KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAM OWNER, RICK HENDRICK POST RACE TRANSCRIPT:

KYLE BUSCH: The Kellogg's Chevrolet was basically strong right off the truck. Tried to keep making it turn better through the center of the corner. We did that all through practice, and then here again in the race, we did the same thing. We just wanted to bide our time, run our own race, and make sure we did what we needed to do, not make too many mistakes, which we were able to keep down to a minimum today.

Guys were giving me flawless pit stops. Alan had flawless pit strategy, really. It was great. We were always able to keep our car up front and out of the pack, and out of trouble. So the only time we ever got back in the pack was when we came in under green for that pit stop and then the caution came out a couple laps later. We had to restart behind some of the tail?enders. That was really the only time that we got back in traffic any.

So car handled very well, turned very good. Very fortunate to have the guys that I have make that that way.

Q. Rick, tell us about your view of the race today.

RICK HENDRICK: It was a great race if you are a fan. I mean, it was kind of a ?? I didn't mean to say that exactly right.

It was an awesome race. You would never ?? with the pit strategy like it was, cars were back in the pack, cars that were leading were out front. Then you were on pins and needles to try to make sure you weren't caught up in something.

I think it was one of the most competitive races I've seen up here. I can't remember one any more competitive with that many cars that could run out front. So it was a great day.

Q. Can you just tell us when you pitted last for fuel and how much fuel did you think you had at the end and how much did you have at the end?

KYLE BUSCH: Well, there was a caution that came out I believe on lap 290 or 280?something and we knew we couldn't make it till the end from there. Alan was wondering if I wanted to come. I told him, No, there's no point in coming now.

Then a caution came out 12 or 15 laps later, which was the window that we needed to be in, which was lap 306 or 308. That gave us just enough of a window where we could come in then and fill up our gas tank and go on to the finish.

When we did that, I asked whether or not we were going to be okay for the overtime if there was gonna be any. Alan told me, Yeah, we should be okay. I guess we weren't expecting to be overtime quite as long as what it was, some of those caution laps at the end.

So NASCAR did a great job on getting the track ready to go. I called for that sweeper truck there when the 07 wrecked. There was a bunch of stuff on the back straightaway there. They got that done in one lap, which was good. Michael Waltrip, I don't know what happened to him, I don't know if the radiator busted or what that was, it was out of the groove where they didn't have to put any oil sweep down or anything, they could just go.

Q. With a couple laps to go, when you had the extra caution, did you think anyone, or was there anyone you thought might be dangerous and might have enough to come up and make a run at you?

KYLE BUSCH: Well, I thought maybe Carl Edwards would probably be the biggest threat. Nothing against Denny Hamlin. It looked to me like Carl was coming a little bit harder than anybody else was back through traffic. He might have worn his stuff out getting there.

So, you know, Denny, he ran an awesome race, being the rookie that he is, I commend him on that, as well as Reed Sorenson, he came up and passed me in the middle part of the race, led for a little bit.

There towards the end with that green light checker restart, I knew if I could go off into the corner, turn one, run my own line, give it just enough brake to slow it down, turn the wheel, hopefully it would turn and then, you know, get the drive off that I needed.

On restarts, you're on pins and needles. I mean, you're just driving on edge because the tires, they have a chance to cool down, and then they don't really have the grip that they would that you have in the long run. It's a little bit edgy on restarts, any restarts, whether it's new tires or old tires.

Q. Kyle, you climbed from 8th to 4th in the points. Tony Stewart fell out. Kind of comment on the way the points are looking to you.

KYLE BUSCH: That's how close it is. That's how tight it is. I mean, any little mistake and you can put yourself right back out. Yeah, that's great that we moved from 8th to 4th, but the biggest thing with that is the points difference between 4th and 10th. Who's to say next week we make a mistake or something, and we're out.

We just need to keep doing what we're doing, running our own race. If we keep executing the way we need to and just running our own race and making our own, you know ?? you can set your own destiny, and that's what we've pretty much been working on, and trying to make sure that we finish the way we need to. We can run strong, but, you know, sometimes our finishes haven't shown for that. So here, as of lately, we've been able to cash in on the deal really.

Q. I heard you say afterwards that you wished that Tony Stewart had been around to race you. You really are the only guy who was running near the front at the beginning and all through the race. How did it feel to have all the people that were fast early in the race long gone by the time it ended?

KYLE BUSCH: Well, it made it a lot easier, I'll tell you that. The biggest thing was, you may forget the 25 car, Brian Vickers, he blew by me like I was tied to a post, went on, led some laps and stuff like that, too. He was very strong. I'm not sure what happened to him. I didn't keep a close enough track.

The 20 car, I saw him get spun out there, I'm not sure what happened. The biggest thing was that they got taken out of today's race and it would have been fun in order to race him at the end of the race and seen what our car could have had against his because I'm sure we'll be racing him again when we come back here for the second race.

Q. You mentioned Reed and Denny. You won the race. Some of the younger guys are making an impact today. Kind of comment on maybe a changing of the guards to the usual faces we are used to.

KYLE BUSCH: I wouldn't say that it's anything unusual. I mean, we've been seeing them up front here as of late anyways. You know, Denny, he won his race at Pocono, which we're going to next week. And then Reed, he had a strong finish last week, top rookie, I believed finished 6th or 7th. The biggest thing is those guys are really putting it on here in the second half of the first half of the season.

We've just been concentrating our own game, but those guys have been, you know, right there with us.

Q. Two years ago your brother came here, won this race in July, kind of set himself up for the September race to start the Chase, which really seemed to set the foundation for his championship. Do you look at this race as it's gonna carry over for you in September when you're hopefully starting that championship run?

KYLE BUSCH: I think so. I mean, any time you have a good run at a race track, you can sort of come back and unload with the same thing and just work on it from there even further.

To where we finished out the weekend as far as car setup from where we started, you know, if we can do the same thing next time, then we might be even better off than what we were today.

But the biggest thing for us was just to work on our race car through practice and make it what it was there for the finish of the race. Started out the race a little bit too loose, then went a little bit too tight. We kind of found the balance there I believe with air pressures and things that brought it more consistent throughout the whole run.

Q. You've had three very strong finishes in three races. Is there anything you can point to, any factor or thing you're doing with Alan and the team you can point to that's brought you this run of good results?

KYLE BUSCH: If I did that, everybody would find out. No, I'm just kidding.

The biggest thing for us, like I keep saying, week in and week out we come to the race track, we work on our own race car, don't worry about anybody else, what they're doing, how fast they are, where they're running during the race, whether or not they've been taken out or not. Yeah, we see it. We don't pay attention to it, we don't dawn on it, we don't, "Ooh," we just go on and do our own deal.

For myself, you know, lately, I would have to say from the beginning of the year, you know, I've been more conscious of trying to points race, trying to put my car in the right spot, not trying to overdrive it in anyway. Last week I overdrove it in qualifying and we ended up 23rd instead of maybe in the top 10. There's definitely areas I can improve on. I'm sure there's areas where the team can improve on. I'm sure there's areas where our cars can improve.

As soon as we get all those solidified and knocked down to minimum amount of mistakes each week, we'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Q. You referred to this earlier, too, the fact that you let other teams make their mistakes and just worry about your own problems. Is this something that was a problem for you in the past or for you and your team in the past, that you worried too much about what other guys were doing out there?

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, last year we started very early in the season. I mean, we had our good run at Vegas. Then we had a couple bad races in a row. I believe it was Martinsville and Bristol, we got taken out of both of those, then whatever happened in the middle part of the season. We kind of lost track of what we were doing and we were more paying attention to what everybody else was doing. That kind of made us just struggle along last year and we missed the Chase by a lot.

This year, just concentrating on our own deal, not really worrying about what everybody else is doing. Practice speeds, whoever's got the top car in practice, I mean, you know, they might struggle in the race. We're just worried about car feel and how the car drives and how it reacts to changes and things like that. And that's what a lot of the big?name guys are doing and that's why they're up where they are in points.

Matt Kenseth, he does it every week, you hear it from him. You hear it from Jimmie Johnson. You hear it from Tony Stewart. If you keep paying attention to what everybody else is doing, you'll find yourself worrying too much about them and not about yourself.

Q. I just wanted to ask, your car was fast-fast. Can you explain why?

KYLE BUSCH: The driver. No, I'm just kidding. Really, I'm kidding. The car was very fast.

I tell you what, just it goes back to my guys. I mean, I'll come in and tell them what I need in order to make the car go faster. They'll sit there and think about it and work on it. You know, they'll try anything.

I mean, yesterday, we went out, ran 20 straight laps in the first practice for the first Happy Hour Session, and then we came in and we made such a major change we weren't able to get back out until after five minutes after the second session had already started. That's how big of a change we made. We went out, ran another 20 laps. We felt like it was better and we came in, made a couple more minor changes just to see what they would do for the race today, went back out, ran 10 laps and we were done.

We felt like we had a good car from when we unloaded here. Yeah, it was a little bit tight throughout the whole weekend but it was still fast the way it was.

Q. One for Rick and one for Kyle. First, Rick, are you worried about, you know, everybody's a foregone conclusion every time you go for the Chase, Jeff Gordon will be in it. Lately, it's one step forward, two steps back, and he's on the edge. Kyle, are you feeling any pressure even though you have a bit of a safety net there, are you feeling pressure to make it?

RICK HENDRICK: As far as Jeff goes, Jeff Gordon, you know, about the only guy we feel like is locked is Jimmie. Two or three races, that could change. You look at what's happened to Tony. Jeff's running great. I mean, the car's been ?? he's been consistent. We've had things happen at tracks that normally things don't happen to him, Superspeedways and things like that. We've just got to keep digging.

There's a lot of good cars out there. Everybody's working hard, and we're doing everything we can do. I think we got a lot of good momentum. Going back to Pocono, he runs good there. It's going to be a dogfight, I'll tell you. This thing's going to be settled when we get to Richmond. We'll know when we get there.

KYLE BUSCH: The biggest thing for me is I don't really feel necessarily that we're solidified or we're in or anything like that. I mean, I kind of alluded to it just a little bit earlier, was that, you know, we moved from 8th to 4th today, but who's to say we can't move from 4th to 10th tomorrow or next week.

The thing for us to do is go to Pocono, try to work on our race car, make it better, try talking Alan into taking this car next week. We'll leave it at the shop, wait for this race, coming back here in the fall, or take it to Richmond or something like that. The car today, it was The Punisher, and it punished them. We're going to take it to wherever it runs good, which are usually flat miles.

Q. Kyle, you talked a lot about patience, running your own race and all that. I think you did that to a large degree today. There was that time you got trapped back in traffic. Guys at the tail end of the lead lap, you're splitting Riggs and Mayfield. How hard is it when you know you've got The Punisher to stay patient and let that sort of play itself out when every fiber of your being must be wanting to say, I got to get back to the front?

KYLE BUSCH: Well, let me ask you a question. Are you alluding to when I was back in traffic on that restart or when I was behind Jeff and Riggs and Jeremy?

Q. Just you were stuck. It might have been on the restart. One of the two times, I remember you slicing through the middle of somebody or something.

KYLE BUSCH: Okay. Well, the first ?? I'll go ahead and do both. The first time was we just came in for a green flag pit stop and then a caution came out and the guys in front of us that hadn't pitted yet came down Pit Road, pitted, gave us the lead back. There was a bunch of guys on the tail end of the lead lap. I kind of rode around there a little bit, watched the lap cars get sideways, and able to get by them. Made some moves on the 8 and the 14 and I think there was one other car I may have gotten by, I'm not sure.

The one that you may be more alluding to was the one with Jeff in front of me. Yes, you're correct. The thing with that, I knew we had a great race car. That was when we had just come in for fuel only and then Biffle was behind us. Then I think the 11 and the 99 and 41, whoever else. So I knew whoever was going to get to the front first was probably going to have the best shot at winning the race. You want to make sure that you bide your time, but you're patient enough that you don't get yourself in trouble, but you're aggressive enough to where you can get there first.

The biggest thing with that I was getting pressured by Biffle real hard when I had a hard time getting by Jeff. I had to make sure I set back in my rhythm a little bit, got back in my own race car and just put it on the outside of Jeff and cleared him and was able to get by the other two and the rest of them got stuck back there for a few more laps.

By then I was able to get out front in clean air. The first two guys had gone, took off. I kind of rode there, hoping there was going to be another caution, which there was.

Q. Kyle, you talked about the confidence you had in this car. I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think there was about 30 to go where you radioed Alan and said, Can we bring this thing to Pocono.

KYLE BUSCH: Yeah.

Q. Was it about that time that you started thinking, Hey, this car's going to get to the finish here?

KYLE BUSCH: I knew that it was ?? I knew once we got to the lead that we had a great shot of doing it. Whether or not something went wrong, I couldn't tell you.

But I just knew that it was going to be awfully tough for somebody to get by me because it was tough to pass out there. You could get it done, but it was tough. You had to slide into guys or you had to get a good run on them. You really had to position yourself. You had to think about it. It wasn't just get to them, pass them and go on, you know; it was you got to think about this and try to work on something.

For me, I wouldn't say that I ever really thought we had a great shot at winning, especially coming down in the end when we had a green white checker.

Q. Just a follow?up. Again, when you left here in September, I think you might have been feeling a little bit sore about how things went for you that day.

KYLE BUSCH: Uh hmm

Q. Can you compare and contrast the feeling of that day versus this one.

KYLE BUSCH: Well, this car here that we ran today was a car we ran here last spring, and we finished ?? ran second all day to Stewart with it and we finished 4th.

We brought a different car back here in the fall because we were saving this one ?? no, we were at Richmond the week before, so we ran it at Richmond, couldn't get it turned around in enough time to bring it here one week after the next. That's why we had to bring a different car here and struggled with it. We couldn't get it the way we wanted it to be. So we decided this year we'd better build a twin to it, so the twin to The Punisher is The Twisted Sister, and it runs at Phoenix. So we're saving it for there. But those are the only two cars we have named just 'cause I don't know why. Don't ask me, ask Alan.

But the biggest thing is just to know that we have good race cars lined up this year that we're in position to ?? we've got our stable all lined out for the rest of the year.

Q. I have one question for Rick and one for Kyle. Rick, you knew you got a good race car driver when you hired Kyle. As you see him becoming more patient, you have to be thinking and knowing you've got what in a driver with him?

KYLE BUSCH: Don't look at me.

RICK HENDRICK: He has done a great job. It's unbelievable, at his age, how he's matured, how quickly he's matured. He's always ?? we've known since the first time he drove in Nashville, the first time he sat down in Busch car, he ran second to Kenseth in Charlotte. He's always amazed us at the amount of talent he's had.

He's just learned in a hurry. We have to remind him sometimes, but he's done a super job. I'm real proud of him. I mean, you watch guys come along in a sport and you can race, but you got to know how to win, know how to win the race and not burn your stuff up and use your stuff up, be able to size people up and take care of it. I don't think I've ever seen anybody pick it up that quick. He's done a phenomenal job.

Q. Not even Jeff Gordon?

RICK HENDRICK: Jeff Gordon picked it up real quick, in a hurry, too. But the competition today, with so many, so many teams sharing information and working together, you see so many different leaders out there. I look at Tim Richman and I remember how Tim had phenomenal car control, and Kyle did, too. Jeff was an extremely smart racer. I don't think ?? Jeff had more time in a stock body car because of the Busch Series and had run more races than when Kyle ?? when we moved him up. We moved him up in a hurry and a lot of people said I moved him up too quick in the Cup series.

But sometimes when you got a guy with talent and you got a seat open, if you don't move him then, you might have to wait a year later than you really want to.

I think we put a tremendous amount of pressure on him to just run one year Busch and then move up.

Q. Kyle, I know last year your team was practicing being in the championship hunt. Some people might think that's silly, but it's starting to make a lot of sense right now. Can you talk about that.

KYLE BUSCH: Kind of funny how difference a year makes, isn't it? You know, I keep alluding to my team guys. Alan Gustafson is one of the smartest crew chiefs that I've ever known. We can make a car go fast. We can make some pit strategy calls. We can plan out our own ventures and he can figure out what kind of guys he needs to work on his team. He's all an all?around very smart crew chief and very smart leader. He knows what he's doing.

He came up with that theory last year and, you know, we tried it, we planned it out. We did what we needed to do. We had a couple bad races in there. But all in all, I thought that our practice run went fairly well, and that when it comes down to the real deal, that we're ready for it, you know. There's not going to be much ?? there will be pressure, don't get me wrong, but we're going to try to keep it down to a minimum, to where we can just go out there, keep running every week, doing our own deal.

RICK HENDRICK: I think, too, Alan, that was his first year as a crew chief. So you take a 20?year?old and a 24? or 25?year?old, a young engineer that's been on the team, make him the crew chief, and the young driver. Most of the time you want to put an experienced guy with a young driver, but this is really ?? in Lance and Brian it's worked the same way. So it's been good chemistry.

Q. I want to get into your head for a second, Kyle. Race going 300 laps originally, then 303, then 308. As a driver behind the wheel, how do you rationalize that, when you think you have to win, go again, a little further, a little further? What goes through your mind?

KYLE BUSCH: The biggest thing, it's not over until the checkered flag. Really, you just keep digging along. We didn't quite know if we had enough fuel or not to make it to the end but we figured so. When you do those restarts, it's just like my ? where were we, Richmond, Busch Series? Caution after caution after caution trying to hold back Greg Biffle. That was probably more difficult than what today was.

Still, I think once you get your first and second win out of the way, it comes to you a little bit easier as far as taking some pressure off because you know that if you do it, great; if not, it's like, you know, what did I screw up on? You can go back and learn from it.

The biggest thing for today was just hold the belts tight and get after it there for the final restart again.

Q. Were you thinking, Is this race ever going to get over with?

KYLE BUSCH: No, you never really sit there and say to yourself, Is the race ever going to get over with. You're just kind of like, Well, we need to get going green here, we need to get going green here. That's more what it is, instead of, Is it ever going to get over. We just need to go green. We'll find the checkered flag, we just need to go green. The hardest thing was looking for the green.

Q. Kyle, when did you last get tires and what was the thought process behind the fuel only at 211?

KYLE BUSCH: When did we last get tires? I don't remember.

RICK HENDRICK: I don't either.

KYLE BUSCH: How many laps was today's race, 300? I think we stopped at 240 maybe, 250. No, actually 150. 150 or 180 was our last stop for fuel, if I'm correct ?? or for tires. Our last stop for fuel was 208. So tires went about 140 laps there at the end of the race.

He knows more than we do, ask him.

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS:

"Good Lord, I've never seen so many cautions at the end of a race in my life, but I'm glad we could hang onto it. These Kellogg's guys have worked their tails off. Kyle (Busch) has done a great job. That's a mean machine right there. That car has won two races and gotten six top fives and an eighth place, so we're looking forward to bringing that one back in the Chase."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 37th and drops to 11th in the point standings:

ON THE ACCIDENT WITH RYAN NEWMAN, WHAT HAPPENED? "I got wrecked by Ryan Newman. Everybody races each other different. And there's guys are really good at give and take and there are guys that aren't. Ryan is one of those guys who is not good at the giving part. He's really good at taking, but he's not very good at giving. We're racing everybody the way they race us and most of the guys get it, but there are a couple of them who don't.

HOW FRUSTRATING IS THAT AS FAR AS POINTS GO? "I think that's pretty obvious."

YOU'VE HAD A COUPLE OF TOUGH RACES RECENTLY, HAVE YOU STARTED LOOKING AT THE POINTS NOW? "No, you've still just got to take it a week at a time. You can't dictate who is going to wreck us and stuff like that. It's clear that he's not going to make the Chase, so he doesn't care about the guys who are worrying about it and trying to make it themselves. I like Ryan. Ryan's a great guy and he's a good friend, but I just wish he would learn a bit more on the give and take side of things."

IS THIS CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY HE'S BEEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR? "It's been that way since he's started. He's not the only one who's had problems with that. We've had problems with both Busch brothers. We've had problems with Greg Biffle. But as time goes on, they learn and they get it. Ryan is one of those guys that just doesn't get it yet.

There are about four or five guys out there that only car about one person and that's themselves. They don't care about the other 42 guys that they have to share the race track with and race with each week."

WITH THAT ATTITUDE, DID YOU THINK ABOUT LETTING HIM GO? "Well, normally you would. But at some point you finally get tired of giving to everybody or to particular individuals and all they do is take, take, take and they don't give back. So when you catch them 30 laps into it and you have to race your guts out to get by him, it doesn't make you really want to pull over and just let the same guy go later on in the race."

RICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS:

ON KYLE BUSCH WINNING THE RACE: "Man, I am too old for this, I had a birthday last week! What a great car. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) told me last night to come up here because we were going to win this race. We were going to be awfully close on fuel.

"It is hard to believe he is as young as he is and has as much talent as he does. I think he is up to fourth in points, which is awesome.

"Just a great day for the Kellogg's Chevrolet team."

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Race Winner

ON BEING WORRIED ABOUT FUEL: "I ask Alan when we came in on that last stop and was wondering if we had enough fuel to get to the end if there was overtime and he said I was fine, then he told me to save gas. So I didn't know what to think.

"But man, I just want to thank all these guys. They didn't have to sweat as much today as they did the last two days preparing this thing. They did an awesome job for me. We just kept trying to make it turn better in the center. They did an awesome job for me with this Kellogg's Chevrolet to bring it here to victory lane."

ON GETTING SHUFFLED BACK IN THE PACK ON RESTARTS "I was a little bit concerned, especially when there were a few accidents in front of us. I hate it for the 20 car. I feel bad for Tony (Stewart). I wish we could have battled it out there at the end because I know he was ver, very strong. He had a very fast race car and so did the No. 31 (Jeff Burton).

"I think it was the No.12 car (Ryan Newman) that got spun out there and we barely made it past those guys. But it wasn't that big of a deal in order to bypass those guys. We had a good enough car that if we just bided our own time, we could just clear them all and go on."

ON NOW BEING FOURTH IN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS CHASE "The biggest thing with that is yes, it is great, it is cool and all that but the difference between fourth and 10th, I mean it is just so darn close that this week we went from eighth to fourth and next week we could go from fourth to 12th. We need to just keep rolling like we are here, the past three weeks we have had a third, second and a first. I guess I have to win to get a TV interview so hey, if that is what it takes, that is what I will do. We will be here next weekend. I think we can do it." (more to follow)

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 9th

ON THE RACE: "That was the beating of the day, We got caught in the pits when the caution came out. I got in the wall twice on my own. Had to deal with coming in to get the car fixed. It was a lot of hard racing. That is probably the hardest racing I have ever done on a flat track there with Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, the No. 31 (Jeff Burton) there at the end at least for a few laps. It was a lot of fun.

"It was a tough day, we got cycled out there early. We fought back, got up near the front and picked off a few spots. We just need to stay up near the front all day and not have to rally back at the end of the day."

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 7th

"I just feel really dumb for getting caught speeding down pit road again. I don't know what that's all about. I'm not saying it's anything else. It's my fault. This is the second time this year I have done it. I think that's about the fourth time in my career I've gotten caught speeding. We bumped our pit road speed to be more competitive on pit road; we just have to back it down some. It was a great car. That's just hurt us and we played catch-up all day after that. We were three laps down and came back and finished seventh. I can't complain about that.

I don't think we had anything for the No. 5 car (Kyle Busch) and I think Tony (Stewart) was better but it was a good day. Other than them, we were really good. We just kept fighting and I'm real proud of my guys. We were leading early in the race, we just have to figure out a way to lead at the end of the race."

"But the real problem I have got is that we were just not that good yesterday in practice, these guys got their heads together last night and spent a lot of time and found a way to make our car a lot better. We just have to keep fighting. This is what this team is about. We aren't always going to be the best but we are going to fight to get something out of it. With some track position, we would have had a chance to win.

IS THAT WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE THIS CHASE? "You have to overcome bad days and we did that today. By no means are we in the Chase. But those are the kinds of races that you've got to have because not every day is going to be a good day. And you've just got to find a way to it and that's what we did today.

ON FUEL MILEAGE: "We were really nervous today as everybody was. NASCAR kept going and going and going. I'm like, red flag it or something. I just couldn't believe they kept going. But at the end of the day it worked out for us and our fuel mileage was good and I'm proud of our guys for being able to get that mileage. We've jus got to keep fighting and I'm proud of my guys because we weren't that good yesterday. They made this car a top five car."

ON BEING THIRD IN THE POINTS: "I know we're third in points, but what we're worried about is discontinuing our trend. Obviously we want to be in the top 10 in points. And the better we do, the better chance we have of doing that. That's our goal is to race hard and go get all we can. That's what we did today. We raced hard and we're going to continue to do that. We're not good enough to lay back. Nobody is. We're just going to keep digging and try to make some good things happen for us.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT'S GIVEN YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A COMFORT LEVEL? "I don't feel any more comfortable today than I did yesterday. Talk to me at Richmond if we're in the Chase. But I'm smart enough to know. I've seen stuff go wrong quickly. I've been around enough to know that can happen. Your competition is so tough. These guys just don't make mistakes. Just look at the No. 99 car. He's teetering back and forth to being able to be in and he finishes 2nd or 3rd today. You just can't count anybody out. When your competition is good, you've got to be better."

WASN'T THIS KIND OF A STRANGE RACE? "Well, this race has a tendency to be strange with pit stops and everything else and different sequences. It was a normal, strange race today."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 5th

"We came out on the right side of the fuel thing there at the end and (crew chief) Todd (Berrier) and all the guys did a great job today. I thought we were on the wrong side of things but he kept telling me it was going to be fine and to just keep going and everything worked out really good."

HOW MUCH FUEL DID YOU HAVE THERE AT THE END? Man, I don't know. It was just one of those deals where they kept telling me, 'Keep saving gas. Keep saving gas.' There was a lot of hard work back at the shop to make sure this thing gets all the gas it can in it. I just can't thank Todd (Berrier) and all those guys enough on this GM Goodwrench Chevy. They did a great job. I said to Todd, 'We should have pitted,' and he said," Awe, you'll be alright. See what you can get.' I got back up there and everything worked out really good.

DENNY HAMLIN RAN OUT OF FUEL AT THE FINISH. COULD YOU TELL YOU PASSED HIM AT THE LINE? My spotter said I got him but I couldn't tell. All in all it was a good day and we just had to keep going until the end.

TALK ABOUT THE MOMENTUM. We've always run really good here, but we always seemed to come up a little but short. It was a good day for us today.

ON A GOOD SOLID TOP FIVE FINISH WITH THE CHASE GETTING CLOSER: "Yeah, that's what we've got to do. Obviously we want to win, but we've got to have solid days to make everything keep going around for this Chase."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 15th

A 15TH PLACE FINISH DOESN'T SOUND TOO GOOD, BUT IT WAS NOT TOO SHABBY CONSIDERING THE DAY: "Yeah, it certainly was a pretty decent finish for the day we went through. I'm just really proud of this race team and how hard they are fighting right now and every weekend. They're just putting out an awesome effort. We didn't have the best car today. We had track position and that was maintaining a decent run there early in the race. And then we missed a couple of wrecks and had to come in and make a few adjustments and lost track position. We surprisingly fought our way back up to the top 10 there at one time. But we just didn't have it for them to keep going forward there at the end."

YOU'RE 11TH POINTS OVER 11TH IN THE STANDINGS..NOT MUCH BREATHING ROOM THERE "No, that's why with the day we had to finish 15th and to gain a spot in the points. You've got to be happy with that. We'll go to Pocono and hope for better results than we had there last time."

WAS THIS A STRANGE RACE WITH MOST OF THE FAVORITES BEING KNOCKED OUT BY WRECKS? "It was very difficult with conditions today. The track was very hot with this weather. The tires weren't holding up very well at all. Cars were slipping and sliding around. It was just very difficult to pass on this track. Any time you have those types of conditions, you're going to see a lot of guys losing control and you're going to see them getting into one another."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO SS - Involved in accident with No. 12 Ryan Newman on Lap 90; went behind the wall for repairs.

WHAT HAPPENED? "The No. 12 car (Ryan Newman) just took us out. We're starting to learn to race him like he races us and he doesn't give anybody a break so I wasn't about to give him a break. So he'll just take me out then if you don't let him by. It's amazing how he expects you to let him by, but he don't give anybody that same courtesy."

THE DAMAGE LOOKS PRIMARILY LIKE THE RADIATOR.ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET IT BACK OUT? "Yeah, it'll look like the Modified we had yesterday with the open front wheels, but the good thing is these guys (crew) are recently getting really good at fixing things after they've been wrecked, so they'll do whatever it takes to get us back out."

DID YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH LAPPED TRAFFIC? "It wasn't lapped traffic, it was Ryan (Newman) trying to get his lap back. After a while, you finally get tired of giving guys spots, and them not doing the same thing. You watch Ryan at the beginning of the race holding the No. 2 car up, we just bullied our way by him but never touched him. We did what we had to do to get by him.

"The thing is, with a bunch of these young guys, they tell us every week about give and take in the driver's meeting and there is a reason they tell you that.

"All I did was race him the same way he races us and he wrecks us, I don't even think he tried to make the corner. "

ON HIS OPINION ABOUT DRIVERS SPENDING MORE TIME IN THE BUSCH SERIES TO LEARN GIVE AND TAKE "Before the TV switch here, the guys were saying about how it is now I guarantee you that if Darrell Waltrip and those guys had to race 500 miles like they are trying to ask us to race now it wouldn't be any fun either.

"Kyle Busch, the 25 car, everybody else I passed, I didn't have any problems with anybody. But Ryan, when you race him the way he races you, he just decides to dump you.

IT HAS TO BE FRUSTRATED POINTS-WISE "It is frustrating, but there is nothing we can do about it. We have a great group of guys here who will do everything they can to get us back out there to do what we can.

"It is frustrating when you got a guy who isn't in the top-10 and won't make the Chase ruining it for everybody else."

DALE EARNHARDT JR, NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS - Sidelined with engine failure

FIRST, YOU ARE LIMPING, ARE YOU OK? "In these cars, sometimes the way you mash the gas pedal, it is a little uncomfortable. I didn't know it until I got out, but it is fine, everything is fine.

"The car just broke a motor I think. It is a shame, man. We haven't had any engine failures for a long time. I am real proud of my engine department. I don't think these guys can't fix this thing. Hopefully we will just keep at it man. We have got a Chase to make so everybody will just stay focused and we will get right through this and go on."

IS IT HOT OUT THERE? "Oh, I'm telling you. If you're out there running, it's fine. But if you have to cruise right there, you don't really realize how hot you are and how tired you are. But I didn't get any warning from the motor. It just snapped. I don't understand. That's only the second or third motor I've ever blown with DEI. I can't say anything about any of the guys. They've done a great job all year. It was some kind of freak deal, man. There ain't no way these things are breaking. These guys build pretty durable stuff."

WHEN YOU LOOK UP UNDER THE HOOD OF THE BUDWEISER CHEVROLET, YOU SEE A LOT OF MARBLES, RUBBER OFF THE TIRES - WHAT'S THE CONDITION LIKE ON THE TRACK AS FAR AS HANDLING GOES? "It's great. The track's great. It's just a little warm. That's the only thing you've got to complain about. It's a little hot out there. Hopefully I drank enough water last night."

JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS - Involved in a crash with No. 25, Brian Vickers:

"Man, you know it's just really frustrating. I'm so proud of my guys -- this whole U.S. Army team has worked hard. We tested at Indy last Monday and we only got one day of testing in but we've just missed a lot of our set-ups this year and we've had bad luck and whatever else can happen to us. We learned a lot at Indy. It all transferred over here. My U.S. Army car was strong. We were fast. I think we were running in sixth place right there. It just jammed up with the lapped cars. Brian Vickers, he just was trying to go. I know everybody stacked up and he just got into the back of me a little bit. I guess it was just one of those racing deals."

THIS TEAM HAS HAD SUCH MOMENTUM LATELY. DOES THIS HURT YOUR MOMENTUM OR DO YOU JUST MOVE ON AND GET GOING? "Well, you've just got to move on. We feel good that we ran good. I think everybody knew we were here today. We definitely ran in the top 10 all day and that's a good thing for the way we've run this year. We've struggled. We've had to step it up. We've been trying to figure out these set-ups. We run on coil-bound springs and in the last six months, everything's changed."