everyone. You can go up there in your mom’s Cadillac and run top-10, top-15 if you just stay out of trouble. It’s one of those racetracks where you can’t really help everything that happens. That’s one that we’ve really got a mark beside that we’re going to try to stay out of trouble there. I’m just proud to be part of those 12, 13 guys that really have a shot of making the Chase. Right there between third and 13th there’s not that many points and it just seems that we’re bouncing in and out. It’s good that we’re not losing touch with the top-10. We just keep getting deeper in it so that’s really a good thing. The biggest thing is that if we do make that Chase, then the pressure’s off. We made it. Let’s just go have fun the rest of the year. If we don’t make it, we’ll just go have fun. My goals originally were top-15 in points and I feel like we can accomplish that this year and hopefully get that Raybestos Rookie of the Year.”

HAS ANY DRIVER TOOK YOU UNDER THEIR WING AND SHOWN YOU THE ROPES? “Tony and Dale Jr. have both had their individual roles. Tony has definitely helped me with the on track stuff and Junior had helped me with the off-track stuff of appearances and this, that and the other. I feel like those two have really been a big role as far as that’s concerned.”

IS IT HARD TO HANDLE THE FAME AND FORTUNE THAT YOU HAVE NOW? “I don’t think so. I’m trying to do all the right things. I really don’t know all the right things to do right now. I’m still learning week to week. I’ve got a lot of great people to learn from. I feel like this year things have really gone good for me and I just try not to get into any trouble. I want to fly under the radar, guys like Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth have done their entire career. They have not made a bunch of headlines but they got the job done and won races.”