Kevin Harvick Takes Monte Carlo SS to Victory Lane Twice with Weekend Sweep of NASCAR Cup and Busch races at Phoenix International Raceway

Chevrolet Extends Lead in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Manufacturers' Cup Standings

AVONDALE AZ - Chevrolet continues to hold the lead in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Manufacturer's standings through the first eight races of the 2006 season.

Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS took the one-two finish at the Subway Fresh 500, Round 8 on the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series tour. Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Sylvania Monte Carlo SS, was the highest finishing Rookie Of The Year contender with a 5th place finish.

The next event for Team Chevy Monte Carlo SS is April 30th at Talladega Superspeedway.

Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Manufacturer's Standings:
Chevrolet 56 points (4 wins)
Dodge 49 points (3 wins)
Ford 47 points (1 win)

TONY STEWART POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 2nd:

"I'll be honest, I didn't conserve fuel too well. But the thing is we were just so loose that you had to from the standpoint that you couldn't get in the gas, so you had to be really, really careful. But I'm just so happy and impressed with this whole Home Depot team and our Monte Carlo SS and being able to go from 43rd to the lead and finish second, I'm very, very proud today.

"We were really good when we got the lead and then when we came in we made one more adjustment in the direction that we had been going and got it a little bit too loose. I told (crew chief) Zippy (Greg Zipadelli) the last 30 laps I was just burning the right rear off the car. So it was just lucky that we finished second, but I'm just very proud of this team. I just really happy with the performance we got today from our Monte Carlo SS."

IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO START FROM THE REAR, DO YOU WONDER WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE? "Well, no. We got ourselves to the lead and then came out second and finished second. We got there in plenty of time, we just couldn't hang on there again. We made one adjustment that got us too free and got us too far over the top."

WERE YOU AFRAID YOU WOULD RUN OUT OF FUEL? "I knew that Zippy was telling me we needed about a half a lap. I was trying to keep the heat on Greg (Biffle) so he couldn't conserve fuel and figured that what I was doing was helping a little bit on the fuel mileage by it. But we just got so loose we couldn't do anything at the end."

WERE THERE TIRE PROBLEMS? "I didn't know of any tire problems. Obviously there at the end, we were all guessing about who was going to do what on fuel. But I'm so happy with these guys and where we had to come from to get to where we were. And then at the end of it at the last 30 laps, the right rear was gone. I asked for a little bit more of an adjustment and I finally got us over the top so it was probably my fault there. But I'm just really happy with this Home Depot team and our Monte Carlo SS was really good today. We did what got us to a championship last year. We worked our way from the 43rd spot and finished second, so I'm pretty happy right now."

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE TIRES THAT MADE YOU START ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK? "I'll be honest. I'm not sure. It had something to do with our tire guy and how you round-up the tires. With the fact that we all lease tires now, when they return those tires back to Goodyear, except for the qualifying tires, they drill them so you can't put air back in them. Once they had done that, everybody figured out what the mistake was, there was no way we could remedy the mistake and we had to go to the back. It was a fair judgment because we didn't start on the stuff that we qualified. So we just didn't think about it much. Before the race we were laughing and watching the hockey game on TV and all just giggling and laughing like nothing had happened. So I'm just really proud of this team. It was just good all night.

"So we had to start 43rd and just be patient. We got quite a few spots at the beginning and then kind of got stuck there for a while because the car was tight. We just kept working on it all night and got up there and led a couple of laps. And when we came in on that last pit stop we just asked for one more adjustment the same direction we'd been going and it just put us over the top just a little too much and got us too free. About those last 30 laps I was sideways off of (Turn) 4 every lap whether I wanted to be or not. But it was a good thing during the off weekend last weekend that I ran Late Models so I'm used to it. I didn't really want to be like that there at the end, but I was actually hoping we would get a caution with maybe forty to go to where I knew everybody would come in and put tires on we'd get a chance to put it back and try to run Greg (Biffle) down."

ON COMING FROM THE BACK TO THE FRONT, HOW DO YOU DO THAT? "Well you pass the guy in front of you and then you pass the next guy in front of you (laughter). I mean you try to take care of your car and you try to be patient. But you've got to work your way through there the best you can. We just never got in a hurry. We got in spots to where we weren't really catching people any more and couldn't get by people and we were having to work too hard and punish the tires too much to try to get by guys, so you just sat and waited until you had an opportunity to pit and work on it. So it was 312 laps and I think we utilized the first 200 real wisely to get to the front. I think by lap 210 or 220 or something, I don't even know what lap it was, we finally got the lead. The car just kept getting better and better and obviously track position was huge. The further forward we got, the better the car drove all day. You just had to be patient. That's something that Zippy and I talked about a lot before the beginning of the race and I was really proud of the job those guys did."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH MONTE CARLO SS POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

"We didn't have the best car all night but we had a solid car and sat there in third, fourth or fifth and kept adjusting on our car. They made it right at the right time. Those guys got away from me a little bit, they were better than me for seven or eight laps after a restart and got about a half a straight away ahead but we stayed alive. Luckily we ran a full run there because their cars fell off a lot and our car maintained the speed. Once we were able to get out front, we started conserving the fuel. We thought we were a half lap to the good. We just wanted to make sure. Been there before and ran out of gas."

ON SWEATING RUNNING OUT OF GAS: "I was sweating the gas, but it didn't sound like they (the crew) were sweating the gas. I just wanted to make sure. I started letting at the start/finish line, coasting in the corner and the dogleg in the back for about the last six or seven laps once I realized we were going away. We ran out of gas here last year running fourth.

"We always worry about running out of gas. But once we were able to get out in front and in clean air, and saw how far we were able to pull away, I am telling you, I let off right there at that flag stand and right at the dogleg in the back, and Todd (Berrier, crew chief) told me it was all good by a half a lap."

ON WEEKEND RESULTS HAVING AN IMPACT WITH RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING AND FUTURE: "We have run really good this year and the performance has been up. We will sit down hopefully when he (Richard Childress, team owner, on safari in Africa) and see where everybody wants to go."

ON UPSWING AT RCR WITH HIMSELF, JEFF BURTON AND CLINT BOWYER: "Everything is going good right now. The drivers all get along good, Clint and I are really close as friends, we do things off the race track together as much as our schedule allows. Jeff brings a veteran attitude to the team, he understands a lot of things and has a very politically correct approach to things which is the exact opposite of me. So I feel like it is a really good balance teammate wise and everybody helps everybody and does what they can to make sure everybody is going good. This is the first time I have ever been a part of that at RCR. It was usually everybody racing against each other.

"The drivers get along good, the crew chiefs get along good, the Busch crews and the Cup crews communicate well. Everything is clicking now. Even when we were kind of buried in the points the first three races of the season, we were pretty satisfied with how well our cars were running, we just needed the circumstances to go our way."

TODD BERRIER, CREW CHIEF, JOINS THE PRESS CONFERENCE:

BERRIER: ON TONIGHT'S RACE:

"Gee man, everything was good from what I saw. Kevin did a great job. Obviously he can get around this place, he has been here a couple times in the last couple days. He made it easy for us. The track didn't change like we thought it was going to, we kind of crept up on it and crept up on it, got the car good over the long run and everything fell our way which a lot of times it doesn't."

HARVICK: ON SINGING THE CHICKEN SONG OVER THE RADIO:

"We do some stupid stuff over the radio. Our spotter should have been a comedian instead of working on race team; he should have his own comedy show. I think he has two screws loose in his head and he only has one. I went up in the lounge this morning and they were singing the Chicken Dance Song. All of a sudden it just became a part of the day. If you think about the Chicken Dance, how do you get that stupid song out of your head? It kind of became the theme of the night. We were having fun and just cutting up on the radio and having a good time with it."

HARVICK: ON WHEN HE SENSED THINGS WERE TURNING AROUND AT RCR:

"I would say it was about last October when we were able our first ''06 cars built, that was when we went to Homestead and tested and really realized how much better our '06 cars were than our '05 cars. I would say were three or four tenths better than what we raced last year. I tried to con them in to cutting them up and making them '05s and taking them back to the race, but they talked me out of it. They wanted to be prepared for this year. They had a plan and wanted to stick to their plan. We have had a lot of plans in the past, this time they really stuck to their guns and built cars, went to the wind tunnel and figured out a lot of things. They have worked hard on everything. We are running really good now but we have to keep building and we still feel like we have some room to go but things are going really good.

HARVICK: ON CAR PERFORMANCE LATE IN THE RACE:

"I think the other guys fell off and we were just running the same speed."

HARVICK: ON BEING KEVIN HARVICK RIGHT NOW

"Everything is good right now. From my personal life to life on the race track. For whatever reason, we all just taken a more laid back approach and when things go wrong, we just kind of have brushed it off this year. In the heat of the moment, you get wound up but by Monday we usually have it put behind us and worry about the next week. For whatever reason, I am more relaxed this year and Todd and all the guys are more relaxed. It is working and we aren't going to complain."

BERRIER: ON HARVICK'S FUTURE AT RCR:

"You know how it is in life. We all have jobs to do and we all have things to put in place. How ever it all falls out is how it needs to fall out. The Good Lord puts us here and everything works the way it is supposed to be. In the big grand scheme of things, it is all going to work out the way it is going to work out. I am not sweating it either way. Obviously, Kevin is awesome, he does a great job. I have enjoyed working with him and would like to continue on working with him, and hopefully it will work that way. But if it doesn't, it doesn't. Life goes on."

HARVICK: THOUGHTS ON SWEEPING BUSCH AND CUP RACES AT PHOENIX THIS WEEKEND

"We come with the intentions of winning every week. To win here for me personally, it means a lot to everyone to win, but personally, I grew up racing Southwest Tour and Winston West cars here and doing a lot of things at this particular race track and we always ended up falling short. We were able to win our first Truck race here, our first and only two Truck wins. To come back and win the Busch race and then the Cup race, is really special for me. I had a lot of family and friends that were in the grandstands and this place means a lot for me."

HARVICK: ON STAYING AT RCR AND BRINGING FORMER CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM BACK TO CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL:

"Like I have said numerous times, there is a seven-year relationship here and I have a lot of friends on this race team. We have been through a lot of pretty traumatic situations.

"We have won championships in the Busch car, we have won races in the Cup car and the Busch car. We have done everything we want to do except win a Cup championship and be consistently winning races year-in and year-out. That is what I want to make work. I want to make it all work going forward. I think that will happen but we just have to get all the people sat down in one room -- get Richard back from hunting, us back from being so busy, testing and all the things on schedule. It is not a matter of not wanting to sit down and do it, it is just a matter of everybody hasn't been home. I believe that everything will work in the right direction and that is what I want."

HARVICK: ON RELATIONSHIP WITH TODD:

"That is the most important. We've been together from the start. We started racing Busch cars together and they weren't even cars we built. The first car we raced was Randy LaJoie's show car at Darlington. We had to load it up in the truck and go home because we didn't make the race. Then we went to Rockingham the next week and developed my first hateful relationship with a race track. Basically we built a whole race team from scratch. We grew with the whole organization in to what it is now. A lot of the guys that were on that team are now spread all over the Cup teams. Todd and I have become very good friends over the years and that means more than the crew chief/driver relationship. We can sit down and talk about things and pull in the same direction and both want to achieve the same goals. The fact we have been together from the beginning and both want to end up with the same goals is pretty cool."

BERRIER: ON RELATIONSHIP WITH KEVIN:

"Just like Kevin said, we started out in Truck racing. We got along good from day one. I really don't care if I am sweeping the floor, putting the body on the car or crew chiefing the car-whatever it takes to make the thing go and make the thing win. I don't have too big of an ego or too much pride. I have stood back from all the stuff. Sometimes maybe I need to get up on the chip and say more or do more, but a lot of times, you are working for a common goal, trying to make things happen and no matter where I fit in with that, I am still by his side diggin on that thing. As long as he is working here, if I am having to help Richard at the winery, I will still be pulling for him and we are still good friends and always be."

HARVICK: ON CHANGES AT RCR SO FAR

"I think that is the best part about having your own team, you understand that things can't just happen over night. The teams that I have compared to what Richard has, it takes even longer. They laid out a plan and explained it to us and just said here is what we want to do, here is where we need to get better and have been chipping away at it ever since. They are still chipping away at it and still planning to make things better and take the next step whether it is bodies, or engines or whatever. Everybody has a plan and seems to be pulling forward. I think that the chemistry is good. As I said, Clint and I are good friend and Jeff brings a politically correct approach to my pretty abrupt, bold approach that makes everybody mad. Sometimes I get frustrated because I don't like to loose and probably didn't approach things the correct way. I think maybe that helped get us to this point. Sometimes you have to take a stance so that is what I did."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 7th, falls to 2nd in the point standings:

"We ran out of gas early but we made it to pit road. But we lost some track position after that. But then we were just too tight. The car was really pushing and chattering the front tires and I lost a bunch of spots unfortunately. And then halfway through that long run at the end, the car just got tight. I think something just went wrong with the car because we were seven-tenths of a second off a lap from where we were the run before. So we'll get home and pull it apart and see that happened. But we had a great run. It was a big improvement for the Lowe's team on these flat miles (tracks) and I'm looking forward to Richmond and New Hampshire. I think we're really hitting on some things."

ON DROPPING TO SECOND PLACE -- 9 POINTS BEHIND MATT KENSETH IN THE STANDINGS: "Oh, it's fine. It's still way early. Matt (Kenseth) has had a solid year. The goal is to make it to the top 10 and then transfer. So as long as we keep that going, we'll be fine."

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

"I'm devasted. We had a pole-winning car and were three times faster than everyone else in the field. We were penalized for speeding on pit road. But last year we came back from two laps down to win the race, so we were confident we were going to get back up there. These guys on the Kellogg's / Carquest team really worked hard and gave me a great car and solid pit stops. I'm harder on myself than anyone. I'm a competitor and I take this seriously. It was just a devastating day."

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"We started off so well - the car was fast and it felt like we were one adjustment away from making it really, really great. But, then it just went away and then it just plowed, plowed, plowed after the shade came over the track. We were never able to get the car back to where we started.

"I made a big mistake, and made a bad car worse - lost a chance for another top-10 - and it hurt a few other cars as well. I hate it for Kyle (Petty), man, and the other guys that were caught up in it. I have a lot of respect for Kyle, and I want him and all the other drivers to have respect for me as well, and that ain't the way to get it. It makes me sick to have something like that happen. It bent up the car enough that it was just wicked after the crash.

"I was just hangin' on, trying not to crash in every turn and trying to stay out of the way of the lead lap cars and not put 'er into the wall. That's not a fun way to end the night."

TONY RAINES, NO. 96 DLP HDTV MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 17th:

"We had a good car today. We struggled a little bit in the pits today, but those things happen. We had a fast car at the end and raced well with the top cars. I was pleased we were able to get back into the top 20 after some of the problems in the pits we had. Nobody gave up and we're continuing to make progress. I know the communication between Philippe (Lopez, crew chief) and I is getting better and better. Especially in the last week and a half after the test at Richmond and then this weekend. We didn't qualify like we wanted to, and we didn't finish as well as we wanted to, but the we're making progress and our communication is getting better and better."

STERLING MARLIN, NO. 14 WASTE MANAGEMENT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 12th:

"This was a pretty good day for the Waste Management team. We had a decent qualifying effort (16th) and managed to run in the top 15 for the majority of the race. There was a point there where the Waste Management Chevy got really tight and we fell back a little bit but the team rallied, my crew chief Doug Randolph made the appropriate changes in the pits, and we were able to drive back to a respectable finish.

"Consistency is the key in this sport and today's performance is the kind this team needs right now. We came to Phoenix looking for a good result and now we can head to Talladega with a little momentum."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 10th:

"I am real happy with a top-10. We were way off. I just can't say enough for the DuPont Chevrolet team. If it weren't for the effort of the team and never giving up, we would have been way way back. We got lucky that one time racing Jeff Burton so Mark Martin wasn't able to lap us. We stayed on the lead lap and fought for everything we could and got a top-10. I don't know how we didn't because we certainly didn't have the car to do it tonight.

"We were pretty good there at one point but we were just hit or miss, hit or miss. We needed track position like everybody else. Right there at the end, we just wore the right sides off and I was just limping it home and the fuel mileage helped us."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS - Race winner:

"This is pretty awesome for our GM Goodwrench Chevrolet team. We just never gave up. We didn't have the best car today. But we had the best car when it counted.

"At one point the engine guys thought we were about a lap short but there at the end, everybody fell off so much I was the only one running fast pace laps at the end.

"All I know is that since Richard has been gone (Childress, team owner, on safari in Africa) we are undefeated, I don't know what that means. (smiles and chuckles). I just want to give credit to the whole race team. Everybody has worked hard and turning everything around. We are still building. We lead the right lap tonight." (press conference transcript to follow)

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 9th:

"The pit stops were the high point of the race tonight for us. When you qualify as bad as we did, that is just unacceptable in itself. It is great that all three RCR cars finished in the top-10. We are heading in the right direction. The other two ran better than we did tonight but I am real proud to have the three cars in the top-10. We will keep diggin and try to get even better. It has been a long day, but we will go get on the airplane and get home and 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning and play with the kids tomorrow, not a lot of sleep but will be nice to have Sunday at home.

JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS - Involved in multi-car crash on lap 100:

A LOT OF WRECKED CARS AND FLARED TEMPERS..WHAT HAPPENED? "I don't know! We finally got our U.S. Army Chevy handling halfway decent and on that particular run, it felt like a right front tire was going down on my car because it just wouldn't turn. I had a lot of steering wheel input and it just wouldn't turn. And I was up, halfway kind of high, and something happened right in front of me. I mean It happened in the worst spot because the sun is glaring there and you can't hardly see anything. All of a sudden everybody was wrecking. I was on the brakes, on the brakes and I don't know if the No. 38 (Elliott Sadler) went on the outside -- he went pretty hard. I had it cleared and then all of a sudden he shot out of there sideways. He bounced off of somebody and I drove him right in the door. It's just unfortunate. It's a long ways to come to have a day like this. We struggled a little bit in qualifying. You've just got to run all day and you've just got to keep working on it, you know? That's the bottom line to this. The guys are going to try to get us back out there."

ROBBY GORDON, NO. 7 JIM BEAM MONTE CARLO SS: - Sidelined with engine failure:

"I am not sure, but she ran hot the whole time. The first pit stop we pulled tape and it was at 245-250 degrees but it didn't make any difference and we finally blew the motor up. We just haven't had a good weekend. We qualified 25th, we were better than this last time. We don't know why it ran hot. We had less tape than we had when we ran in the sun. This is going to set us back in the points really big. It is a long season so we will just try to rebound and get ourselves heading in the right direction.