Chevrolet Scores 30th Modern Era Win (1972 - Present) at Talladega; Johnson Puts Lowe's Team Back Atop Point Lead And Chevrolet Extends Lead In Manufacturers' Cup Standings

Talladega, ALA - Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS captured his second restrictor plate win of the season at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, Round 9 on the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series tour.

Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, and Jeff Burton round out the top four finishing spots for a Team Chevy sweep on the 2.66-mile track.

Chevrolet has now won 30 times at Talladega Superspeedway in the Modern Era (1972 - present). Chevy drivers have now won the spring stop on the tour for the last eight years running. Add the fall rounds to the Talladega stats, and Chevrolet's success jumps to 14 wins in the past 15 races at the Alabama venue.

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

The series moves to Richmond International raceway for Round 10 on Saturday night, May 6.

Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Manufacturer's Standings:
Chevrolet 65 points (5 wins)
Dodge 53 points (3 wins)
Ford 53 points (1 win)

WINNER'S PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, DRIVER, AND CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

ON TODAY'S RACE:
JOHNSON: "Today was probably one of the best restrictor plate races I've been a part of. The competition was intense and tough but everybody seemed to really do things in a cautious manner. I'm not sure what everyone else saw, but it was an awesome, awesome race. At the end, with the No. 24 and the No. 20 up front and their experience, that they were going to control the race and that one of those two cars would end up winning. Things really shuffled up and everybody was really aggressive and had been saving it up all day long, I guess. Things really worked out for me. I got shuffled and moved around. I got a huge push from the No. 88 with probably four or five (laps) to go and then the No. 20 ended up behind me. After watching the video on the speed stage, I realized that the No. 20 was who really gave me a push from the outside lane where I got a run on the No. 25 and got inside of him. And then he followed me all the way to the bottom and pushed me the rest of the way.

"It was just a great day. I tried to stay smooth and calm on the race track. We had no mistakes on pit road. The race car was awesome. We haven't tested it or had a chance to take to the wind tunnel. Chad and the guys worked really hard and built a new car and brought it to the track and we had this kind of success with it. I'm proud of the team and all the hard work that went into the day's race.

WHAT DID YOU SEE FROM THE PITBOX?
KNAUS: "I didn't really get to see a whole lot of it. I basically just saw the pass for the lead as he was coming through the tri oval. I asked Jimmie how he got that run and he didn't really know. It's so hard to see a whole lot of anything that goes on around here. We had a great race car today and the guys did a great job of assembling this race car. We basically put it in the transporter and the paint was still wet on it (from) just finishing the set-up and getting it here in a rush after we lost our car in the Daytona 500 for Daytona USA. So it was a great day for us. The guys did a flawless job on pit road."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT VINDICATION FOR THE LAST TWO TALLADEGA RACES LAST YEAR? ALSO, TALK ABOUT WINNING DAYTONA WITH ALL THE CONTROVERSY AND NOW COMING BACK AND WINNING TALLADEGA WITHOUT ANY CONTROVERSY:
JOHNSON: "In Daytona I felt I had corrected the problems I had on restrictor plate race tracks and had a very clean race in Daytona and won. I just wanted to build off of that.

"I hadn't thought about the trouble I had last year. I came in here with an open mind and was excited about the race. I'm happy for Chad -- especially since he hasn't had a chance to enjoy victory lane. His cars have been winning races, but he was unfortunately at home. To get him to victory lane means a lot for myself and the team. And well deserved. He's worked his butt off as we all know, for so long, and has put so much into these restrictor plate cars. And to get two (wins) this year and finally be present for one of them means a lot of him. It's something he's always worked really hard on."

EMOTIONALLY, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON BACK WITH JIMMIE? "Really, it's not my first win of the season. We won the Daytona 500 and we won Las Vegas. So it's actually our third win of the season. Just because I wasn't at those race tracks and Darian (Grubb, substitute crew chief while Knaus was on suspension) wasn't calling this race, doesn't add or take away from anything this team is doing. That's what we've tried to push from the get-go. It was great to be here. Don't get me wrong. I like spraying the champagne and doing the hat dance and all that cool stuff. When I wasn't here, I was just as happy for this team winning races as I am today. I'm just celebrating here instead of in my living room."

HOW RELIEVED WERE YOU TO FIND OUT THAT DALE EARNHARDT JR. WAS OUT OF THE RACE? "I didn't know he was out of the race. I just now learned."

DID YOU GET A NEW SPOT IN THE MOTOR HOME LOT THIS WEEKEND AS YOU HAD PLANNED? AND DID IT MEAN MORE TO BEAT DRAFTING MASTERS LIKE STEWART AND GORDON AT THIS RACE? "Yeah, it did to me, personally, to beat those guys at a race and them not have any problems. But nothing will ever be more than winning the Daytona 500. I know the No. 24 had problems in that race and the No. 20 did and some of the guys who are better at drafting. But still, I don't think there will ever be a win to surpass that emotion. But today, to win this restrictor plate race, all the key players were in there and fighting hard. It makes me very proud of what moves I made today on the race track. It's so hard because you're planning out what you are going to do. Everyone else is working on a different plan, and there are no guarantees that your idea is going to work or if anyone is going to believe in what you're doing and follow you.

"At Daytona, I sat there and made the right moves at the right time. But really, people made some decisions around me that helped me get to the front. I had a car just like the No. 20 and the No. 25 and the No. 24 that could have won. Things just worked out in the end for me to surge into the lead. And yes, our bus driver pointed that out in victory lane that our new spot paid off."

AFTER WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR, DID YOU SPEND TIME TALKING IT OVER WITH JEFF GORDON AND STUDYING THE VIDEOS? "No more than I would typically do. When I first came into the sport, I spent a lot of time with Jeff trying to understand the draft. And then year two or three, we could relate on the same level and it wasn't so much him showing me all the different things that took place. We could talk more in depth about our race cars and how we could make certain passes and do certain things on the track. He's still a huge asset to me and someone that I go to for a lot of advice. Brian and Kyle are really leaning hard on Jeff and myself for advice on the plate tracks. Brian did a phenomenal job today and really had a shot at winning this race."

WHEN YOU WERE PASSING BRIAN VICKERS WITH JUST ONE LAP TO GO, WAS THERE ANY REGRET THAT YOU DIDN'T HELP HIM TO TAKE THE WIN INSTEAD OF TAKING ANOTHER WIN FOR YOURSELF? "I wouldn't say 'regret'. As a friend and teammate, I couldn't be more proud of what Brian did on the track. I know how hard they're (the No. 25 team) working for a win and know how much I wanted a HMS car to win today. We all know, it's just about when things cycle out and if you time it to lead the last lap. Within the top 10 or top 15, those cars are all capable of winning the race. So I think I said something on the cool down lap when Brian went by and gave me a thumbs up. I said to my crew guys that kid did an awesome job today and deserves to win a lot of these races. So I didn't regret the move, but I feel for him. And he's going to have plenty of wins in the near future."

HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR APPROACH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND SERVING YOUR SUSPENSION FOR THE DAYTONA PENALTY?
KNAUS: "I wouldn't say we're building the cars any differently or doing a lot of changing that way. We're making sure we're following the rule book maybe a little bit closer to the letter and making sure we stay within the black & white of the rule book.

"It was a tough time going through that and we don't want that kind of controversy surrounding our team because it is such a great race team. It doesn't need that.

We did a great job here this weekend and the past couple of weeks. It was tough. We're making sure we stay within the guidelines. It's petrifying to be a crew chief in this sport nowadays because if you don't run competitive, you're going to be out of a job. (But) if you push it too hard, and you get in trouble, you're going to be out of a job (laughs). So it's a tough deal. It's all part of the game. It's frightening after you win a race or finish in the top five just wondering what's going to happen when the car goes over the height sticks and things like that. But I got the thumbs up that everything was fine before I walked in here (post race, media center) so it's all good."

ON THE SOFT BUMPERS HELPING OUT IN TODAY'S RACE: "I agree with you. The one thing I can't say is that at the end of the race the bump drafting picked up and looking at my bumper and knowing the bump drafting I was doing, the bumper wasn't damaged. I'm not sure that with the knowledge we have if we'd be the same at the next race. We might have to soften them up another step. I think today's race, because of the extra cautions from the drivers on the race track, really led to a good, safe race. I didn't see what caused any of the wrecks. Up front there were some situations where in the past the bump draft would get somebody out of control and people kept from doing that and if they did they'd just give them a little push or shove and really wouldn't slam them."

WHAT THINGS DID YOU NEED TO CORRECT ABOUT RACING AT RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACKS AND HOW DID YOU FIX THEM? "I got into some situations last year going through Daytona and my experience down there where I felt in my heart I may have been too aggressive on the track. When Dale Jarrett won the fall race here last year, he stayed out of trouble all day long and had a straight race car and at the end everybody else's cars were so beat up he had the fastest car. I took that philosophy into the Daytona 500 and it paid off. Then today again I really stayed cautious. I probably was hung out more times than I wanted to be today. I could have prevented some of those times where I was pushed out of the draft but I didn't want to be aggressive. I didn't want to block anyone. If someone got position on me before the spotter said, I'd just let it go and fight my way back through there. Then at the end we were racing for the win and it paid off. I'm just trying to make small changes in everything I do at every race track not only the superspeedways but on the 1.0-mile tracks and short tracks. As a driver and for the team as well, we're always trying to improve and do a better job."

WERE YOU MORE ANXIOUS FOR THE RACE AFTER HAVING TO WAIT A DAY? "I probably shared the same emotions that everyone else it. You're here another night. You're ready to get going with it. Everybody gets charged up for the race. From the drivers standpoint we took the three warm up laps essentially getting ready to come to the green and then it started raining. Mentally we were all charged up and ready to go then obviously (there was) the delay and the cancellation of the race. I woke up this morning bright and early. I was ready to go, ready to get on the race track and excited to get out there and get to work."

WILL THE FOUR-WIDE AND FIVE-WIDE RACING BE AN ISSUE AT TALLADEGA? "From the drivers standpoint, we know if there's available space out there and you have a run you're going to take it. At Daytona it's so much narrower we would never put each other in that four and five-side situation. A lot of drivers have pointed out that bump drafting contributes to wrecks and causes some problems but the majority of the wrecks from the drivers perspective has been trying to crowd into a hole that wasn't there by using your spot mirror and trying to force your way into something or the side draft. It looks like from what you guys have been saying today here is that's what started the wrecks and the bump drafting didn't do that. What NASCAR did with the aggressive driving rule and also with the bump drafting, it's a step in the right direction. There isn't going to be a fix to take it all out of our sport. You're still going to have aggressive driving and there's going to be crashes, it's racing. I think NASCAR has done everything they can to address the issues to make a safer race and trying to keep everybody from being out of control out there."

ON THIS VICTORY PUTTING HIM TWO WINS BEHIND JEFF GORDON WHILE HE WAS AT A SIMILAR POINT IN HIS CAREER: "I didn't realize that. It puts a smile on my face to hear that. With the organization I drive for and Jeff helping out, I'm very lucky to be in this situation and have made the most of it, raced as hard as I could and proud to be here and be a part of it. I didn't know that stat and hopefully I can keep par with him. It'd be nice to have 60 or 70 victories when it's all said and done."

HOW HARD IS IT TO BUILD A RESTRICTOR PLATE CAR BETWEEN DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA?
CHAD KNAUS - "Oh boy, it's tough. It's real difficult. Obviously you always expect the worse at the superspeedway races that you may potentially lose a race car in a crash. In Daytona when we lost it, the next day we were starting to build a chassis and getting things rolling right after the Daytona victory. To build a good superspeedway car, it will take you about three months time. We used every bit of that to try to get this car built. We've got an incredible superspeedway development program at Hendrick Motorsports. The thing that's most unique about it is when you look at the 5, 25, 24 and 48, all four of those cars are built chassis-wise and body-wise by the same guys. I think that's why you saw today all four of those cars running up front. Unfortunately the 5 car got crashed out and wasn't able to show what he had but the other three cars ran up front most of the day. It's pretty painstaking to get those cars built within the template restrictions that we've got and to find just a little bit of detail that you need to find speed out of those cars. It's very, very hard."

HAS THIS CAR BEEN TO THE WIND TUNNEL? "No this car has not been to the wind tunnel. It has not been to a race track. It has not been to anything. Literally the paint was still drying on it when we pushed it on the truck Thursday. It was just time restricted. We wanted to obviously to take every vehicle that we take to the race to the wind tunnel, but were confined by having to get the cars to the race track and how hard it is to build the cars today for the race track. We just weren't able to have time. It's almost as difficult now to build an intermediate car or a short track car as it is to build a superspeedway car. The detail that goes into a short track or intermediate car is what went into a superspeedway car about five years ago. It just takes the superspeedway cars up another notch."

WHAT EFFECT WILL WILL FERRELL'S NEW RACING MOVIE HAVE ON THE SPORT? "I'm looking forward to it. I want to see the movie. I can't wait until it's out to see it. I'm not sure what the overall impression will be from it but anything Will does is pretty funny. I think that any publicity for our sport is good publicity. If we can poke fun at ourselves and certain issues and topics, I think it's good for us all."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS - Winner:

"Everybody just did a great job. My teammates, Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers, had a great day today and had great cars. Brian Vickers drove probably the best race I've ever seen today. I was hoping that if I didn't win this race he could have, and of all things we ended up racing for the win there at the end and I got this Lowe's team another victory on a restrictor plate track."

YOU DIDN'T HAVE CHAD KNAUS OR YOUR WINNING DAYTONA 500 CAR HERE AT TALLADEGA AND BUT YOU WON AGAIN. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? "That says a lot for this race team and for Hendrick Motorsports and our engine department and for everyone that has worked so hard to give us four Cup drivers the best equipment out there. These guys work endless hours to give us the best equipment. I have to thank all of them. I have to recognize that it's Randy Dorton's birthday today. Also my younger brother, Jarit and his wife delivered (baby named Conner) and I'm an uncle now."

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

ON THE RACE TODAY: "We just kind of rode along all day. We did what we always do. If you look at our average finish here, we're pretty strong here. Six top-twos now in the last 11 races so nothing to complain about today for this Home Depot Monte Carlo SS."

"That's an awesome day to be able to finish in the top two here six out of the last 11 races. That's a pretty cool stat. I'm probably one of the most consistent drivers here with our finishes. Anytime you can finish in the top two here is like a win."

ON WHO TO GO WITH AT THE END OF THE RACE: "Whoever is fast."

ON BEING SUCCESSFUL EVERYWHERE THEY GO: "Absolutely. This Home Dept team is doing such an awesome job. Anytime you can get in the top two here is like a win. I'm definitely very excited about today."

ON THE INCIDENT WITH DALE EARNHARDT JR. AND HOW HE RECOVERED FROM THAT: "I don't know what happened to him and who got him. I don't know who got him sideways there but when he was sliding across my spotter said high. With all the smoke I really couldn't see so I tried to hold it straight there. Then he started coming back up the track. It wasn't his fault. There was no way we could get around him. We had the brakes locked and slid in the nose of him. I think their crew and our crew did an awesome job getting our cars back together. It's just a matter of finishing out and keeping everything on just like it was. It was an awesome day today to be able to keep the string alive of the things we've been doing out here."

ON THE GROOVES CHANGING HERE: "Yeah, it's moving around a lot. The bottom line really isn't any good anymore. It seems like the trend is moving to the middle and top of this race track."

HAS THAT CHANGED RECENTLY OR IS THAT A TREND? "I don't know. I think the last couple of races we've been doing that. I think we've been seeing everyone running the high side here. I don't think it's anything that's new here. I think it's just such a momentum deal. It's a matter of probably the cars are a lot freer when you can run up like that especially running down off the hill or coming off the corners that probably gives you the little bit extra momentum. It just seems like once you can get up there, especially once a whole line starts up there, it's really hard to pass anybody that's already up there."

WOULD YOU HAVE WON IF YOU HAD A LITTLE MORE STEAM? "We had a good day."

ON THE RESTARTS: "The restarts seemed to be a little bit strange. We just got shuffled to the back. You've just got to keep your cool and work your way back to the front."

WHAT WAS THE MOST SATISFYING PART OF TODAY? "Finishing second. Anytime you can finish in the top two here is like a win especially as consistent as we are about doing it. It's hard to be that consistent at these restrictor plate races and put together consecutive runs like that where you can run in the top two and get a good points day like that. To get out of here with a car that's in one piece and finish second is a pretty good day."

WHAT WERE YOUR OPTIONS ON THE LAST TWO LAPS? "Do everything you can to not lose momentum. If you lose momentum it takes two or three laps to get going again. When you're in a situation like that at the end where you've got to go, you've got to take it at that time and hope you can make it the rest of the way."

TONY STEWART PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

ON THE RACE: "I survived. It wasn't anything real spectacular. We, for the most part, just kind of rode around all day and at the end of the race when it was time to go, we went. We got the lead with about 13 (laps) to go and got the caution. So it was just a matter of trying to hold Jeff (Gordon) off on the restart and there is no way you're going to when you get out 10 or 15 car lengths away from him. It's tough when they get that run like that and I got shuffled all the way to about 12th or 15th and then just spent the last 8 laps working our way back up. So I'm really happy.

"I think this is our 6th second-place finish in 11 races here. So average-wise, I don't think there is anybody I know of who can beat us on the average of finishes here in the last 10 or 11 races. So I'm pretty proud of what this team has been able to accomplish. We had an awesome day."

IS IT FRUSTRATING TO FINISH 2ND THAT MANY TIMES? "It's still better than third. There are 41 guys who wish they had run as good as I did, and 42 of us who wish we had run as good as Jimmie (Johnson, race winner). So, as volatile as this place can be with getting in a wreck and this or that, for us to say in the last 11 races that we've finished 2nd six times is something in all reality to be proud of because this is not a race track that you can do it all on your own. You have to have help. When you're going up against three Hendrick cars there at the end, and the rest of the group we were there with, it's hard to do it all by yourself. So to be able to get to second, I feel like we have a lot to be proud of."

ON THE FINAL RESTART, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU THINK JEFF GORDON MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH ONE BY LAYING BACK A LITTLE BIT THERE. IF THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, DO YOU NOT GET SHUFFLED OUT? "You never know. You don't know what's going to happen but it seemed pretty obvious what was going on there. It's hard to do that when you've got two team cars lined up and when you go, they don't go and you end up out there all by yourself like that."

DID YOU NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT IN DRIVING STYLES TODAY WITH THE SOFT BUMPERS? "I didn't get hit, nor did I hit anybody near as hard as what we were doing at Daytona. I spent most of my time in the back riding around in clean air and letting everybody get aggressive up there. There were two or three guys in particular that were up there today that are fairly young that were guys I did not want to be anywhere near on the race track. None of these guys have figured it out. It's amazing.

"They raced their guts out all day and I always end up going to the back and riding around all day and keeping my fenders straight and at the end of the day, we always end up in the top five where we need to be. But there are a bunch of those guys who just beat themselves to death up there all day and end up putting themselves in bad positions. I didn't notice. I don't think it was near as bad as it's been here in the past. It definitely made for a lot more enjoyable race for us."

WITH 20 LAPS TO GO, DO YOU TRY A FEW THINGS AND SEE WHO YOU CAN WORK WITH AND WHO YOU CAN'T, AND THEN TRY TO USE THAT KNOWLEDGE IN THE LAST 10 LAPS? "No, I pretty much just go with 20 laps to go. I make that decision that I'm ready to go. I think history speaks for itself. Guys historically know who does what and when. Dale Jarrett and I ran together there in that last 20 lap stretch there that got us to the lead, but we didn't stay together all the way to the front. But we hung around the back all day and when it was time to go we were lined up together and we went. So it's just a matter of when you decide it's time to go. Pretty much everybody knows who's got good cars by then and it's just a matter of going."

AT THE END WHEN YOU AND JOHNSON GOT AROUND VICKERS, DID YOU PUSH JOHNSON TO THE LEAD? AFTER THAT, WERE YOU IN THAT SITUATION WHERE YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE HERE? "Jimmie got the run on Brian and obviously with a run like that when you're taking the white flag, you're not going to jump to the line that's slower. You just can't afford to break that momentum when you know that he's got the momentum and got a run on Brian like that. You know you've got to go with that line and I probably did help push him through the rest of the way but that was where the momentum was at the time. And with one lap to go, if you stop and try to pick somebody up, you're probably going to drop back to 6th or 7th. So you you've just got to go with that momentum. Once we got through there, I couldn't ever really get a good strong enough push to get me in a situation where I could get that run on Jimmie. But it wasn't for a lack of effort, that's for sure."

IS IT STILL THE BIG PICTURE FOR YOU NOW THAT YOU'VE MOVED UP TO THIRD IN POINTS VERSUS NOT WINNING THIS RACE? "Well, there is not much I can do about not winning the race today. But you take what you can get here obviously.

"We come here with the attitude of winning the race, not looking at it as a point day. But if you can't win, if you can finish second, it's still a good day like we had last week in Phoenix. You still have the same feeling of satisfaction. But when we get done here in the press room, we'll go back and look at the points sheet and that's the other side. Initially your thought process is not on the points, it's on winning the race. So if you can't win but you finish second, that's still a good day."

ON J.J. YELEY BEING THE ONLY ROOKIE NOT INVOLVED IN A WRECK OR CREATING A WRECK TODAY: "Oh, there were rookies that were in the top 10 today that were part of the reason I decided I wanted to be in the back. I don't think it's so much about where you're running on the race track, it's how you're running on the race track. It's the decisions you make and the patience you show. It's simple things like how quick you change lanes. There are guys who change so fast that if another guy is coming in another direction, he's going to get himself in a bad position by not being able to get out of that guy's way as fast as he's coming over. There were rookies making it three-wide early in the race when we've got 160-some laps to go. It's just the thought process. Even the veterans know what it was like to be a rookie. You want to be up front and lead laps and show everybody you belong. Even when they're not patient, everybody understands where they're coming from and why they're in such a hurry to get there. It's just a matter of taking care of your car at that time and not letting them put you in a situation you can't get out of."

BRIAN VICKERS, NO. 25 GMAC MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 3rd:

PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

ON HIS RUN: "It was a good run for us all day. The GMAC team did a great job in the pits (and were) consistent all day. We may not have had the fastest pit stops but we were definitely consistent. There were times we gained spots but I don't think we ever came out of the pits losing any spots. That's really what matters when you can do that all day long so I was real proud of those guys. Lance (McGrew, crew chief) made some good calls. You hear Tony (Stewart) and it worked for him. He finished second. He was in the back most of the day trying to avoid the wrecks. We took a different approach. We felt like being in front of them was better. Both philosophies worked out. We tried to run up front all day. We were there most of the day. Once we got up through there, it was pretty calm most of the day. From where we were I know there were several wrecks. Then there at the end it got dicey. I'm sure we're going to have questions about teammates. We were racing for the win there at the end. All I can say is Jeff (Gordon), Jimmie (Johnson) and I worked great together all day long. We helped each other when the other was in trouble. We helped each other stay up front all day long. When it comes down to the end of the race, one, two, three is great but the problem is all three of us want to finish one. That's where the problem lies. All bets are off. I don't think there's any hard feelings about it. They did their job. Jimmie did his. He had an awesome run there on the last lap. We went high to block, went low. I just didn't get low quite fast enough."

DID YOU GET AN EXPLANATION FROM KYLE BUSCH ON WHAT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY DURING THE BUSCH RACE? "We worked together all day yesterday. There at the end he chose not to go with us. Hey, I wish he would have went with us but the first move I probably made too early. The car behind him wasn't going to go with him so I can't say that that was the wrong call that he made. I think if we would have both went, we would have been fine. Who knows? There at the end of the race the last couple of laps, (it was) the same thing you saw today. We're all going for the same spot. When it comes down to the last two laps, we're all racing for the same position."

DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU ARE UNDER PRESSURE WITH YOUR CONTRACT AND KYLE BUSCH WINNING RACES? "As far as the pressure, I'll be honest with you. I really don't feel any pressure. Rick (Hendrick) has made that clear that he's happy, everybody is happy. As far as the contract situation, we don't divulge that information. There's no way anybody could know what year we are in our contract. We're all set there, taken care of and everybody is happy.

"We definitely haven't had some of the (best) performances we've had this year, some of it due to so many different things. We've had three engine failures this year. We had a couple mechanical problems. I sped on pit road in California. We had a fast car. It's not like we're really that far off. We definitely are not where we want to be or where we could be. It's not one problem. It's just a couple little things we need to work on. Going back all the way to 2004, we knew going into the 25 team and it wasn't where it needed to be and it was going to be a long process to get it there and we're still in the middle of that."

DO YOU WISH YOUR TEAMMATES HELPED YOU MORE AT THE END SO YOU COULD WIN? "Great question. I wish there were 42 guys out there that would help. I wish all of them would help. It's easy for me to sit here and say 'Hey this would have been my first win Jimmie, why'd you try to pass me?' This was a win for him too just like it was a win for us. I can't hold a grudge against him for that. If he wouldn't have tried to pass me for a win on the last lap, I don't know if I would have respected that. We worked great together all day. Jimmie and I came up all the way to the front. He stuck with me. At times he probably didn't have to or shouldn't have and I did the same for him all day long. After the last pit stop we were bumper-to-bumper hooked up and went straight to the front. It wasn't like two laps and we went from the 20s to second and third or third and fourth or something like that. Like I said, when it comes down to the last lap I can't expect anything out of those guys. If they go with me, great. I'm going to go give them a hug afterwards but if they don't I'm not going to hold it against them."

NEAR THE END JIMMIE JOHNSON SEEMED THE LEAST LIKELY TO WIN. HOW DID HE DO IT? "If I've learned anything from a speedway race, it's that nobody is in a least-likely position to win. You see guys come from anywhere to win these races on the last lap. We ended up getting in front of the 24. The 24 didn't have a real big run on us but he had a run on us in (turns) three and four. I managed to block the right way and I think it broke his momentum. I would assume he took his eyes off the mirror and Jimmie took any opportunity to get by him. That's hard for me predict what happened but from my mirror that's what I saw. While the 24 was consumed with passing us the 48 took advantage of that and ended up passing him. When it comes down to the end, anybody can win these races.

"I don't mean to say anybody but you've still got to know what you're doing but more than anything, you have to have friends. It is a chess game but it's politics. Like Tony (Stewart) said, at the end of the race the biggest thing is momentum. You're going to go with the line that has momentum but there is still a little bit of politics to it. He's (Jimmie) doing the right thing. He is doing exactly what he needs to be doing, making friends, staying out of trouble. If there's an accident and he's involved, they're going to look at him first. He did a great job today and did exactly what he needed to do from his vantage point. That's what's going to get people pushing you. Two years ago, it didn't matter if I made the same moves I made today. The guys behind me probably wouldn't have gone with me. It was irrelevant if we had a good car or not. When I pulled out to the pass the 24, the 20 probably wouldn't have went with me when I was a rookie. You've got to understand that. It's just part of the game. The biggest thing you can do to get those guys to go with you at the end of the races is do exactly what he's doing and trying to get respect and staying out of trouble."

WHAT HAPPENED ON LAP NINE? DID YOU GET INTO CARL EDWARDS? WAS IT TOO EARLY TO BE RACING FIVE WIDE? "I'm not sure. You're going to have to look at the replay. I know he (Carl Edwards) didn't get into me and I didn't get into him. I think there was quite a bit of room between us. Now what was on the other side of him, I can't see. When we went off the turn, I had been following the 2 on the yellow line for probably a lap or so. I was right behind him and I stayed right behind him. My left sides were on the apron going into the corner. I couldn't have gotten any lower. I held my line for the last couple laps. As for what happened on the outside of me, I don't know if it was four-wide or five-wide. My spotter said four and I'm not going to say he did anything wrong. It may have just happened so fast. I have not seen the replay. There's no telling how somebody could have gotten five-wide that quick. Unfortunately it didn't work out."

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF HOW JOHNSON HANDLED THINGS HERE LAST YEAR AND DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM WHAT HE DID IN RESPONSE? "I have learned a lot from Jimmie that being one incident. Jimmie probably handles himself as good if not better than anybody in the sport when it comes to the uphills and downhills. He handles both of them like a gentleman. There's always opportunities for me to learn from my teammates."

JEFF BURTON, NO 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 4th:

"I felt pretty calm. There was bump-drafting, but nothing ridiculous. Again, bump-drafting is not wrong. It's only wrong if you do it wrong."

ON RUNNING IN THE MIDDLE GROOVE: "The middle groove has been good here for a year. There is nothing new about that. When you're all bottled up and you have a real fast car, the outside is good or the inside is good or the middle is good. But when you have a car that's not so fast, the middle is the safest place to be because you don't get hurt too badly as far as losing the draft and staying in track position. So the middle is the place everybody fights for. A lot of the wrecks really are caused because people are fighting for the middle but that's nothing new."

DID YOU FEEL LIKE A PASSENGER ON THE HENDRICK TRAIN FOR A WHILE? "They worked very well together today, they really did. They spent a lot of time working together and made a lot of moves together and I commend them for that. They were very fast. I thought they had the best cars all day. But I can't complain about our finish either."

WHO WERE YOU ABLE TO WORK WELL WITH TODAY? "I always work well with (Matt) Kenseth. Robby Gordon and I work well together. But it all depends on what time of the race it is and what there is to do. It got pretty wild there the last 5 laps. It was fun. It was fun because we made it. It wouldn't have been fun if we had wrecked."

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

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THOSE CLOSING LAPS? "They were good. Everybody was just getting after and trying to win. I was having a great battle with my teammates. Unfortunately I made some moves that lost some momentum trying to win the race and costing us the 15th position. I was pretty disappointed in that."

HOW DID THE WAY YOUR TEAMMATES RACE AFFECT YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING TODAY? "(On the) closing laps they've got to do what they got to do. I've always done it that way. I've always preached to them that way. They did exactly what I would have done. Once you get inside five to go, you've got to go. They helped me get the lead all day long. We ran pretty good together most of the day. I'm pretty sure we led the most laps but when it came time to get the win they did everything they could do.

"I just made a little bit of a mistake. I tried to get a run on the high side of Brian (Vickers) coming to the white I guess. That just killed me. He blocked me up high and then I tried to go low and I looked in my mirror and here comes Jimmie (Johnson) to the outside. Jimmie did what he needed to do to win the race. I'm proud of him and those guys. We had a great day all day with the DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet and unfortunately we just didn't get the good finish."

ON JIMMIE JOHNSON BEING UNDEFEATED AT RESTRICTOR PLATE RACES THIS YEAR: "Obviously he gets better and better every time he's on a restrictor plate track and I'm real proud of him to keep learning how to use that draft and use the cars behind you. He did an excellent job in Daytona and he did a great job today."

IN WHAT WAYS HAS JIMMIE GOTTEN BETTER AT RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING? "You learn from your mistakes. I think he made a couple of mistakes then I think he was over criticized for some things that really weren't his doing. I think he's always been a smart race car driver and that's what it takes to win races at this type of track."

IS THIS THE BEST NASCAR CAN DO WITH THIS TRACK? "Yeah, I think so. The cars drive good. They draft good. We didn't see a whole lot of bump drafting throughout the day until right there at the end. (We) didn't end under caution or red so that was a good thing."

ON NEEDING MORE HELP OUT THERE: "We led so much that I knew that we weren't going to (get help). I got enough help obviously to get up and lead as much as we did. We had a strong car especially out front and it was our job to maintain that lead and I just wasn't able to do it."

ON THE INSIDE LINE: "Yeah, the inside line was tough especially for my car. My car was real tight on the inside. I did not want to get on the inside. What happened? With two to go I got stuck on the inside and I knew I was done at that moment."

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

"We had a pretty good car. We kind of laid back all day. That next-to-last caution took out some good cars. There was about 20 to go and it was time to step on the gas. I think I might have committed too early and got up to fifth and then the 48 car (Jimmie Johnson) blocked me real bad and I had to get on the brakes and that killed my momentum real bad. That dropped us pretty far and got us to the back of that big pack. It was time to try. We got up to fifth. We had a car to get up there, I think the driver might have committed a little too early."

WAS THE STRATEGY TO HANG BACK WITH GUYS LIKE JARRETT, PETTY AND LABONTE? "We wanted to make sure we finished before anything. There were a lot of guys today who didn't finish and left with a torn-up race car. We tried to race smart. I'm disappointed with the finish. The strategy went good up until that. That's superspeedway racing -- sometimes you pick the wrong lane or get shuffled back."

HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO ANY OF THE ACCIDENTS TODAY? "The first couple were a little closer than I'd like to be. That last one was behind us. All in all it was a real good strategy day. We're continuing to build our points. It'd be nice to win right out of the box, but we're also building a foundation, which is a good thing."

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS - Involved in multi-car crash on lap 9:

WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE? "It just looks like from the replay it was unfortunate circumstances for the Kellogg's Chevrolet to be put in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's just one of those deals where it's way too early to be going five wide and I was minding my own business in my own lane. Everybody was going around me because I got sucked back a little bit in the draft. It's just one of those deals where it's very unfortunate for us. We got clipped in the left rear a little bit by the No. 99 -- not of his doing. He didn't have very much room on the bottom side with himself and the 25. I didn't have much room above me with the 12. It's just one of those deals where everybody kind of clinged together there and started a big ol' wreck."

AS IT WAS HAPPENING WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU COULD HAVE DONE? "No, there was really nothing I could have done. I was already wide open. I couldn't surge ahead any. If I would have stepped on the brakes or tried to get out of it, I would have gotten run over from behind that way. It's just very unfortunate. I was trying to hold it as straight as I could, my wheel, getting through the corner but there just wasn't quite enough room on the bottom side and I didn't feel as though moving up into the No.12 would have made it any better or any easier. I just don't really get it why we all made it five wide that early anyway."

MARK MARTIN SAID HE WAS BEYOND ANGRY. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW? "It's very frustrating to be involved in an incident like this so early in the race, and of course everything that's been circled around me and everything else so far this year, but it's just an unfortunate circumstance for us to be put in that situation this early on in the race. It's very devastating to have a great race car torn up already."

WHAT'S IT LIKE TO RUN FIVE-WIDE OUT THERE? "Five-wide is not very fun. But that's in essence, what happened. We had a great race car. I was just kind of minding my own business running around there in the middle groove. And then I got sucked back a little bit by the two cars on each side of me and everybody was going around me. They didn't want to follow because I was getting pulled back. And in essence, I was getting pulled back. It's unfortunate circumstances. Getting into Turn 3, I couldn't go any higher because I felt like I was going to run into the No. 12 and I couldn't' go any lower because I'd already gotten clipped by the No. 99. It's just a terrible day.

"It's very close. You can't do it at Daytona, but you can do it here. You'd rather do it in the last three laps instead of the first 10 laps.

"You're always trying to make sure that everybody has enough room so you can make it through the corner and I felt like I couldn't make it any higher because I'd run into the No. 12 and I'd start something that way. But I ended up getting hit by the No. 99. There wasn't much for me to do from what I saw on the replay. But maybe others will tell me different.

"There is no point in being five-wide ever."

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS MONTE CARLO SS - Involved in multi-car crash on lap 9:

WHAT HAPPENED? "I'm not sure. I was running up high and the cars got together and ended up pitching me into the wall real bad. Our day is pretty much done. It's just a same. The guys built a great car and we were just riding around there trying to get some laps in. This has ended way too early for us today. You can't let off and you can't slow down. You've just got to stay where you're at and hope it works itself out."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? "Well, I'm just frustrated. Nine laps. It's 500 miles. So nine laps isn't a good way to end your day."

WHAT STARTED IT? "I don't know. It was inside of me somewhere. They said somebody made it five wide getting into Turn 3 and they got to running into each other or something. It's just impatience most likely. But it's way too early in the race to be running like that."

IS THERE ANYTIME IN THE RACE TO BE RUNNING LIKE THAT? "Yeah, towards the end when everybody is out there going for the win -- not nine laps in when it's anybody's race still."

WHAT'S IT LIKE TO RACE FIVE-WIDE? "Well, it can be done if everybody knows it's coming and everybody does it just right. It can be done -- especially here. I'm not sure what happened. I'd like to see the video before I say too much. We were just on the outside all the way up the wall and the next thing I know is there are cars hitting me in the side.

WAS IT TOO EARLY TO RACE FIVE-WIDE? "It's too early to be crashing, that's for sure. There is no reason that all of us can't run around here without wrecking in nine laps. There's just no reason."

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER MONTE CARLO SS - Sidelined with engine failure on lap 153:

"We had a pretty decent car. Got loose getting into (Turn) 3 and it was four-wide and I got loose and got into Carl (Edwards) and spun myself out. I might have spun the motor backwards; that's probably why I blew up. We don't normally have engine failures. But right there just now, it just blew up and quit running. It was a tough day for us, but oh well."

DID YOU NOTICE ALL THE FANS IN THE RED SHIRTS AND BLACK SHIRTS STANDING UP CHEERING FOR YOU WHEN YOU WERE PASSING OTHER CARS? "I was doing everything I could trying to get to the front. I mean everything. Just when you're about sixth, seventh, or eighth -- or on back -- you've really got nothing to do but go with the guy in front of you. You go to the bottom. The bottom's not working today, which is interesting. But there's really many people making many things happen on the bottom, so everybody is running in the middle and the top and you just sit there in line and hopefully somebody pulls out of the bottom and you just fill that hole.

"We had a pretty good car at the start of the race, but when I spun out I got the tow in messed up. It drove all right after that, but a blown motor is going to end the day.

"We had a good car. I'm real proud of my team and real proud of the effort they gave me this weekend. I'd like to thank all my fans for their support. We honored my father this weekend. I wish we could have had a better finish, but the day's over with. It was a blown motor and a bad finish in the points."

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE SPIN? "I got loose. I got loose and Carl (Edwards) was there and really just saved me from running in the fence. I got into him and spun it all around. Yeah, I was wrecking."

ON ALL THE EFFORT THE TEAM PUT INTO THE CAR: "They did. I was real proud of them for what they give every week. It's no different this week. I might have done something to the motor when we spun the car around. We know we don't have engine failure so there has to be a logical explanation."

IS THERE ANYTHING EXPERIMENTAL YOUR TEAM DID WITH MOTOR TODAY? "No, not that I'm aware of. We don't really experiment in the race conditions.

"Obviously you have days like this but I don't think we were doing anything out of the ordinary or out of our limitations. It's just a surprise because we normally don't have engine failures."

WAS IT TOUGH FINDING HELP OUT THERE? "I just didn't really have a good of a car as I would have liked to have. Again it was capable of getting to the front. It was a battle. With still some laps left, I really wasn't trying everything I could try. I was just trying to be calm and we were lapping cars and giving people room.

"The guys out front were being pretty stingy with the lead. It was difficult to really move through there. Just had to wait until the end of the race hopefully because you could definitely force your way through there but you don't want to do that with 50 laps to go."

DID LOSING MARTIN TRUEX JR. EARLY HURT YOU? "There was a lot of people working with everybody out there. I don't know how much of a factor Martin could have been. It's unfortunate how his day started out."

HOW HARD IS IT TO LOSE AT A RACE YOU ARE SO GOOD AT? "I tried to show what I had. That's all I had. We did. That was it. Just got to work harder and come back here and maybe do a little bit better next time."

WHAT COULDN'T YOU DO ON THE INSIDE LINE? "Really it wasn't working for anybody. It's very tough to pass on the inside. The cars and everybody were tight, tight today. It really is a surprise. For many years we all start at the bottom, start at the line. Now everybody is running and shoving everybody in the fence trying to get up the race track so they can get some momentum."

JEFF GORDON COULD TIE YOUR FATHER'S RESTRICTOR PLATE MARK TODAY WITH A VICTORY. HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO STAY OUT THERE AND PROTECT THAT RECORD? "I can't do anything to try to protect a record my dad has. If Jeff breaks it today, congratulations to him. He's a hell of a competitor and has done a great job. He's got a great car. He's got a great chance. Records are made to broken."

TRAVIS KVAPIL, NO. 32 TIDE/DOWNY MONTE CARLO SS

"As soon as I slammed on the brakes (caution 173) I felt something pop so we must have broken the brake rotor. I could not slow the car down so I clipped somebody who was wrecking. Just when we were getting ready to make our move we got caught in a little deal. It's a shame because we were really fast and was just riding around until Gary Putnam (crew chief) gave me the word to 'go'. We earned over 100 points with 19th place so we'll take it. We dodged two really close calls earlier so I guess our luck ran out. It was a decent day all and all."