Jeff Gordon Leader Chat at Atlanta

Jeff Gordon Leader Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/Nicorette Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway and discussed leading the Chase standings coming in to Atlanta, his reaction to the Roush driver feud and other subjects.

ON HIS FIRST NNCS START AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY 15 YEARS AGO AND IMAGINING THAT HE WOULD BE AT THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER APPROACHING PASSING THE WINS OF CALE YARBOROUGH AND OTHERS: "Well, we haven't passed them yet. We have to catch them still. I certainly never thought we would be anywhere close that is for sure. I was with Richard Petty today, we did a photo together, neither one of us could believe that it had been 15 years ago. It is pretty amazing from where I stand, of how much as gone on in my life and my career for those past 15 years. I was so young and naive and clueless as to what was ahead. How could you be any different? I was just excited to get the opportunity. Things I remember about that weekend and that day, the track was a lot different - a much different configuration. I know we tested at Charlotte and we tested here and it went really well and we went pretty quick. But we didn't qualify that well. They had second round qualifying back then, we qualified fasted second day and got to like 21st, I think that was the best you could get to then. Throughout the day, the car was just loose on the short runs, but really fast. I pushed a little bit too hard during one of the runs through the middle and spun out and crashed. It wasn't long after that, I remember seeing Richard in a ball of flames in turn three, so it wasn't really, I guess I could say it was memorable, but I can't say it was good memories.

"Probably the coolest thing that I carry with me was the driver's meeting. It was very unique. And still to this day, I don't remember a driver's meeting quite like that. They introduce, whether it is a celebrity and official from a big company and that day it was all about Richard (Petty) and he spoke. I can't really remember the things that he said, but I remember his handing out these money clips that had an insignia of him with his cowboy hat and each starting position was inscribed on there. I have one that has 21 on it. I still have it. To me that was the coolest part of the day was just to be able to be a part of that. I know that I am one of a very few guys, I think, that has one of those money clips. I never used it, but I still have it."

ON THE NO.24 AND NO. 48 BEING MORE EQUAL ON THIS TRACK THAT THE SPRING FINISHES OF FIRST AND 12TH IN THE SPRING, 2007: "You have to be careful going by stats. We dissect the race out as to how it went for us and we know that we had crush panel come loose that we had to fix. Prior to that, we felt like we were one of the best cars. We led and ran up front. That fix got us behind not to mention got us a lap down. It was a mistake. You can't point fingers at anybody, it happened. We were all part of it, but you learn from it and move on and try not to make the same mistakes twice. We had an extremely fast car that day. When I came back here, I am thinking more of how we performed and try not to have those kinds of mistakes and we can compete with anyone out there.

"We focus on our car, we focus on our team. It doesn't matter what weekend we go in to, we don't focus on anybody else. The type of year we are having, the type of cars we have this year, if we do our jobs well, then we are going to be one of the cars to beat. You can't base that off of anybody but what your own car is doing and what you are trying to do to make it go fast. That has been working pretty good for us."

ON IF THERE WAS EVER ANY THOUGHT THAT HIS BABY DAUGHTER WOULD BE A DISTRATCTION: "I don't ever remember saying that I didn't have any doubts that she wouldn't be. I thought that I wasn't sure until she came, until it happened. I felt like my focus in the race car wouldn't change because I have had distractions for years of things going on that when I got inside the car and started the engine, those were gone. Getting sleep and things like that are important to how you focus throughout the weekend. That I expected to be tough and it has been, but it has gone well. It is one of those things, and I think that those who have had children understand, you are worn out, you are tired, you are a little agitated but you are also extremely happy and excited at the same time. When I get to the race track, one is I get a little more sleep. And two, I am looking forward to competing because we have got a great race team and great race cars this year. When I leave here, I am excited about getting home and having sleepless nights and being up with here. There isn't a moment; it doesn't matter if it is three or four a.m. that I look at her and I am not just in awe and amazement. Especially when she can look back at me, it is the coolest thing ever. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know how all that would happen, but too me, it has been nothing more than a positive in my life and any time positive things are happening in your life, then usually it reflects positively on your career."

ON IF IT IS OK FOR A TEAMMATE TO YIELD A POSITION ON THE TRACK FOR ANOTHER TEAMMATE: "We had a lot of conversations about that because Casey (Mears) was pretty uneasy about how that all happened at Dover. I appreciate his honesty and his competitiveness. He is having a great end of the season and that is important for them as a team going in to next year as well and personally as well. We agreed that there is a point that if it comes down to where you are racing, let's use Casey as an example, where you are racing him in the closing laps of a race, it shouldn't be where you have to fight them. You shouldn't have to fight them ever inch, every corner. If you show your nose, it is obvious that you are faster, if you run him down from a straightaway behind, just maybe cut the guy a break. But don't pull over and let him go, if he is a straightway behind you. That is not the intentions. I think that is wrong, I think that will come back to haunt you. I think that we have all agreed that is how we expect. We want him to get those good finishes that he is capable of getting. We don't want it to be given to us either, but those types of things. Now, we get down to Homestead, the final laps of the race and that position is going to win the championship for me or Jimmie or Kyle, then I think that might be a little bit different situation. Whether it is right or wrong, I don't think anybody would not do that or would not want that to happen for them when there is that much on the line."

ON TEXAS BEING ONE OF THE FEW TRACKS HE HASN'T WON AT AS OF YET: "Just like here where we finished 12th but felt like we ran a lot better than that and are capable of a lot more than that. I think it is kind of the same thing as the stats at Texas. We have been very close to wins there the last couple times we have been reason, and for whatever crazy reason, whether it is an electrical problem or me smacking the wall off of turn four, we just haven't gotten the wins, but we have had top-fives there recently and right now, I like going in to any track that we are capable of getting top-five finishes. Hopefully we can turn that in to an improvement, even better than a top-five. I can honestly say that this is one of the first times I am excited about going to Texas from a competitive standpoint. I have always loved the facility and going there, but it has been hit or miss for us as far as being competitive. This year, I feel like we have been pretty strong there."

ON IF THE SITUATION BETWEEN CARL EDWARDS AND MATT KENSETH HAS BEEN A DISTRACTION AWAY FROM THE FOCUS BY THE MEDIA ON HE AND JIMMIE AND THE CHASE: "I guess so, I mean. I think it just makes for an interesting story because everybody wants to talk about how me and Jimmie by some miraculous way, we get along good as teammates. There is a perfect example of some controversy that can be there. I don't know, I haven't put too much thought in to that. It can easily happen, because, whether we are teammates or not, you go to a place like Martinsville. It is so easy to bump and to bang and for things to happen.

"Some intentionally and some accidentally. I talked to Jeff Burton, today. He and I barely touched. I was trying to stay out of getting in to him and he was trying to stay out of getting in to me. I am not sure, whose fault it was, but at the moment, he was as mad as can be. I was like, what did I do to upset me; and he nailed me. Today, he said 'Man, I am sorry about that. I was just mad.' That is what Martinsville can do to you. It doesn't matter if you are teammates, or not teammates. I think the difference between me and Jimmie, is that those things happen every once and a while to us but it is how we handle it on Monday. We may not always handle it immediately. If it happens, we will text one another or call one another the next day or Tuesday, or something like that. But we always, when we calm down, handle as teammates and friends should. That is hard to pull off, it really is whether you are teammates or note teammates. Jimmie and I have been able to pull it off pretty well.

"We are in such a different situation than any other guy in the garage. Jimmie and I most unique situation as teammates out there as of anybody. I would think the next closest would be Jimmie and Casey (Mears). There are very close friends as well as teammates. They have known each other since they were kids. The difference between me and Jimmie, everybody knows the story, but just the way I support him, he came to me for advice and me going to Rick and saying we need to start this new team up. Jimmie, I think, would be a great driver for it. It has changed how we became friends. Prior to him coming to Hendrick Motorsports as a driver, we were friends with him not in this series, then when he came in to the series, I had just won a championship, I am sitting back and am as happy as can be, go have at it. Whatever he did, I was happy for him. It changed everything.

"It has driven me, it has pushed me, it has inspired me to see how well he has done, knowing his equipment. I think that this year is probably one of the first year that he and I have really been able to push one another. You saw it today in practice. We would pop up, he would pop up, we would pop up, he would pop up. That is way we push one another. So that competitiveness is there. But, because of the friendship that has build, that allows up to be totally different than any other teammates that are out there."

ON HIS THOUGHT PROCESS OF BEING LISTED AS THE OWNER OF THE NO. 48 CAR: "That is also unique. I would say there have been days when like last year, we weren't a threat for the championship, obviously when we weren't a threat there toward the end, I wanted nothing more than for Jimmie to win that championship and was extremely happy for him. But, when we are battling him for a win or the championship, I want it personally and competitively for my team and myself. That always rises to the top. I am an equity owner.

"The reason we say equity owner because I am not the majority owner, and I have a piece of the pie, which is very nice that Rick Hendrick did that. I will tell you what happened with that. I was sort of the last person to push the fourth team; two cars under one roof with the No. 24 and Jimmie as a driver. The team had already been trying to plan that, plan the building and they were like 'we really need to know what we are going to do.' They were inspiring me to say, 'hey, we think this is the right thing to do, what do you think.' When I went to Rick and said we need to do this, he said 'fine, are you willing to put your money where your mouth is.' And I said, 'Yep.' He kind of caught himself there, and then we ended up going forward from there. It does make for a unique situation there. The competitor in me always rules out, I want to win as a driver. But the cool thing is that if I can't win as a driver, then I want to see him win."

ON CURRENT STATUS OF THE CHASE: "I think there is a lot of racing left to go. Four races, that is a lot of laps and a lot of points. You could easily say, I think there is five, maybe six, if someone really goes on a tear and the top-three guys have trouble. If the top-three guys don't have major problems, then it is a three-man race. I don't think that fourth on back can just out perform the guys on the race track and pull if off. I think that one of the three, or all three of the guys are going to have to have some kind of problem for it to be more than a three man race."

ON IF HE EVER WANTED TO LET A TEAMMATE KNOW HOW ANGRY HE WAS: "Happens all the time. It just happens with a lot of competitors. When you are on the race track, you don't always look at them as teammates. When you are on the race track going for a pass and you know how hard you have to push it to make that pass happen, you think of them as teammates because you know that Rick is going to be really mad and you are going to get a call on Monday or Sunday, if you wreck one another. I think you take a little bit of extra caution there. Little things, mainly it is usually practice or it is a place like Daytona or Talladega where I might have felt like I had the opportunity to work withy a teammate to make a pass or vice versa, they thought I should have gone with them. I am not going to name names or start anything because there is nothing there to start, it is not fair to get that brewing when there is nothing brewing there now. It happens though sure, definitely.

"I have wanted to punch a lot of things and a lot of people over the years but I can't say necessarily a teammate.

"I don't think it is any secret that not all teammates don't get along. I don't know if this is something that has been brewing with Carl and Matt, you would have to ask those guys, I have no idea. It is hard to get guys to think the same, to have the same agendas and not tick one another off once in a while. We just haven't seen it flare up in the middle of an interview post race. I think that was a little bit extreme and that is what is going to draw the attention and get the story going. You have to think about those things before you do that. If you want it to escalate and be a big story, look for the Speed Channel cameras and the interview in process and go and interrupt it."

Jimmie Johnson Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Jimmie Johnson Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway and discussed his fundraising activities for the victims of the Southern California fires, his reaction to the Roush feud and other subjects.

"I appreciate the opportunity to speak a little bit today and the details continue to change and grow and hopefully this great problem continues but. and that problem would be more people wanting to get involved with what's going on on our race car this weekend. Mr. Hendrick and I were talking a couple days ago about what's going out in California with the wildfires and we decided to donate the money that we earned in the race this weekend - and hopefully we win the race and take the big check out of here - but we've decided to donate those funds to the American Red Cross. Through that idea, there's been a lot of people seeing the need and opportunity to get involved and have stepped up. Lowe's is going to match whatever money is raised through our on-track performance this weekend. Bruton Smith and Sonic Automotive is going to match, again. It sounds like the France family is considering. and Bruton just had filled me in a second ago on this. So there continues to be more an d more people in the racing community looking at this opportunity to raise some money and to give it to the American Red Cross to help everybody in Southern California.

"Growing up there I lived with fires. There's a season where it kicks up and right now it's the heart of that season. So it's something I'm very familiar with. The area where I grew up has had fire burn through it many times including when I lived there. I have friends and family whose lives are all impacted right now in some way, shape or form with what's going on. I know Mr. Hendrick with his auto dealerships, Lowe's with their business, Mr. Smith and the auto dealerships that he has there, this is really impacting a lot of people and I'm just glad and tickled that everyone sees this concept and idea and how we can give back to people in need and are jumping on board with it. And as you all know we had a huge tragedy take place with Katrina moving in and we still have families that are in need and still aren't back in their homes. With what's going on in Southern California, if we don't get involved and help as fellow Americans, we're going to have a large part of our societ y in dire straights. We need to get involved and that's why I decided to step up and Mr. Hendrick and everyone else involved with Bruton and Lowe's has as well and we'll see what we can do. Every cent is going to help, every cent is going to matter and I really feel that with the matching that's going and the purse that we're putting into it, we can really raise a lot of money to send out to the American Red Cross.

"On top of that, my foundation - if the fans choose to donate or anyone would like to donate, we have a direct link from the Jimmie Johnson foundation right to the American Red Cross. On top of that, Lowe's is making their stores as a donation point as well. These are just the early details and things continue to change and we're just hopeful that people can see that there's a lot of families in need right now and it would be good to get involved. So I appreciate the time to be in here today to talk about it and hopefully there are more updates as we continue on through the weekend and we'll recap all of this one it slows down and let everybody know where this nets out."

HOW DOES ATLANTA PLAY INTO YOUR DUEL WITH JEFF GORDON FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "In my opinion, it's tough to really know how it's going to play out. I know how I want it to play out but when we look at its statistics, I think that Lowe's Motor Speedway should have been a track and an opportunity for me to make up points on Jeff and it was the flip. And last weekend we knew that was going to be tight and I got a few on Jeff. So it's really tough to say how it's going to go. I feel very good about all the tracks left on the circuit. I feel that Phoenix might be a chance where Jeff could earn some points on me going off of the statistics and how we run from place to place. So I really don't know what to expect and the game that Jeff is bringing week after week, he's dangerous. He's tough to beat and I've got to show up here this weekend and ideally win the pole and get the first pit stall pick, try to lead the most laps and try to finish ahead of him and score every point everywhere I can."

GORDON'S CREW CHIEF ACKNOWLEDGED THAT HE MAY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE HERE LAST TIME. DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE? "I didn't know where Jeff finished. I remember he had some troubles. I don't think if Jeff runs clean there's going to be 11 cars in the finishing order wherever we're at. There's going to be two to three spots is the way I see this thing going to the end. That's why I need to make sure I lead a lap, try to lead the most laps and really have this thing set on kill. If at all possible, keep so much pressure on Jeff and the No. 24 to where they would make a bad call or they would get into a situation that typically they wouldn't be unless they were pressured. That's really what we have to bring to the track each week and push as hard as we can."

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE ROUSH FEUD AND HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO PUNCH ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES? "I thought 'wow' and yes I have. I think at Talladega last year with Vickers, I wanted to kill him. It happens and it doesn't matter if it's your teammate or another competitor. At some point in time you want to get out and drill someone. I don't know what all led into it and I saw the highlights and I sat there and watched it trying to think 'Carl looks serious but he knew the cameras were on, was he trying to scare Matt or trying to ham it up for the cameras'. I don't know and I haven't seen these guys and I know you're probably all dying to get a few minutes with these guys to figure out what in the world went on. So I'm tuned in and watching like everyone else."

QUESTION INAUDIBLE: "My current collection? I can't say that I have. Casey probably wanted to punch me after I crashed him at Talladega when he was trying to get to the pits but I don't think so."

FROM A COMPETITIVE ASPECT, HOW DOES IT WORK WHEN A NON-CHASE TEAMMATE LETS YOU PASS SO YOU CAN GAIN CHASE POINTS? "I don't even know how to answer you. I can say I fortunately haven't been in that situation and I know when our team was in that situation earlier this year that after that, there were more meetings that took place and how uncomfortable the situation was and how we don't want to be in that position. And we really want it to be every man for themselves out on the track. And there is a balance that each driver and each team has to look at and recognize and admit if they're willing to make that sacrifice for the team and hope that someday if the roles are flipped, that that sacrifice is going to be made back for them. I don't really have a specific point of view on it but that's what we're faced with and there is probably a lot of wrong in a lot of people's minds but in some ways the right and wrong is in your own head and it's how you deal with it. If you're willing to make those sacrifices for the team, and not only has it happened in our organization, there are other teams o n track that have done it. We've seen much more dramatic cases of it in F1 and other places so it's out there and it doesn't make anybody happy, I don't think."

NOW THAT YOU'RE THE REIGNING CHAMPION, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR MINDSET ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL CONTENDING THIS YEAR? "I really think so. I think I'm much more confident in my abilities as a race car driver, the way I work with my team. Everything that we're doing, we're just a more mature and developed race team. And I think that shows. I feel that you can try to hard and I've tried to hard in the past to win races, to win poles and even to win championships. And this year I feel a lot like after my first win that coming back for the second win, it's a little bit more of a clear picture that you're looking at instead of just red in the eyes and intense and trying to do whatever it takes to get it. I've been there, I feel like I know where to focus, I know how to let some things roll off my back that would stress me out or worry me from track to track. As you lose points or gain points, the pressure that's either positive or negative that comes with it. So I'm just much more advanced and developed than that now and feel that I'm in a much better place and I'm actually enjoying this year and this championship battle. This has been a lot of fun for me. It hasn't taken anything away from the intensity or the desire to win the championship but I'm having a good time doing this."

ARE THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE AT TEXAS A LOT DIFFERENT THAN THOSE YOU FACE HERE? "The tracks are much different. We've always been good here and I think the last race, if not the last two races in Texas, we have brought the right setup, driving the track the right way and we've been in contention to win and have been competitive so I know our finishes really don't show it, especially the spring race there. But before our troubles I think we had an engine problem and then the No. 20 car spun and I was trying to get slowed down in the smoke and bumped into him. But that race gives us a lot of hope going back and we hope that we can go to Texas and perform like we do here in Atlanta."

DESCRIBE YOUR OLD NEIGHBORHOOD IN CALIFORNIA AND HOW IT WAS AFFECTED BY THE FIRE: "Where I grew up was east of San Diego and I grew up out in the hills, essentially, where I could ride my motorcycle out of my driveway and maybe ride for a mile on an asphalt road and then be in the hills and have trails and all kinds of areas to ride. Growing up out there you're just under the impression, when you're that far out from the city and everything that goes on there, you grow accustomed to the dangers of fire and what goes on. And even our schools, from earthquakes and the fire prevention and fire safety training that we had, that was class that we'd have once or twice a year throughout our schools and evacuation things and it's something you grew up with and it's reality you'd have to face living in Southern California. I can remember growing up as a kid and my memories are pretty young and the fear was probably much greater than what it was. But being at home, knowing fires are in the area and I hear places that are only a few miles away and a few valleys away from I lived - and I lived up on top of a hill actually - so there was always this fear of being surrounded and parents taught us if there's a fire burning up one side of the hill you evacuate down the other side. It was just a lot of things we were faced with as a kid and scared us. There were a few fires that were close and my parents said 'alright let's get out of here. We're just going to leave ourselves before we get trapped up here.' Where I grew up we fortunately did not have a fire burn through our neighborhood but the most recent fires that took place out there came right through the area where I grew up, where I rode my motorcycles. I came through (and saw) many burned down homes on the block I grew up on. For whatever reason the fire leap-frogged the home that I grew up in and got the surrounding homes. So it's something that when you're living there and this sounds like there could have been a lot of arson, but there are times where fires started just from glass that had been thrown out of the side of a car and broke and was on the side of the road. Just the heat and the sunlight on that piece of glass had started fires out there. It's a scary time and I can't believe that it's burned so far into the city and in so many areas and so many fires and so much devastation. It's really the worst reality that you would ever face out there living in southern California."

ON THE MOST ENJOYABLE PART OF WORKING FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: "The Habitat relationship for the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, that mindset was a big part of it because every community has a lot of needs but growing up in southern California I know how tough the fires are and how many homes have been lost there so as we were putting things together and that was a very important part of it - was to give back to some families that may have been involved with fire and whatever what was going on out there with the tragedies we've had. The Habitat relationship was a big part of it too."

ON BRUTON SMITH, JIM FRANCE AND MR. HENDRICK SUPPORTING JIMMIE JOHNSON'S EFFORTS IN CALIFORNIA: "Thank you so much. To see Bruton and Mr. Hendrick and the France family and everybody come together, it's phenomenal to do this. Hopefully we can get a big number (raised) here, hopefully over a million dollars if at all possible to raise for all of this so this is good stuff."

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed his chances of gaining points in Atlanta, if he's ever wanted to punch a teammate, how he communicates with Kevin Harvick, if he looks at the points, what he's expecting to learn at Monday's test session with the Impala SS, if he's concerned about speeds with NASCAR's new generation race car, how Texas is different from Lowe's and Atlanta, if Texas will be more of a level playing field against Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and the pressure on him and the 24 and 48 teams.

HOW MUCH CHANCE DO YOU HAVE AT CUTTING INTO JEFF GORDON AND JIMMIE JOHNSON'S POINTS AT ATLANTA: "We just got to go out and do the best we can. If we do that we can continue improving on our best finishes like we have five of these last six races. That's a pretty good run here. We finished sixth here in the spring so just looking forward to going out here and doing everything that we can do. We can't control what they do. We just kind of go out and run as hard as we can and do the best we can."

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO PUNCH ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES AFTER A RACE? "No. You know, that's Martinsville, tempers flare. They get the best of all of us. Carl's no exception. He's a good guy. His temper got the best of him. What can you say? It happens to all of us especially at a place like Martinsville."

DO YOU AND KEVIN HARVICK HAVE ANY KIND OF DEAL WHERE YOU COOL OFF AND TALK MONDAY OR TUESDAY AFTER A RACE OR DO YOU JUST TAKE IT AS IT COMES? "Well everybody gets frustrated. Your teammates are out on the track too. Again you just take a deep breath and wait until Monday morning and sit down and talk about it. I'm sure once Monday came they talked about it and everything was fine. It's just one of them things, nature of the beast."

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOOK AT POINTS? "You got to look at them. To win the championship you got to beat them two but we can only do what we can do. You can't wish bad things upon them. You just got to go out and race as hard as we can and if they slip up you got to be there for the taking and that's all you can expect to do. So we're really focused on what we can control and that's that 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet sitting over there."

WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING AT THE TEST SESSION ON MONDAY FOR NASCAR'S NEW GENERATION RACE CAR? "I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to just seeing how we stack up. That's the competitive nature to you. But we've got to learn a lot of things to put towards a good year next year. That's going to be the deal. Again who beat everybody to the punch on this Car of Tomorrow this year is again going to be that much more farther ahead come next year as well. Hopefully we have a good test. Hopefully we're fast."

ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL ABOUT THE SPEED? "Yes and no. It's all relative. It's the same for everybody and it's a good place to test. I'm glad we're doing it here because if there's one place you're going to learn it's going to be here."

HOW IS TEXAS DIFFERENT FROM LOWE'S AND ATLANTA? "It is different but the same principles apply. It seems like racing against Jimmie and Jeff and these guys, you used to kind of hear 'he holds on for 10, 15 laps unless the car comes to him and then that's why he's fast on the log run.' You can't have that racing against these guys. You've got to be fast the whole run and that's what we've focused on. We focused on everything that we can do to try to close that gap of our weakness. It used to be that we'd kind of be a little bit too loose and then a long run I'd be good. Gil's (Martin) really changed the bodies around and got the things where they're a little bit more comfortable for me getting going and the longevity hasn't died. Just hard work and pushing harder to make things work. That car sitting over there was new for Charlotte and it's going to be extinct in three or four weeks so that just shows you how much hard work and dedication is put into these cars."

WILL TEXAS BE MORE OF A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR YOU AGAINST THE 24 AND 48 SINCE NEITHER HAS WON THERE? "Maybe but in my opinion it's still a mile and half track and you've got to be good. The same principles apply. I think the same car that wins at Atlanta or a Charlotte is going to be capable of winning at Texas. It's all about the way you drive it and the way you set it up. It all comes down to what you ask for on Friday because that's the day the counts - Friday and Saturday."

WITH WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND, WAS THAT OUT OF CHARACTER FOR CARL EDWARDS? "Oh yeah, I'm going to stick up for him. That's Martinsville. That's the nature of the beast and your temper can get the best of you there more than any place. Believe it or not it's not it's tighter than Bristol, as tight as Bristol is in my opinion. My temper flares more at Martinsville than it does at Bristol any day of the week. It's just so hard to pass there."

ARE YOU FEELING PRESSURE NOW OR ARE YOU NICE AND LOOSE BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WANTS TO MAKE IT A JIMMIE AND JEFF BATTLE? "Like I say, we're the outside looking in still. We've got to push harder. We've got to do better. We can't make mistakes but we got to pick our game up a little bit more these last four races and try to win this championship."

DOES IT HELP NOW THAT THE PRESSURE IS ON YOU AND YOUR TEAM AS MUCH AS IT IS ON THE 24 AND 48? "Yeah those guys are definitely the guys that have pressure. They can't make a mistake. They have to make sure that they make every move just right where we can pick and gamble maybe on a pit stop or that last stop with 20 to go in a race where we take tires and go for the win. We just got to do everything we can do and if we do that we'll have a shot."

Tony Stewart Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Tony Stewart Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS met with media and discussed what he likes about Atlanta Motor Speedway, on staying in contention for the title, the Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth incident at Martinsville, whether he'd prefer a hands-on or hands-off owner, on the Chase and whether luck has been a big factor, on worrying about points.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON RACING AT ATLANTA: "It's a place we like. I like the fact that we can move around on this track. You can move around. You're going to be on the bottom and on the top and you're going to run in the middle some. So it's one of those tracks that give you the opportunity as a driver to move around."

AS DEFENDING CHAMPION OF THIS RACE, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED ANOTHER WIN HERE THIS WEEK TO STAY IN CONTENTION FOR THE TITLE? "As far as the championship is concerned, it's out of our control right now. So we'll go back to the mode we were in last year and that's just trying to win races. We can't do anything about the points now. It's strictly a matter of us going out and doing the best we can each week. The only way we're going to get back in it is going to be dictated by what happens to those guys in front. If they don't have any trouble, it doesn't matter whether we lead the most laps and win races at this point."

DID YOU SEE THE VIDEO OF THE CARL EDWARDS AND MATT KENSETH INCIDENT AT MARTINSVILLE? "No."

HAVE YOU HAD MANY PROBLEMS WITH CARL EDWARDS? "I'm just worrying about me today. I'm not worried about everybody else. It's hard enough just doing the things we have to do during the day that we have to do, let alone trying to figure out what you guys (the media) are going to want out of us and what everybody else is doing."

ON THE CHASE "Well, I'm not where I want to be right now."

IS IT MORE A SITUATION OF LUCK THAN ANYTHING ELSE? "It just is what it is. That's the easiest way to describe it. It's more about things that are out of our control than things that are in it."

WITH FOUR RACES LEFT, IF THE NO. 24 AND NO. 48 IMPLODE, DO YOU THINK YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO COME BACK? "Yeah, but that's the only way we have a shot. It doesn't mean we're going to quit and give up. We've still got four races in a row we can try to win here. That's what I try to do every week is win. So that's not going to change whether we have a reality of winning the championship or not. It's still about going out and doing the best you can every race. All you can do is keep your fingers crossed that things go your way. It's kind of a bad way to win a championship at this point in the year if we were to win it because if so, it means those guys have had to have some real bad luck and that's something you don't wish on anybody."

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's / CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS met with media and discussed practice, on the Carl Edwards / Matt Kenseth situation at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the Chase, Monday & Tuesday COT test at Atlanta Motor Speedway, how he runs on Atlanta Motor Speedway, on NASCAR overturning the penalty regarding a manifold in his Busch car, and how Texas Motor Speedway changes from day to night.

Select quotes from driver interview:

HOW WAS PRACTICE? "Our car today was pretty good. We made some pretty good laps and we felt we were comfortable. We're always good here in practice or we feel like we're good and then the race rolls around and we're horrible. Hopefully we can change something this weekend to not have that happen. But I'm pretty happy with it right now."

ON THE CARL EDWARDS / MATT KENSETH INCIDENT AT MARTINSVILLE: "You're rather just have peace in the garage really, and everybody get along. We have to race each other out there on the race track and if they have trouble, they'll get somebody else caught up in it and hopefully not yourself. You just wish they'd all get along. I think Carl is showing his fiery side and I'm actually kind of proud of him."

ARE JEFF GORDON AND JIMMIE JOHNSON RUNNING AWAY WITH THE CHASE? "They're pretty good. They're having a great Chase so far. They haven't had much bad luck. They've been solid running up front doing their own deal and not getting wrecked by future teammates of their own and getting caught up in something that's a mishap at Talladega. So we've been right there with them."

WHAT'S A GOOD TEAMMATE? "Somebody who is personable that you can talk to, that isn't two-faced and that you can go up to and ask for advice and they're giving it to you straight-up. And somebody that you can see yourself being a friend with."

DO YOU HAVE TO LIKE HIM? "Well, yeah. Like I said, If there are all the characteristics where you don't what them to be, then you're not going to like them. So yeah, you've got to like them."

DID THE INCIDENT WITH MATT KENSETH CHANGE CARL EDWARDS' REPUTATION? "It might change it a little bit. It might keep it the same a little bit. People might actually like it because they've actually seen something different from Carl Edwards. But for me, if I would have done that, I would have just gotten more hate mail than what normally comes in every week, I guess. Besides that, it's something that he did and he'll go through it and he'll be fine. I'm sure people will forget about it here in the off-season."

IS IT HARD TO TAKE THAT FIRST STEP AND TALK WITH SOMEBODY YOU'RE MAD AT? "It's pretty hard because you're mad at 'em, you know? So you want them to come to you, but yet they're mad at you so they're not going to come to you so they want you to go to them. We're all a bunch of egotistical maniacs - at least that's what Days of Thunder says. I'm pretty much having to believe it now."

WHAT THINGS WILL YOU BE LOOKING FOR DURING THE CAR OF TOMORROW TEST AT ATLANTA ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY? "How it's going to drive and what it's going to be like in traffic if we ever get around other guys and how fast can you run by yourself out in front. Working with a new team is going to be pretty good to do. If we unload good and we don't make any progress, there is nothing to learn. Maybe we need to unload bad, or not that good, and make a lot of progress where at least it will feel good to do that with a new team. It's better to move forward than to move backward. That's what I'm looking forward to."

DO YOU LIKE RACING AT ATLANTA? "I'm horrible here. I'm terrible. It's fun to run and it's cool. It's fast and you're really on edge all the time. It's white knuckle racing. It's kind of crazy sometimes I guess. We don't really run that great here for whatever reason. We'll have two tires runs that we'll be fast and we'll be running everybody over and going to the front and after that, it's just like what happened? We adjust something and we don't make the right adjustment or whatever, something happens."

THE TEXAS RACE STARTS IN DAYLIGHT AND ENDS UNDER THE LIGHTS. HOW MUCH DOES IT CHANGE? "I've never run a full race or been that good the whole time, so I'm not sure. At the end of the race, it changed a little bit last year and it got a little bit quicker and a little bit more grip. Aside from that, it made it a little bit easier to keep control of the car. It was still really, really fast but it made it easier and gave it more grip."

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Monte Carlo SS met with media and discussed the Carl Edwards / Matt Kenseth situation at Martinsville, on his relationship with Tony Stewart, racing at Texas next week, on his approach to the Chase in the next four weeks, his relationship with Carl Edwards, the elements of good teammates, on paying attention to other teammates, and the difference between Lowe's Motor Speedway, Texas, and Atlanta.

Select quotes from driver interview:

HOW WAS PRACTICE? "We felt like we were really good in race trim. But for some reason we didn't be pick up hardly anything in qualifying (trim) and that really put hinder on where we're at on the charts. But I think we go out second or third to last, I think the track is probably going to be at its best then. So we'll be able to pick up a little then."

WITH ALL THAT IS GOING ON IN THE ROUSH CAMP THIS WEEK, HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION? "I've never been to a point where I was that angry. But I think we've all had our issues at times. As teammates, you expect your teammate to drive you a little bit different than what you expect of other guys. And when they don't show you that courtesy, not necessarily that they have to, but it kind of fires you up and I think that's a lot of the reason they had the problems they had."

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT WHEN YOU SAW THE INCIDENT? "I didn't think too much of it. As drivers, we see sides to people that not a lot of people see. To me, that was typical Carl (Edwards) and typical Matt (Kenseth). So it really was no surprise to me."

THERE IS A FEELING THAT WHAT WE SEE IN CARL EDWARDS IS NOT THE REAL CARL EDWARDS. IS THAT THE CASE? "I just think his temper is a little bit different than what people may think. But I mean you've got to let your personality come out. And if you want to get fired up and this and that and the other, he does a good job of staying calm on TV. But I've seen a side to Carl and even other guys out there that are not so pleasant."

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR THE ROUSH CAMP TO PUT THIS BEHIND THEM AND SETTLE IT, OR HOW DAMAGING CAN IT BE IF THEY DON'T? "I don't think it's going to be very damaging. I think those guys are going to race each other the exact same way whether they confronted each other or they didn't. I think a lot of it is just two competitive spirits. Like I said, when you're in the same stable you expect to get raced a little bit different and when you don't, you get mad. It's just that some people show it differently than others."

SINCE YOU ARE MATHEMATICALLY OUT OF THE HUNT FOR THE TITLE, WHAT IS YOUR GOAL FOR THE REST OF THE CHASE? "We definitely know we're not in the championship and we know we're not in a position to be top three in points, but we see top four, we could get there or top five is definitely feasible for us. If we end the year and accomplish that goal of either fourth or fifth in points, that's going to be a huge, huge bonus for us considering where we started when we were three or four weeks in."

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE THAT ANGRY SIDE OF CARL EDWARDS? EVERY WEEK, EVERY MONTH, OR WHEN? "Carl and I have had some issues in the Busch Series. It was last year when he kind of caught me by surprise the way he reacted. But we've also had 20 races that have gone good between us versus two bad ones. So I just think it really just all depends the situation. I think that situation (between Edwards and Kenseth) had boiled over, over a few weeks. I know with Tony (Stewart) it's kind of the same deal. It finally comes to a head and it's real ugly."

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEAMMATE? "I think you try to model yourself after probably the No. 24 and No. 48. They do a good job of racing hard, but still maintain a good relationship. I feel like me and Tony (Stewart) have that relationship now, but it took an incident for that to happen. You're liable to see the same thing with those two. You're liable to see that they're probably closer after this then they were before. Sometimes it just takes them letting it all out in the air before one realizes what the other expects out of the other."

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Impala SS, met with members of the media and discussed his outlook for Atlanta, why he likes this track, the situation involving Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, how Richard Childress handles conflict at his organization, how different Texas is from Charlotte and if things can be learned from Charlotte for Texas, the upcoming test session for the Impala SS, if NASCAR's new generation race car has progressed since its debut, if he's concerned about speeds at Atlanta, Clint Bowyer's chance at the championship, the bump in turn two at Texas and racing at Texas, drivers airing issues in public and his response to people who think this year's Chase is boring.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON WHY HE LIKES RACING AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "I like the opportunity to try different things, the fact that you can run the bottom, run the top, a lot of different options. It gets really slick during the race. The speeds fall off a lot, cars become harder to drive and to me that's what's fun about what we do. The personality for today is completely different for tomorrow. The way you qualify here is so fast but the race is really not that fast. I like the fact that the speed falls off and the cars drive bad. I think it's fun."

HOW DOES RICHARD CHILDRESS HANLDE CONFLICT? "I think every situation requires its own solution and I don't want to compare Jack Roush to Richard Childress and how problems are handled. I don't think that's fair because I actually believe that both of them address each issue so I don't think there's one common way that people address those problems. The way that I've learned to work is that you can't not be honest with each other but there's an appropriate time and an appropriate place and there has to be a willingness to be productive. You can't let emotion get in the way of working things out. If Harvick has a problem with me, he comes directly to me and I know that he has that problem and we work it out. And I learned that from Mark Martin and I learned that working with Matt (Kenseth) is that you can work through any problem as long as everybody has good intentions. If you have good intentions then it's OK. You're going to have issues on the race track but you have to know when you have those issues that it wasn't i ntentional. If you know that then you get through the day OK."

ON MONDAY'S TEST SESSION WITH NASCAR'S NEW GENERATION RACE CAR AND WHAT THEY'LL BE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT: "I think that everybody has a lot of things they're trying to learn. For us, we just want to get a baseline that we can work on throughout the winter. We want to find something that drives well that we can build on for the mile and half, two mile program going into next year. We don't necessarily care if we're the fastest car here Monday and Tuesday, but we do need something that drives well, something that we can refine, something that we can make better rather than go into January trying to build something. So hopefully over the next two days we can take the things that we've learned and apply here so that we can start building our baseline setup that will lead us into next year."

Martin Truex Jr. Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta

Martin Truex Jr. Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Monte Carlo SS met with media and discussed racing at Texas next week compared to Atlanta and Charlotte, his car set-ups, the importance of qualifying at Atlanta and what he likes about the Atlanta track, on his impression of the Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth incident at Martinsville, and the day-to-day pressures of running in the Chase.

Select quotes from driver interview:

TEXAS IS THE THIRD 1.5-MILE TRACK IN A ROW, IS IT ANY DIFFERENT COMPARED TO ATLANTA AND CHARLOTTE? "It's a lot different. It's a lot more like Atlanta than it is Charlotte. Charlotte's not really like anywhere we go. I don't really care for it too much to be honest with you. I like Texas a lot. The surface is getting worn down a little bit every time we go back and I think the racing gets better every time we go back. We typically run well there and look forward to going back."

WILL YOU RUN A SIMILAR CAR SET-UP AT TEXAS TO WHAT YOU RUN HERE IN ATLANTA? "I think we'll run a very similar set-up here and at Texas. We ran pretty well there the first race this year. I think qualifying rained out. We were real fast in practice. I thought we had a shot at the pole, but we didn't get to do that so maybe we can go back and get our first Bud Pole. We're really trying to get into that Bud Shootout next year. Hopefully if we can't do it here, we can do it at Texas."

WHAT MAKES ATLANTA DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS? "It's just better. The surface is older, obviously. And any time that happens, the racing gets better. The tires wear out and you can move around the race track. Atlanta is really known for having a really good outside groove, top groove, and I really enjoy running up there. So that's one of the reasons I like it. It gives you a lot of options during the race. You catch a car and he's running the bottom, you don't necessarily have to follow him at all. There are plenty of places to pass. There's always a way to get around somebody in front of you. And it makes it a lot more fun to race like that. The corners are a little bit different, but the way you drive into the banking here is a lot different than a place like Charlotte."

WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE CARL EDWARDS / MATT KENSETH INCIDENT AT MARTINSVILLE? "I wasn't surprised."

WHY? "I don't know. They don't seem to like each other. I don't know what got Carl mad last week. I have no idea. I thought it was a little over the line to do what he did."

HAVE YOU BEEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT WITH A TEAMMATE IN ANOTHER SERIES OR ANYTIME? "No. I'm easy to get along with. I don't really have any trouble getting along with people."

Jeremy Mayfield Driver Availability Chat at Atlanta

Jeremy Mayfield Driver Availability Chat at Atlanta Audio File

Jeremy Mayfield, No. 66 Best Buy Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway and discussed how the ride came together for him with team; expectations for the four races remaining in this season and expectations for next year.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON HOW THE DEAL CAME TOGETHER WITH HAAS CNC RACING: "It came together kind of weird. We have been talking about doing some stuff for next year, I wasn't doing a very good job over at the No. 36, we just weren't clicking or whatever, decided to make a change for next year and Joe (Custer) knew that. So, we were just talking in general, trying to figure out what we could put together and said, hey, let's go ahead and do something now and get a jump start on next year. That is what we did. Just trying to get some people in place and the right people in the right places within the organization. They have a lot of great people here to work with. To me it was a no-brainers, jump in and let's go racing and do the best we can and hopefully it will all pay off."

ON WORKING NEXT SEASON AT THE ORGANIZATION WITH SCOTT RIGGS: "I think it will be cool. Scott is a good driver and I like Scott a lot. We have already worked together well in the past and had no problems whatsoever. I think that he and I respect each other and that is what it is going to take and be good teammates."