KEVIN HARVICK SCORES 4TH WIN OF SEASON, FIRST OF CHASE; TEAM CHEVY SWEEPS TOP 5 FINISHING POSITIONS

CHEVROLET CLINCHES 30TH ALL-TIME MANUFACTURERS' CUP TITLE

Loudon, NH - Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Reese's Monte Carlo SS led Team Chevy to the line to win the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Round 27 on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series tour. The victory was Harvick's fourth of the season and ninth of his NNCS career.

The win clinched the Manufacturers' Cup title for Chevrolet with nine races remaining in the season. It is the 26th modern era championship and 30th all-time crown for the Bowtie brand.

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS finished 2nd, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS was 3rd, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Monte Carlo SS was 4th, and Brian Vickers in the No. 25 GMAC Monte Carlo rounded out the top five.

The series moves to Dover, Delaware for Round 28 on Sunday, September 24

Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Manufacturer's Standings:
Chevrolet 204 points (16 wins)
Ford 155 points (5 win)
Dodge 154 points (6 wins)

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO - Finished 2nd
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO - Finished 3rd

ON THE RACE:
GORDON: "Oh, man. We never were good on restarts and new tires or cold tires. Harvick and the No. 31 (Jeff Burton) were unbelievable on new tires. But on those long runs, we could really catch them. At the beginning of the race, it would take about 20 laps and we would just run them down and pass them and I was having a lot of fun with that. Towards the middle of the race the track tightened up on me and we just lost the handling a little bit. We made some adjustments on that last set of tires and the car came back and we drove back up to second. I was pretty happy with that. With fuel mileage becoming an issue, I knew some guys were going to probably come in and take tires, which they did. We were hoping that track position would pay off for us and it did 'til that last caution. I knew on that last restart we were in trouble with Tony behind me and fresher tires; and then I tried to go around the bottom and he went to the top and drove right around me. So I'm real happy with third place. It's a great way for us to get this Chase started."

STEWART: "It was just a solid day for our team. We had to be real careful starting 32nd and just be patient and work our way through. I felt like both out spotter and crew chief on the radio helped me to be real patient until we got in the top 10 there. Then it was just a matter of getting on the same pit strategy as everybody else. Actually we were on the same strategy the whole time. We never really got off. We thought we were going to have to try to do some two-tire stops to get track position but it worked out. We got far enough ahead to where we could be on the same pit strategy as everybody and just kept working our way up to the front all day. There were no dramas. It was just a solid day for us. The second to last caution, guys were worried about fuel mileage and track mileage. Zippy (crew chief, Greg Zipadelli) called me on the radio and asked me how my car was driving and what I thought about staying out. Honestly, I said, we're not good enough to win the race so there's no point in staying out because we don't have anything to lose. So we came in and took four tires. Both of our teammates and the No. 19 car took two tires ahead of us and once we got through there we started working our way back and got up to third, which was better than where we were. We were fourth before that caution came out. And like Jeff said, I knew Jeff was good. Jeff had a really good car. On four tires, my car was as good as his was on two. And so I knew he was going to make a run on Kevin (Harvick, race winner) on the restart and when he went to the bottom, he left the top open for us. Like I said, we had nothing to lose. So if I lost a spot, big deal. So I went up to the top and it stuck and we got around him for second. So it was a pretty solid day for us."

ON CHANCES OF JIMMIE JOHNSON AND NO. 48 IN CHASE AFTER ADVERSITY TODAY--ON THEIR ABILITY TO REBOUND FROM ADVERSITY AND COME BACK STRONG:
GORDON: "I think that says it all. Sometimes I think they do better when they are angry and get behind. It was a tough day for them, I haven't heard exactly what happened yet, but I did see the car sitting there so I knew they had a bad day. I look for those guys to be on quite a tear in the next five or six races and try to get themselves back in to it. Obviously that isn't how you want to get your Chase started. I am not sure what happened to Kyle (Busch). I knew he had some trouble early as well. I am not sure where he finished. He got behind as well. Both of those guys are capable of really making strong charges from the back. We have seen Jimmie do it before."

ON IMPORTANCE OF LEAVING NEW HAMPSHIRE WITH STRONG FINISH AND MOVING UP IN THE POINTS:
GORDON: "Where are we? Fourth? Cool, I will take that. I think as bad as our run was at Richmond it was pretty important for us to make some kind of statement. You want to be competitive. We were today. It is fun to go up there and take the lead and have a strong car like that. Like I said, we lost the handling on it in the middle of it a little bit, but all I can ask for every single weekend is to have the type of race car and the kind of effort we had here today. If we can do that, we are really going to give these guys a run for their money."

ON WANTING TO PROVE SOMETHING IN FINAL 10 RACES WITH BALANCE IT TAKES TO BE MINDFUL OF GUYS IN THE CHASE:
STEWART: "To be honest, I don't feel like we have to prove anything. I think 26 wins and two championships is proof enough. We just had a bad year this year. It isn't like we have to prove anything to anybody at this point. It is just a matter of will at this point and what we want to do as a race team. We want to go out and win races for ourselves. Not to show anybody anything, but just because that is what we want to do. We want to do it for Home Depot obviously. it is kind of frustrating and now I know what Jeff (Gordon) and Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) and those guys that were outside of the Chase went through last year. It is real frustrating day when you are racing those guys that are in the top-10 in points. You are just so cautious around them and it is hard to race real hard and be around those guys and worry about getting in to them. You just have to show them respect. There is a reason those guys got in the top-10 in points. It means you have to be a little more careful and give a little more, then that is what you have to do. Last year all the guys that would start the race that were outside the top-10 last year showed all the top-10 guys a lot of respect and gave them a lot of room. That is how you have change your approach for these last ten races. You still want to go win races but at the same time, you still have to be mindful that there are 10 guys are racing for a series championship. You try to race hard, but at the same time you have to be respectful and give them the room that they deserve."

ON HAVING A SEPERATE POINTS SYSTEM FOR THE GUYS IN THE CHASE BASED ON THE HIT JOHNSON AND OTHERS TOOK TODAY IN POINTS BATTLE:
STEWART: "I am in favor of it. I think that if you have 10 guys racing each other, they should have their own deal. Just like me getting in between Kevin (Harvick) and Jeff (Gordon). Jeff was the second Chase guy. He should have got a different second point standings, I believe. That is the frustrating part, you know if you get in between guys and you race these guys all years and you work with each other and you are friends with a lot of these guys, you know if you get in between them, you cost them five points. It shouldn't be that way. The 33 guys that didn't make the Chase shouldn't have to feel that way if they have a good day and are able to pass guys.

I am in favor of them having their own point standings, that way it would still have hurt Jimmie (Johnson) today, but it wouldn't have hurt him as bad. Especially, at least from what I understood, when it was somebody else that caused him to have a bad day.

"If I had my way and I could change NASCAR for a day, I would have had the guys that didn't make the Chase from 11th on back run our own 200 mile race, no holes barred on that. Then the top-10 guys in points could have run their own 200-mile race after that. At least that way, they are racing each other for their points. You don't have teams that didn't make the playoffs playing against teams that did make the playoffs in the playoffs. So it is kind of a weird situation. The Chase is exciting, there is nothing wrong with it, it just puts some of us drivers in some awkward positions. This is the first time we have been on this side of the coin obviously and trust me, it was a day that you had a lot of weird things going through your head as far as situations when you are around some of these guys now."

GORDON: "I've thrown it around as well. You do hate that the last 10 races have the same basic point structure where it pays consistency. You've got a 10-race shootout, yet you have a point system that's all about consistency. You have one bad day and that can pretty much take you out of it; where I think if they had a structured points (system) for just the top 10 where if you're the last guy out of the 10, you'd take a hit, but not such a hit that you couldn't make it back. And I'm not saying you can't, Jimmie certainly can and we've seen him do it before, but if there is anybody out there that stays consistent throughout all these races, then there's no way he's going to come back. So I've thrown it around and thought about it and it might not be a bad idea. I don't know about just 10 of us out there (laughs), that could get pretty fun."

STEWART: "Well, I look at it this way: I could have drank some beer on top of the trailer and watched you guys race (laughter) after my Coke, of course, first."

YOU ALWAYS SAY THE WAY TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS IS TO WIN RACES. EARLIER THIS WEEK, YOU SAID BY NOT BEING IN THE CHASE, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT POINTS RACING. DOES THAT MEAN YOU ALWAYS TRY TO WIN, BUT THERE ARE TACTILE CHANCES YOU CAN TAKE WITHOUT THIS HANGING OVER YOU?
STEWART: "Yeah. Today it could very easily have come down to fuel mileage. If it were a situation where we were in the Chase, we wouldn't have been able to take a chance. If we would have had to come in for a one-second gas & go to get two or three gallons to finish the race, that's what we would have had to do. But with our situation today, if we thought we could have saved enough fuel on cautions and green flag lap runs, we could have taken the chase on trying to win the race on fuel mileage. So I guess that's more of the stuff we're talking about. If there's a guy who is leading the race that's not in the Chase and I think I can make a move and if I make a mistake and spin out and crash, it's no big deal now. But if that situation were in the Chase, you've got to run second maybe in that case instead. The theory is still the same. If you win races, you still get the most points. The guy that gets the most points wins the deal. But if you can't win, you've got to get the most points you can. And at least in our situation, we're not worried about points now. We're strictly worried about whatever we can to try to win the race each week."

YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ON A ROLL. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT KEVIN HARVICK IS DOING NOW AND WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO TO RIDE THIS OUT AND TAKE IT AS FAR AS HE CAN?
STEWART: "When we had that last year, and we got five wins in seven weeks or whatever, you went to the race track with your head up high each week. He's in the perfect situation right now to be in as a driver - win the race before the Chase and win the first race once the Chase starts. That team is on an emotional high and that does carry a lot of weight. It relaxes the team. They don't feel like they have to make something happen. They feel like everything is going their way. Jeff (Gordon) has been in this situation a lot of times and he can attest to this. It just seems like sometimes you've got to slow down to go faster. And it seems like when guys try harder, they make more mistakes.

"So, at this point in the deal it seems like when things are going your way, you just kind of go to the track with a smile on your face and you go through the motions. It's not that they're not working hard, but they're not having to pressure themselves to try to make something happen. So they're not making mistakes at the same time."

GORDON: "I agree. Once you get that confidence going and obviously what they're doing with the car is working. Kevin is driving it well. I kind of hope he does more things like he did with Denny (Hamlin) and the No. 31 (Burton) because things like that will lose him the championship if he's not careful. But other than that, it was a flawless day for him and the last two weekends have been fantastic.

GORDON: Those guys are on a roll and on a high and I'm sure they're going to try to stay on that and it's up to us and the other guys out there (running) for the championship to try to break some of that momentum and I know that when you've got a guy like that who is as strong as he is and a team like that who is as strong as they are, they've already got a step up on you just in their comfort level of how they're setting their cars up and how he's driving it and their communications. So, I feel like I've got to elevate our game as well. We did that today, but obviously we've got to do a little bit more."

IF EVERYBODY IS AS COURTEOUS TO THE 10 CHASE DRIVERS AS YOU, COULD IT ULTIMATELY CHANGE THE COMPLEXION OF THE RACING ITSELF?
STEWART: "Well, yeah, it can. If you're that timid around those 10 guys, you're definitely changing the way you're racing. There are a lot of those guys who aren't going to get to those top 10 guys. There's a reason they're there. They're going to be up front anyway. But it is going to change it. That's why you see so many of those guys in the points hunt - three of the top five guys today were Chase contenders. That's the reason they're up there is because they're fast to begin with. But when you're up there racing with those guys, it makes you timid and it makes you think well, should I just let them go or should I just go ahead and race my race. I know the consideration I got last year from guys and how I appreciated it. Instead of just saying you want to race your own race, you say maybe you should give this guy an extra break here and there. It makes it frustrating to race because you aren't racing your own race that way. You're racing a race in a race so to speak."

IS NHIS A PRETTY TRICKY TRACK AND CAN YOU FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHAT YOU DID TODAY?
GORDON: "Well, yeah, until Friday (laughs). I do feel good about what we did today and it's important for us to get off to a good start - especially with what happened to us at Richmond. But next week is another race and you put this one behind you and you focus on that one and anything can happen next week as well. The competition is so tough and so consistent and it gets better every year. And this could be the year when one or two guys maybe don't have any trouble. You just don't know. You've got to go out there and decide when you're going to push harder than you need to. Today, I pushed a little harder than I wanted to because I knew our car wasn't that good on new tires but I knew how good it was on old tires. I didn't want to have to do that, but I guess I could have just chosen who I was racing. Tony was one of them at one time. We touched and rubbed a little bit, but it was no big issue or anything like that. You have to make the right decisions at the right time. Obviously a fast car can help you make those decisions a lot easier. But it's nice to get this one. But then next week you're going to do the same thing. You're going to hold you breath and hope you get though that one. You'll breathe a sigh of relief and do the same thing for the next one."

COMING INTO THE CHASE, WHERE WOULD KEVIN HARVICK RANK ON YOUR PERSONAL LIST OF FAVORITES?
GORDON: "Well, obviously, with the way he's run all year and then the way he ran last week at Richmond; you know every team has their strengths and weaknesses. Right now, the short tracks seem to be their strengths. The funny thing is, the 1.5-mile tracks have been our strengths this year. So I'm looking forward to getting to some of the bigger tracks. But it's anybody's race this year. Tony (Stewart), last year, came in with a lot of momentum and consistency and wins. Kevin has the win from last week and now the win this week, so he's got the potential. But he didn't really have that over the last five or six races, but he's run solidly. He's run solid all year. He was third in the points in the Chase and you've got to definitely respect that and not take that for granted and know that a lot of guys, when the Chase comes, step it up to another level and we already saw them do that today."

KEVIN HARVICK AND CREW CHIEF, TODD BERRIER, NO. 29 REESE'S MONTE CARLO SS - WINNER'S PRESS CONFERENCE:

KEVIN HARVICK - "It is really awesome to be able to capitalize on the race car we had this weekend. To sit on the pole and run as well as it did from the time we unloaded it, is something that hard to do. I think Todd (Berrier, crew chief) and I were more nervous about that because we didn't want to embarrass ourselves and have something go wrong. We made really good adjustments all day. They made some big adjustments I think it was the second stop of the race that really helped the car and it was really fast through the center of the corner. We were able to hold our own on the long run at that point. It was an awesome weekend and to wrap up the Manufacturers' Championship for Chevrolet is really good for everyone involved in that. We are looking forward to the next nine weeks.

TODD BERRIER - "Obviously the key pit strategy was not stopping that last time. At that time you are wondering how many people you get buffering yourself in between you and the guys who did pit and got tires. Obviously we had enough guys to do that. Had to put a few rubbers in the right rear today and do a lot of things in the pits that we typically don't have to do. We had really good pit selection from qualifying so obviously we could not lose many spots because of that and that really helped. Like Kevin said, it is easy to screw up and not capitalize when you have a car that good and get the win like we did."

ON MAKING IT LOOK EASIER THAN IT REALLY WAS:
KEVIN HARVICK - "It might have looked easy on TV, but the No. 24 was obviously the main reason we went to work and did as big of adjustments as we did on our car knowing how much better they were after the first 20 laps of a run. We made some major adjustments to our car today. We had a great test at Milwaukee and tried a lot of the things that we did in practice and in today's race. We felt very comfortable with the changes. Everything we did made it better. We got the car rolling through the center really good. We hurt it a little bit up off, but the center part of the corner was the key to the whole race track."

ON PASSING DENNY HAMLIN EARLY IN THE RACE:
KEVIN HARVICK - "It closed up in a hurry. It was a good idea in the center of the corner but it was a bad idea 3/4 of the way around. So the hole closed up faster than I anticipated, I rolled up in there really fast and then it was not good at that point. But at that point, you are committed, so you just hold the pedal down and hope for the best at that point because you have already screwed up. Luckily it didn't tear anybody up and everyone came out of it ok."

ON MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING HIM HARD TO STAY ON LEAD LAP:
KEVIN HARVICK- "If he would have raced that hard at the beginning of the race, we wouldn't have had to worry about being a lap down. That would have been the easiest thing for him to do was to keep up in the beginning. When I got there, all of a sudden he wanted to race. It not how I want to race, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I don't really like to do it that way, but you race what you are racing against."

ON RICHARD CHILDRESS BEING HERE AND NOT BEING BAD LUCK:
KEVIN HARVICK - "It was a precursor to the weekend. We sent him hunting to at least try to bring some good luck back. Richard obviously likes to go hunting and I believe he drew a pretty lucky tag there to go to Alaska and go hunting for for something, I don't really know what. I don't know where he is going to put it all, but he enjoys it."

ON CONCERN OF STEWART RUNNING HIM DOWN AFTER LAST CAUTION:
KEVIN HARVICK - "I knew the No. 24 (Gordon) wasn't as good on the restarts as we were and I knew the No. 20 would probably get around him with two new tires. Our car was extremely good on the restarts, for whatever reason, it would really take off. We could roll the center of the corner good and get in the gas actually better than we could 20 laps in to the run. It was kind of backwards from what it usually is. Usually we are sliding getting up off the corner and this time we slid a little bit in so I could back the corner up and get off the corner really good. If he was going to come up there, the best time for him to come up there was four or five laps from the end and on a restart."

ON ANTICIPATING NEXT FEW RACES BOTH MILE TRACKS AND MILE AND ONE-HALF TRACKS:
KEVIN HARVICK - "We have run really good on the mile and a half tracks this year. We ran good at Chicago, we ran good at Charlotte. We had a little problem there with the tail pipes, but we feel like we can run really good on the mile and a half race tracks. The flat track stuff we have been able to capitalize on with really good cars, and really do what we need to do there. Right now, we are doing what we have done all year, which is race week to week - at least I do. I know they have a lot of planning and work to do at the shop and I feel like they have laid out their plan with the cars and how we want to race them. We have stuck to our plan pretty much through everything. We are looking forward to going where ever it is we have to go and see where it falls. We are just going to race as hard as we can and take the most out of the weekend.

TODD BERRIER - "When you have a car that good, you obviously worry about somehow or another not making the right decision.. The first Richmond race we led every lap in the race almost except for the one that mattered. So obviously I am sitting there looking through everything, trying to look at history and trying to look at everything to make the right decisions. Fortunately we did today. But that is the hard part at the start of the race, knowing that you have had the fastest car all weekend and nine times out of 10, the fastest car doesn't win. We got lucky today."

ON FEELING LIKE THIS SUCCESS HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING:
KEVIN HARVICK - "When I started in Cup in 2001, we had really good cars. In 2003, we were in the middle of the championship race and had some trouble there toward the end of the year and fell back. The last couple of years, we have been hit or miss and struggled for the most part and missed the Chase. These guys had a good plan going in to the end of last year and the first part of this year and it has continuously gotten better. There is really not just one thing that is better. I think our cars are better. Our bodies, our motors, I feel like I am in a better frame of mind and I feel like we have got experience too. Every year, you gain a little more experience and you feel like you know how to handle situations better."

ON NOT DOING BURNOUT AFTER RACE:
KEVIN HARVICK - "I knew if I went over there and did a burnout, I would be sitting in the big trailer and that wouldn't be any way to celebrate our win. I am trying to stay as far away from that trailer as I can. Obviously there were ambulances, tow trucks, wrecked race cars, so we just went in and celebrated in victory lane. It is probably the first time we have ever won and not gotten to do that but, obviously safety first."

ON THE ROLL TEAM IS CURRENTLY ON:
KEVIN HARVICK - "The roll is incredible. If you look at how we have run and the finishes we have had, we obviously know the ends and outs of the bad runs too and know how good we were running at those tracks too. The whole year has been phenomenal. If it ended right now, I think we would be happy and know we have really improved upon where we were in the past. Right now we are having fun and trying to race to win. At the beginning of the year, nobody would have expected us to be sitting in this spot, so we have kind of run from the underdog roll from day one. It has kind of been nice to fly under the radar and just have fun with it."

ON BEING MORE COMFORTABLE WITH ROLL AT RCR:
KEVIN HARVICK - "There is obviously a deep heritage about Dale (Earnhardt) at RCR, but he never wore orange. We have changed a lot, the whole team is different, the sponsors are different, things are different. There is really not anything that is the same. That has always been something that has been hard to live up to but I feel like we have busted out of that a little bit by winning races and doing the things we need to do ourselves. We have tried to create our own mold as a person as we have gone forward. That will always be there, but I feel like it is our team and our people and we have been together since the Busch days. So there a lot of things that have changed.

ON RELISHING ROLE AS FAVORITE:
KEVIN HARVICK - "I don't know, we have really never been in this position before. Maybe that is a good thing because we haven't been in the Chase before. I don't feel like it is anything different, maybe it will be in the weeks to come. Todd and I have raced for Busch championship, we have raced for the Cup championship and fell short of it in 2003. I feel like we have been in this position but not the Chase-type position, which I don't feel is any different, I feel like we still need to race like we have raced all year and not do anything different. I know Todd feels the same way. We feel like if we are leading laps and winning races, everything else will take care of itself. That may be wrong when we look back on it and say we did this or screwed that up but that is our plan and we have stuck to our plan all year."

ON ENJOYING EXUDING CONFIDENCE:
KEVIN HARVICK - "I think it is a catch 22. You want to temper yourself to the point to where you are excited, we are excited about everything that is going on-we are excited that we have turned our organization around, we feel like we can race for the championship and we feel like we can do all these things - but I have also been on the arrogant and cocky side of it in years past, you don't to stick your foot in your mouth. Maybe at the end of the year, you can become a little bit proud of what you have done, but right now we just want to keep doing what we are doing. We don't want to fall on our face, we want to stay competitive and contend for the championship. Sure we are confident in our cars, I am confident, Todd is confident, everybody is confident, but we aren't going to get cocky about it."

OF NINE TRACKS REMAINING IN CHASE, ON ONE MAY BE WORRIED ABOUT:
KEVIN HARVICK - "If you look at the past record, there are probably several that on paper we haven't performed well on, but I feel like the race tracks we are going to, we have ran well at this year. The mile and a half's we have run well, Dover we had a chance to win the race. Talladega can go either way, you can flip over or you can win the race, you have a 50-50 chance going there. I have been conservative in the past and I am not going to do that this time, we are going to go and we are going to race as hard as we can and however it shakes out, it shakes out. Whether we have been good in the past or bad in the past, I think each week is different from here on out."

TODD BERRIER - "There is no where we are going that we haven't run good in the past at one point or another. There might be a year or two that we haven't been good at that certain place. Talladega is the crap-shoot not knowing where you may end up, it might be upside down like he said. That is going to be the only one that is out of your control so we worry about finishing that one. Outside of that one, everything else is good."

ON HAVING SEPARATE POINTS STRUCTURE FOR CHASE GUYS:
KEVIN HARVICK - "Well, I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it. Our sport has always been built around consistency and you really can't compare it to a lot of other sports. I feel like if you had a 43rd place day, you should be awarded 43rd place points and if you have a good day, you should be rewarded good points. So if you have something go wrong and you finish 43rd, there are 43 guys in the race and there is no reason you should get 10th place points. You can look at it both ways and I really haven't thought about it much.

"I was really good with five points at a time, I could keep up with that. But I can't keep up with it. There is no possible way. You see the No. 48 and the No. 5 sitting down there crashed, I don't know where everybody is. The points are what they are, everybody races for the same thing at the beginning of the year and you know what you have going in. If you are the best car and don't have bad luck, you can come out be where you need to be. We really haven't paid much attention to it until it came down to the last couple of races before the Chase. We knew where we were but our plan didn't change."

ON WHAT IS DISCUSSED BEFORE A RACE: WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN THE FASTEST AND HAVE THE POLE:
KEVIN HARVICK - "We didn't say anything. It is nothing we talk about, I am not to kind to either boast or worry about whatever, it is what it is. You give it 200% and you can sleep at night knowing that you did. It doesn't matter at the end of the day. If we ended up 20th yes I would be pissed off and I wouldn't be sitting here, but as long as we give it all we can give it, then that is all we can do. Kevin gives all he can, we as a team give it all we can give it, sometimes it works out for the best and sometimes it doesn't."

ON PERSONAL CHANGES:
KEVIN HARVICK - "Through the time period of the whole contract thing, I know this is where I want to be. I looked because I wanted to make sure for myself that I wanted to be a part of RCR and what they wanted to do. And I wanted them to be a part of what I wanted to do. I knew when it all came time down to the end that Richard and I were on the same page, I knew I was on the same page with my team and everybody was pulling in the same direction. We all knew we were getting better. Everything was kind of made a little bit bigger than it really was. Richard and I were on the same page. There were things I had to look at but he understood that. But in the end, I think this is by far the best decision I have ever made in my life. I feel really comfortable knowing I can look everyone in the eye and tell them the truth about the whole situation and there are no second thoughts or second guesses and that is what I wanted and that is what Richard wanted. Everybody needed to be pulling in the same direction and understand and not be mad at each other, say things we shouldn't say.

I should not have said things about the race team, I should go in to Richard and say this is how I feel or go to Todd and say this is how I feel and they should be able to come to me and we can work on it and go forward. So from that standpoint, Bristol was one of the biggest lessons I have learned in my life, and felt like, if I am going to be a part of this team, then I have to be a part of this team. I can't be a thorn in the side and causing commotion all the time, you have to go in and all pull in the same direction and I feel like we are on the same page.

"Owning my own race teams has helped me understand where Richard is coming from, knowing hard it is to get good people. Know how hard it is to build good cars, how long it takes to change things, how expensive it is and the commitments to the sponsors and to understand why you can't do certain things. Sponsors are hard to come by so if you can't keep them, you can't race. In a six month period my life has turned around and it has been good for a lot of people."

KEVIN HARVICK'S WIN GIVES CHEVROLET 30TH ALL-TIME MANUFACTURERS' CUP TITLE

CHEVROLET CLINCHES NASCAR NEXTEL CUP MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
Title is 30th for Chevrolet since 1952 and 26th in Modern Era (since 1972)

Kevin Harvick's victory of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway today clinched the 2006 Manufacturers' Championship for Chevrolet in NASCAR's premier division. With nine races left in the season, Chevrolet has collected its 30th Manufacturers' crown and the 26th of NASCAR's Modern Era, which began in 1972.

A total of seven different drivers have contributed to the 16 victories in 27 races thus far this season that brought Chevrolet its 26th Modern Era crown. Chevy drivers who posted wins during the season included Jimmie Johnson (4), Kevin Harvick (4), Jeff Gordon (2), Tony Stewart (2), Denny Hamlin (2), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1) and Kyle Busch (1).

The 2006 Manufacturers' Championship continues Chevrolet's dominance of North America's most popular racing series. In fact, Chevrolet's nearest competitor thus far this season has won just six times. Since 1972, GM Racing has earned 28 of the 35 Manufacturers' titles contested, with Chevrolet collecting 26 of those for an impressive .80 winning percentage (Buick has won the title twice).

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS - Crashed on lap 89, Finished 39th:

WHAT HAPPENED?: "We unfortunately had a problem with the engine, we lost a cylinder. The engine problems had us a little slow but the engine wasn't vibrating like there was something major wrong. The thing was still running right, so we thought maybe a plug wire or plug was what was wrong with it. We came in and looked at the plug wires, but we couldn't find anything there. We were just trying to get to the next caution so we could look at it again, but unfortunately we were the next caution.

ON THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE: "It was a pretty good hit. I hope we can back out and hit the minimum speed so we can roll around to do what we need to do for points. But, that was a pretty hard hit. I was on the outside of the No. 14. trying to get around him when something happened and he lost control he came up in to me and pointed me straight into the wall and off I went.

ON RECOVERING IN CHASE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP: "I don't know, we just have to wait and see. It is way too early. I hope I don't eat the words I said early on when I said you can't win the championship here in New Hampshire but you can lose it today. I just know what happened out there, just something weird with the engine that put us back there and then we got caught up in a wreck. We can look at it in a variety of ways. It is too bad for the Lowe's team; we have worked awfully hard. Hopefully this won't keep us from being the champion when it is all said and done."

YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOURSELF FROM BEING FRUSTRATED SO YOUR TEAM DOESN'T GET FRUSTRATED, RIGHT? "Yeah, we had a great race car. So we can sleep well knowing that. We've got to figure out what went wrong with the engine. The engine problem got us back there and got us into a wreck. The wreck was just a racing deal. I'm not sure what happened with the No. 14, but it looked like he lost it and then got into me and pointed me into the wall and then I went into the wall. The big thing we've got to figure out is what's wrong with that engine and then make sure it doesn't happen again; and then just go out and put together nine good ones and hope that it works out."

HOW DEEP A HOLE DO YOU THINK THIS PUTS YOU IN STARTING OUT THE CHASE THIS WAY? "I don't know. It depends on what goes on with everybody else. We'll just have to see. I think we'll have a much better idea of our position in the next three or four races and who has trouble and who doesn't and hopefully we can get through this without any more problems."

IS THIS THE TYPE OF SITUATION WHERE YOU AND CHAD KNAUS AND YOUR TEAM'S BALANCED APPROACH AND ABILITY TO REBOUND IS REALLY GOING TO HELP YOU OUT IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO? "Yeah, I think so. As of right now, it looks like things are out of our control to get back in this thing right now. I can only make that decision on how these guys are running today. All the Chase guys are up front. There are nine more races. There's a lot of time left. Anything can happen. I lost this Chase for the Championship on the last lap of the last race at Homestead. So who knows, maybe I can win it that way this year."

DID YOU FEEL ANYTHING WITH THE ENGINE? "I lost power, but it wasn't anything major wrong with it. That's why we thought we could correct it over the course of the day."

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

"We ran really good. We just got put in a bad spot. And running the way we were, we couldn't afford to pit and some guys got by us the last couple of laps on that last caution because they had tires. But I'm happy with the way we ran. We just lost our track position and never could make it back up. We ran well all day. We just lost track position."

IS IT IMPORTANT TO GET A GOOD FINISH OUT OF THE BOX LIKE THAT FOR THE CHASE? "Oh, I think it is. I think it's important to run well. Anytime you're running well, you feel like you can build on it. I think that's the main thing. It's important to run well and to get off to a good start. I'm happy with the way we ran."

TRAVIS KVAPIL, NO. 32 TIDE MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 27th:

"I thought for a minute I was going to make it out of here in one piece but obviously I was wrong. It's frustrating. We are still missing a little something. We would start out okay but then the longer it would go green the tighter the car would become. It's a shame. Both races here this season we left with a wrecked car. It's too bad. I really love racing here."

BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 25 GMAC MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 5th:

"The guys on the GMAC team did a great job today. Lance made some good calls in the pits and we were able to run up front all day. Toward the end, our car went away on us because we didn't have the grip we need to run with those guys at the end. A little more grip is really what we needed there at the end of the race. We'll take it though and se what we can do next week."

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 38th:

"This care has never finished out of the top-10. Not a good way to start the Chase by wrecking not once, but twice. The sad part is that we rode around and were coming back when we got wrecked again. I had no friends out there for sure. I'm just disappointed, we didnt have a chance to go get them. and see how good our car was. Nine races to go--its not over & we're not out of this yet."

DALE EARNHARDT, JR, NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 13th:

"It was really frustrating. We were tight in the middle all weekend. We just never figured it out all weekend, We didn't figure it out in the race. We made a lot of changes and just hurt it and got just really, really tight at the end. It was just really a frustrating day.

"Just frustrating, I am a good driver, and when I get decent equipment and we can work on it and do right, we will go to the front, we just didn't do right today.

"I don't care what happened to the other Chase contenders, I am competing for a championship so I don't care what happens to anyone but this team. We have to worry about who is running up front running for this championship."

RACE WINNERS:
KEVIN HARVICK AND CREW CHIEF, TODD BERRIER, NO. 29 REESE'S MONTE CARLO SS FROM VICTORY LANE:

ON BEING THE FAVORITE IN THE CHASE:
BERRIER:
"We have to wait until next week to talk about it. There is a lot more after today. There is a lot of racing left. Obviously we started out the Chase right, but we have to keep it up. We have momentum and just have to capitalize on it. The plan is to win to all we can win. Kevin will drive as safe a race and as good a race as he can and we are going to give him the best cars we can. Just need to keep it moving in the right direction."

ON THE RACE:
HARVICK:
"Just an incredible day. I have to thank Reese's, just happy to get them in to victory lane. Everybody at RCR and Chevrolet. We had a really good race car, we were really good on long runs. Todd and the guys worked hard all day to keep us up front. We were a little bit tight in the beginning and made some really big adjustments.

"It is good to be up front like we were because it is good for your car, good for your brakes, save your tires, save a lot of things. I tried to tear it up a couple times today trying to be a little too aggressive. All in all, I was worried about the No. 24 when he got around the No. 25. Restarts didn't hurt us at all; we just kept going forward.

"We sure have momentum right now, we just have to keep doing what we are doing at this point. If we keep winning, we aren't going to get out of the points. We know we have to score all the points we can when we can."