BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS:

ON TODAY'S PRACTICE: "It reminds me a lot of last week when the sun was out and the car was really loose. It was real tough to get a hold of the race track. I'm banking a lot on the track cooling down and the conditions coming back to me. I think we're a little bit better at this point then we were last week. Once we got on the race track the sun went down and with the race conditions we were real happy with the race car."

ON HIS CHANCE OF WINNING FOUR STRAIGHT: "I'm very, very excited for the chance to try to go to the record books. It's a long race. A lot can happen as we all know over 600 miles. It's hard to really favor someone and go to bet on someone. We've got a great track record here. You can't argue with that. The All Star event went really well for us and we brought that race car back. We feel like we're a little bit smarter with this car. We understand it. We're looking forward to it. We just have to get in there and get racing and see what takes place. It's going to be a much different race than what we've ever had here before. I think this Lowe's team is up for challenge. We've been working real hard to understand pit stops and the tires and strategy and all the things that go into it."

ON THIS BEING A RACE OF UNKNOWNS: "I think some of the unknowns were figured out last weekend. In my opinion I feel much more confident about this weekend's race than I did with the All Star event. I think we all have a little bit experience with the track and the changing conditions of the track and also the fuel window. We had a green flag pit stop that we had to make during the All Star Challenge. I think we're more comfortable this weekend than we were last weekend."

ON PIT STOP STRATEGY: "All the teams recognize the challenge that is coming up with this event. We've made adjustments specifically for this race and our crew guys did different things. The strategy is going to be much different. The race engineer and the crew chief sitting on the pit box have to look for other opportunities that they didn't do in the past.

"Every 17 minutes we're under green flag and we'll be on pit road so the crew guys are going to double their pit stops than what they typically do so they'll need to stay off the Twinkies and start drinking Gatorade to get ready for this race."

HOW HAVE YOU AND YOUR TEAM BEEN ABLE TO FEED OFF OF YOUR SUCCESS HERE? "The success we've had here has really been the confidence in ourselves and in our race cars knowing that once we get into the night and when the points are on the line or the money is on the line in the All Star race, that we will have the right set up. They're testing Busch and Cup. We were very loose and out of control on the race track even leading into the All Star weekend. Last weekend once we got into race conditions we had what we needed. Also that's really all we car about is the points and finishing the race. Going into qualifying I'm a little nervous about how we're going to run. I'm not expecting a top-five or pole position in qualifying but I know that once we get in the race and start doing our thing out there that we got what we need."

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO KNOW EVERYONE ELSE ON THE FIELD IS TRYING TO BEAT YOU? "Most drivers climb in their car feeling they are the guy to beat. Here I think that our success speaks for itself. There's a lot of really good cars, you look at the 9, 20, 5, 24. Those guys were running really good in practice. I'm not sure the target is really on my back."

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO ADJUST TO ALL THE CHANGING CONDITIONS OF THIS RACE TRACK OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS? "There's been a lot of challenges and really at times a lot of frustration trying to understand the track and the set ups that we need at this race track. I don't know why at the beginning we get out there and get around other cars and start racing with people and our stuff comes to life and we're able to race our way up there and be in potential for the win. I'm very confident coming forth from the situation last weekend. The race is definitely bringing the Lowe's team in here with a lot of confidence. We'll just get in there and get to work for 600 miles. That's the great thing about this race. There are a lot of chances to make your car better but at the same time we're a very consistent team. We just need to do our job on the pit stops. I can always count on the consistency of this 48 team."

RICK HENDRICK SPOKE EARLIER TODAY ABOUT THE FIRST MEETING WITH LOWE'S WHEN THEY SIGNED YOU AND HOW THEY ASKED YOU IF YOU COULD WIN. DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THAT WAS LIKE? DID YOU KNOW WHAT TO SAY IN THAT INSTANCE? "I knew what to say in that instance but I wasn't expecting a loaded gun to be pointed at my head.

"Those that know the CEO of Lowe's know he's very passionate about the company and was going to do whatever he could to bring winning ways to Lowe's including the race team. I was doing something with my Busch team at the time. I flew in and they were still meeting. When the race was over I had the chance to meet the CEO and the other executives with Lowe's. I wasn't sitting down for 10 minutes and the loaded gun was pointed at me. I knew what I needed to say. I'm glad I've been able to go out and back it up. I think Rick (Hendrick) and Jeff (Gordon) and myself were all nodding yes saying of course but there were a lot of unknowns at that time. I know I'm glad I've been able to do my part to back it up."

IF YOUR STREAK COMES TO AN END THIS WEEKEND, IS KYLE BUSCH THE GUY THAT COULD DO IT? "I think so. When I came out here and tested for the first tire test, knowing Kyle's driving style and the way he hits the gas and the brake and all those things, the first thing I said on the radio was this is a Kyle Busch track. So I definitely think he's taken very well to this race track and the re-paving fits his driving style."

DO YOU THINK KYLE BUSCH HAS LOOSENED UP OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS? "He is definitely trying as hard as he can to do the right thing. That's one thing that we all recognize in working with him is that he is a huge talent and he is trying and that's all you can ask for. Once the momentum shifts it direction good or bad, it's hard to overcome and it's tough to shift around. I think he's working very hard to do the things right outside of the race car and inside of the car he can hold his own."

HOW CLOSE IS YOUR SET-UP? "This weekend I'm not really sure where we are. I haven't been paying too much attention. I haven't really looked around at the other set-ups."

YOU'VE HAD SO MUCH SUCCESS HERE, DO YOU THINK HUMPY SHOULD PUT A MILLION DOLLAR BOUNTY ON YOU FOR THE RACER THAT CAN BEAT YOU? "They've changed the surface three times to try to mess me up. I might have a value on my head here."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS:

ON DISNEY/PIXAR'S ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 'CARS' SET FOR RELEASE JUNE 9: "The studio was amazing. There was really a lot going on with all the computers they have there running everything and all the animation. It was pretty impressive. Actually working and doing the part was a lot of fun. Even though it's a small part, they really took it serious and they really wanted me to do a good job. So it felt good. It was a lot of fun. I wish I'd had a lot more to do and it would have been fun if I had a bigger part. I guess that's what happens when you get in there and get excited."

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT? "It's cool to see the credit when they run the credits and you're in there and you're part of it. My mom gets a kick out of it. I'm going to take her to the premier and walk the red carpet with her. I've got a niece and my sister's had another baby, so we'll watch it and enjoy it. It's something that I felt like it was really important. The sport's starting to get that type of recognition to where people are actually going to spend millions of dollars to make movies about it. So hell, I want to jump in that pool and be a part of it. It sounds like a lot of fun."

ON THE STRATEGY THAT GOES WITH THE SMALL FUEL CELL: "We'll probably pit 15 to 20 times for the 600. We'll just have to stop sooner than normal. I don't really know strategy-wise what it will do. I don't really know. We're working on trying to get our car to handle really good. Everything else just takes care of itself."

HOW WAS YOUR CAR IN PRACTICE? "I think we've got a lot of work to do. We're really not that great right now. We need to get a little bit better and we know that. So we're working really hard. It's a long race. But we've got to get our car a little bit better than it's been working. We haven't had a good handling car in the test or the All-Star weekend. It wasn't that good. It wasn't good at all. We've got a lot of work to do."

DO YOU THINK HUMPY WHEELER WAS TREATED UNFAIRLY LAST YEAR FOR THE TRACK CHANGES? "He might have gotten a lot more criticism than he deserved, but there was a lesson to be learned at the same time. So, I think we've learned it."

BY STARTING THE RACE IN THE AFTERNOON AND FINISHING AT NIGHT, ARE THERE TWO DIFFERENT TRACKS OUT THERE? "I don't know. We haven't run a race on the new asphalt starting that early. You just go as hard as you can go however good your car handles. You just wheel it. You jump in there and wheel it."

ON THE TIRES: "They're really, really hard and they don't wear out. They last forever -- about 300 laps."

EVERYBODY SAYS THEY CAN'T FIGURE OUT THE TIRE. ARE YOU CLOSER TO FIGURING IT OUT? "Yeah, we haven't. Some people I believe have an idea or are on the right track. But we'll figure it out or find out somewhere along the line or down the line."

DO YOU THINK IT'S THE TIRE YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH OR THE NEW TRACK SURFACE? "The tire is tough, man. The thing is so tough you can't get a hold of the race track with it. The track's got a lot of grip and the tire is real hard. It's not a good combination."

CAN YOU IMAGINE SEVERAL YEARS DOWN THE LINE WHEN YOU AND KEVIN HARVICK AND JEFF GORDON ARE HERE AS CAR OWNERS AND NOT AS DRIVERS? "Sure."

IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WOULD WELCOME? "Yeah. I'd have to have a whole pile of money from somebody. You know, you just can't snap your fingers and make stuff like that happen. If I get the proper relationships with the right sponsors and get a good program... I don't know if you could build a team from scratch anymore like some of these guys are trying to do now. You've got these new multiple car teams that just won't let you in. It's like the mom & pop country store down the road that are getting run out of town by 7-Eleven. But you can't even start that stuff up no more, you know what I mean? I don't know if I'd really come out of the box with something new as opposed to being a part of something already there."

CAN JR MOTORSPORTS SURVIVE IN THE CUP SERIES? "Well, JR Motorsports can survive in the Busch Series. But the Cup Series is a whole other level. I don't know, man. It's tough to say. It wouldn't be easy at all."

IN THE FEATURE FILM 'CARS', DID YOU JUST READ THE LINES THEY GAVE YOU OR DID YOU JUST MAKE UP SOME AS YOU WENT ALONG? DID YOU JUST REPEAT THE SAME LINES 60 DIFFERENT WAYS? "I'm a one-take guy. I don't need 60 takes. I got her done. I was in there five minutes."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS:

WHAT DOES RACING AT THE BRICKYARD MEAN TO YOU? "Well, as a kid I grew up watching Indianapolis and going to the Brickyard and always just hoped and dreamed that I'd get an opportunity to race there. And not only have I had a chance to race there, but to win there. Every time I go there it's just amazing. I'll never forget the wins -- especially that inaugural win that I had there."

AS A PARTIAL CAR OWNER AND TEAMMATE, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO TRY TO BEAT JIMMIE JOHNSON AT THIS TRACK? "There is no doubt that he's got this place down. Those guys on the Lowe's Chevrolet have really gotten their act together with the set-up. And they've had good fortune. Things go their way. You've got to have respect for that -- a lot of it. Anybody who puts a string of races together like they have -- it's obviously there's a lot of what they're doing and what Jimmie does -- sometimes you just get on a string. From a competitor's standpoint, all you want to do is break that string. You want to look at them as certainly one of the teams to beat, but you don't want to focus too much on them because somebody else might pop up there and surprise you. But the other night they did a fantastic job and that's pretty much the way I've looked at all the other wins they've had here."

HAS THERE BEEN A SIMILAR SENSE OF FRUSTRATION FOR OTHER GUYS TRYING TO KNOCK JOHNSON OFF HERE? "No, not for me. I finished second to him one time. Other than that, we really haven't been around to battle with him. The other night we finished third and I was pretty happy to finish third like I was happy to finish second that one year. I'd love to get up there and battle with him. That one year I finished second to him, I thought we had a shot of at least getting alongside of him on one of the restarts and then the caution came back out after that it was pretty much over. But for me, it's not been frustration. Right now, we want to win anywhere. It's not just about trying to win and beat Jimmie Johnson. It's a lot more than that for us."

DO YOU GET ANYTHING OUT OF PRACTICE HERE DURING THE DAY WHEN EVERYTHING YOU DO ON SUNDAY IS AT NIGHT? "Nope. No, I know there is a lot going on here at the track. But there's really very little that you can learn about what's going to happen. The track is a second off right now. I don't know how you can possibly learn what you're going to learn for qualifying from 7pm - 8pm or whatever time a guy is going out. But it's the same old thing. A late draw is going to be good and you've got to make your best guess at it."

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE HARD TIRE AND THE SMALL FUEL CELL? "Well it's a little bit different than the All-Star event where you don't have segments and you don't have the lining up side by side as far as for position anyway -- you might have some lapped cars on the inside. It's going to be survival. It's similar to the All-Star race. You've got to be smart. And there are going to be times you've got to be aggressive. But you're probably going to be a lot less aggressive through the majority of the day until it really counts at the end. It's going to be like two different races. You've got a day race and a night race, but they're all together.

"If we ever needed an intermission, it's this one. It's drop the green at 5:30 p.m. and then when the sun goes down at 7:30 p.m., stop the race and give us a 10-minute break to be able to make the adjustments on the car. With this tire and the track temperature and those things being so sensitive, it's going to be really, really difficult to handle good at both times of the day. It's usually a challenge, but this takes it to a whole other level."

WITH THIS NEW ASPHALT, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE DRIVING INTO THE UNKNOWN IN A WAY? "Well, they really didn't change the angles and the banking and different things like that. It's not like it's a whole new race track. It's just that it's a much different tire. I think the only unknown is whether the tire is going to grip when you drive in there. I just went to make a qualifying lap and drove into the first turn and I was loose and drove into the second turn and was loose and drove in the third turn and I was pushing. The tire just changes that fast on you. That's what is going to make a one or two-lap qualifying session really challenging. To me, the only thing that made the race interesting the other night was the fact that there were some guys who weren't very good on cold tires and there were some guys who were better on cold tires than others and vice-versa. That was about the only passing that you saw. I was a little disappointed we didn't see more of an outside groove and I hope we see more of an outside groove for the 600."

HOW HAS JIMMIE JOHNSON'S SUCCESS AT LMS IMPRESSED YOU? "Oh, there are so many numbers that I can't even keep up with them. He's won seven of the last, what, eight races here? That pretty much says it all. That's pretty awesome. I think that gives you a lot of confidence as a driver coming in here and as a team. Even with the conditions being totally different, he still had what it took."

DO YOU SHARE SET-UP INFORMATION? "Yeah, we do. But Jimmie drives so much different than I do. He uses a lot more brake and if you look at his data versus mine, it's just really hard to set the cars up the same. There have been times they've been really close, but to make me comfortable the way I drive this track. I felt like we had a really good car the other night. We just never really got the track position."

ON HAVING TO MAKE EXTRA FUEL STOPS BECAUSE OF THE SMALLER FUEL CELL: "I hope this thing goes green the whole way because my pit crew is awesome right now. And as far as getting in and off pit road, I feel like I'm pretty good at pushing the limits and not pushing it too far and on those situations, not making mistakes. I felt like the best we were the other night in the All-Star race was through that green flag stop -- you know, coming in and stop and going back out. At that time, I thought we had a car capable of winning the All-Star race. I'm hoping that we can get a lot of green flag runs going in the 600. With the way we've seen things go this week, it's going to take a long time before we get long green flag runs."

ON PATIENCE AND RESTARTS...WILL THAT DOOR-TO-DOOR RACING ON THE FIRST LAPS BE DANGEROUS? "It's very tricky -- especially if there are cars on that inside lane. There just hasn't been much of an outside lane. I'm hoping that changes a little bit for the 600. After you get a Busch race and all the practicing that we're going to be doing -- we've got to keep that rain away though -- because that rain just continues to wash the rubber away. If we get a clear weekend and a lot of laps and rubber on the race track, we might see two grooves and those restarts might be a little bit better."

WITH A NEW SURFACE, A NEW TIRE, AND NEW FUEL CELL, IS THAT TOO MUCH FOR NASCAR TO BE THROWING AT YOU GUYS ALL AT ONCE? "The reason why they felt they could do that is because of the All-Star race being somewhat of a practice weekend for us to get some laps under these conditions. It's pretty evident to all of us that there's no reason for the (smaller) fuel cell. The tire is too hard, but I think we all understand that side of it. But we all wish we had a regular fuel cell."

WOULD YOU PREFER THAT THEY GAVE YOU A DIFFERENT TIRE ONE WEEKEND AND THEN A DIFFERENT FUEL CELL THE NEXT TIME AROUND? "You've got to remember there's a different tire for every track we go to because every surface and every track is different. This is a tire that's only for Charlotte. And they wanted to be more on the conservative side because of the problems they had in testing. And they did that. I'm really hoping we can get through the 600 and then go the summer and this track loses some grip and Goodyear comes back and tests another tire and we can start getting down to a little bit softer tire and have a little bit more security and a better race when we come back here in October."

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN YOU AND RICK HENDRICK WERE NEGOTIATING WITH LOWE'S FOR A SPONSORSHIP ON JIMMIE JOHNSON'S NO. 48 CHEVY? "Oh, yeah. I was taking everything I learned from Rick Hendrick over the years and every meeting I'd been in and trying to make the best of it. I believed in Jimmie and in the organization that we could put together a strong team and that Jimmie was going to be a great driver. I had no idea that he was going to do what he has done. But I did believe we could put a good program together. I was pretty confident going into those meetings. I was excited that we were putting both the No. 24 and the No. 48 teams together under one roof. I'll never forget that all they really wanted to know was if Jimmie could win races. And none of us really knew, but we said yes (laughs). I remember the CEO went straight to Jimmie and asked him and he stumbled a little bit because I don't think he was expecting that he was going to have to say those types of things but I think we'd all convinced him about how great Hendrick Motorsports was and that it was a good place to be and that he would be successful and that he believed it himself. He said yes and fortunately they came around."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS:

WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS RACE WILL BE LIKE COMPARED TO THE ALL STAR RACE? "I hope there is more racing going on. In the All-Star race it was kind of a shoot-out, everybody was going for broke. It's hard to race those cars that hard for that long. For us we only made it to the first segment. We weren't able to tag on for the second and third segment. We were able to pass a little bit. It's all about whoever can get a better car really."

ON THIS BEING A HOME TRACK AND IF HE IS THE ONE TO BEAT HERE OR IF ANYBODY CAN WIN? "Anybody can (win) really but I feel like we've always had a strong shot at it. The only thing that we keep getting bit with is our luck. Last year we were leading the 600 when we dropped a cylinder. Then we were leading the fall 500 race when we had a right front tire go down and we bent it. We've been very, very fast in all the races here but we just quite haven't been able to make it to the end like we needed to. I've won the past two Busch Series races here in the spring and had success in the Craftsman Trucks Series race here in the spring. I've always done pretty well in running here but the Cup (Series) has eluded me a little bit."

HOW ARE THE TIRES? "Earlier today in the Busch Series they were terrible. Everybody was wrecking and crashing. Nobody ever told them that it was going to be like that because there was no rubber on the track. The more the rubber got put down the better it got. Everybody kept getting a little bit better and more forgiving for the driver."

WILL THE NEW FUEL CELL HELP WITH THE LENGTH OF THIS RACE? "It's going to drag the race longer definitely. We're already in the car four and a half hours. I don't think another half hour is going to matter. For some of the fans it's going to be tough for them to pack up and sit in the stands for that long but I'm sure there is going to be plenty of soda and beer sales."

COULD YOU BE THE GUY THAT ENDS JIMMIE JOHNSON'S STREAK HERE? "We're sure hoping so. Anybody has that possibility. It's all about how they can get their car handling. We've had a pretty good race car every time we've been here. The finish of the race keeps eluding us so hopefully we can contend with him at least."

ON HIS CAR AND HOW IT'S RUNNING: "Well we unloaded and we were very strong. We were at the top of the board right off the bat. We stayed there for a quite a while until the track started cooling down a little bit. Guys started going a little bit quicker with the tires and everything. We made some changes to it. We were going out there right at the end in order to get a good run in and that caution that came out bunched everybody back up and everybody was all over each other so we didn't get a clean lap. We kind of ran into traffic a couple of times so we weren't able to post a quick time again but the car is running well. I'm proud of all my Kellogg's guys. We've got the car's movie premier coming up tomorrow."

WHY IS THE 48 TEAM SO GOOD HERE? "Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus and probably the word Lowe's written across the hood. The Lowe's car should win here at Lowe's Motor Speedway. They put a lot of emphasis on this race track to do well. It's not that it's any different than anywhere else you want to win at but they strive to win at this place."

DOES THAT WORK FOR YOU IN THE BUSCH SERIES? "It has the past two spring races here and in the fall we've always run strong. I was leading last fall then coming down pit road and the gear broke off. I've always done very good here in the Busch car so we'll see how it goes."

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE DRIVERS FROM HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS THAT HAVE DONE WELL AT THIS TRACK? IS IT THE SET UP? "I don't know what it is really. Jimmie and I tend to have the same type of driving style and run the same type of set up. That might be what it is for both of us. As far as the rest of the Hendrick drivers, Brian (Vickers) and Jeff (Gordon), they have a little bit different tendencies than we do so that might be why they don't run quite as well as we do. At the Coca-Cola 600 last year I think we were all in the top four there at one moment leading the race which is pretty cool for Hendrick Motorsports."

HOW HARD IS IT TO DISCIPLINE YOURSELF DURING A 600-MILE RACE? "It gets difficult. The mental aspect of it can get you a little bit. The last 75 to 100 miles really gets to you. You're used to 500. You're not used to 600. That can really take a toll on a driver sometimes. When you have an easy driving car and something that is out front, it's way easier that way instead of having to fight it all day."

ON HAVING FUN DURING THE ALL STAR CHALLENGE DRIVER INTROS: "It was just something to have a little fun. Everybody was duds out there. All they were doing was walking out and strolling along, walking down. You've got to put on a show. That's what the fans are here to see, not just the race. The crew and I got together and did a little feel there. It was kind of cool. We have fun with it. That's all it was."

WHO CHOREOGRAPHED ALL THAT? "Rick Pidgeon the jackman. He choreographed it a little bit. He told us all what we were going to do and stuff. It kind of came out pretty cool."