KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT HIS DAYTONA 500 WIN AND RACING AT HIS HOME STATE TRACK IN CALIFORNIA

ON LOSS OF SLEEP DURING THE MEDIA TOUR AFTER WINNING THE DAYTONA 500: "Sleep was ok, actually it wasn't a problem. Everything was pretty busy during the day. We had a lot going on but everything was very well organized and lots of fun to celebrate the Daytona 500 win. It has been a busy week, but it has been a good week to celebrate."

WHEN DID IT ACTUALLY SUNK IN THAT YOU WON THE DAYTONA 500? "You know, I think I actually under estimated the whole factor of winning the Daytona 500 and everything that it was all about. It is a big deal to me and a big deal to the team, but I under estimated the media end of it and the fan the side of it and just the magnitude of it just a little bit until actually going through it. It was a pleasant surprise and obviously something you can never replace in your life. It is always going to be there and you can always say that our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet team is Daytona 500 champions."

ON PUTTING TALK ABOUT THE FINISH BEHIND HIM: "I think anyone who has any sense can go back and watch the video and see when the first cars starting crashing we were ahead and crossed the start/finish line we were still ahead. I am very content with that and really good with the way everything ended and just glad I don't have to make the call as to when to push that light on."

ON THE ISSUE SWIRLING AROUND HELMET: "I don't know anything about any of that. I think it is probably blown more out of proportion than anything else, I just really know anything about it, that is all I can tell you."

ON WINNING AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY: "It is nice to come home. This is not the Daytona 500 by any means, but you come here and want to have a good weekend and race well. We have been up and down here. We have run really well here and we have run really bad here. It is nice to come home and see all of your family and friends and be able to celebrate our fantastic win."

ON LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT COMING OFF DAYTONA: "I am pretty with it all. To be honest with you, they used me up pretty good this week but like I said, it was all for a good cause and we were very fortunate to win the Daytona 500, so we will suck it up for a week. Everything could be a whole lot worse, I know that."

ON RACING ALL THREE RACES HERE AT CALIFORNIA: "These things were planned six months ago. The races are laid out. We plan these things are way in advance. To be able to run the KHI RoadLoans Chevrolet this week is fun for me, just to kind of change pace. It creates a little bit of a different challenge for me because I am the owner of the car. Trying to get these teams of ours up to speed, that creates a whole different challenge for me. We have been very successful in the No. 21 Chevrolet, the No. 2 car at RCR. On top of everything they do, this is a just lot different challenge for me."

ON HOW TOUGH CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY IS ON RACE ENGINES: "This place and Michigan are probably the two toughest places that we go on engines. The race is 500 miles so it creates a challenge for the engine builders. You need power as well. You have to get your car handling good, the power of the car here is very important, and you have to weigh in the reliability factor. When we run our engines on the reliability dyno, Michigan is where we run it which is very similar to here."

ON WHAT WAS THE COOLEST THING HE DID LAST WEEK: "Oh, probably having my own segment on Letterman, that was pretty cool. Dave is kind of a racing fan, so it was cool to just to be a part of that. Then the California Governor called me, so that was pretty cool too."

ON UPCOMING WEEK OFF: "I am looking forward to it. I wasn't a huge fan of that until we won the Daytona 500 and now we are able to race this week and then take a week off and relax. This first part of the schedule is tough on a lot of people, especially these Busch guys. Back and forth from track to track then next week they have Mexico. It is a challenge."

ARE YOU GOING TO THE BUSCH RACE IN MEXICO CITY: "Negative. I am doing nothing next weekend. We are staying home and I am going to watch the race on TV and just relax."

ON HAVING COMMUNCATION WITH TEAMS WHILE THEY ARE IN MEXICO: "No, we have been fortunate to put a lot of good people in place and we will probably talk once. But, we have good people, so they should be able to handle it. We will just watch them."

ON RETURNING TO CALIFORNIA IN A TRUCK FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1999: "For me, the trucks are a challenge because I am so used to racing the cars. I am just trying to get our second Silverado team up and started, we are going to go through a few lumps with that. It is kind of an R & D package to say the least. I am just trying to help the No. 33 Silverado team to see where we need to go from here."

MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT LAST WEEK'S DAYTONA 500 AND HIS 2007 SCHEDULE

ON THE EXTRA FAN SUPPORT HE'S RECEIVED SINCE THE DAYTONA 500? "It really warms my heart that we have so much respect and that so many people support or respect me and pull for me. It's really sweet just to know that. And I feel really lucky and I feel blessed."

AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS OF RUNNING THE CUP SERIES FULL TIME, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE RUNNING MORE RACES THIS YEAR THAN YOU HAVE IN THE PAST "Oh, you're mistaken. Last year I ran 65 races. I'll be running half that this year. Instead of having three weekends off from the Daytona 500 until Thanksgiving, I'm going to have 19 weekends off. So I'm really scaling back."

SO IT MUST BE MORE FUN KNOWING THAT EVERY SINGLE RACE IS JUST FOR A TROPHY AND THAT THERE'S NO BIGGER PICTURE INVOLVED? "Yeah, there is a lot of pressure off of me to not be racing for these points, although we are kind of because we need to keep the car up in the top 35 in points. At the end of the day, I'm one of the happiest guys in racing. I've got the best job in motorsports right now."

WHAT IF YOU'RE FIRST IN THE POINT STANDINGS COME BRISTOL? "What if?" (laughter)

WILL YOU BE AT THE BRISTOL TEST NEXT WEEK? "Yes, I'll be there to help the teams. I don't have any desire to race Bristol at this time. I'm very happy with my situation. Nobody has told me what I have to do. I get to do what I want to do. Right now, I've laid out the schedule just exactly how I want it. That's what I like about it."

ON THE INCREASING NUMBER OF CUP DRIVERS WHO ARE FROM CALIFORNIA: "There was a time there, for years, where most of the guys were from a central location that followed the circuit. That was a long time ago. Then it started to open up and spread out. It opened up to ASA and open-wheeled cars. When you have somebody as talented as let's say Jimmie Johnson, it doesn't matter where he's from, he's going to make it to this level. So I don't think it really matters where you're fun as much as what you do."

AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS OF DRIVING FOR ONE MANUFACTURER, IS IT DIFFERENT TO FLY ANOTHER BANNER? "It's different remembering what to say, and answering questions about it, but at the end of the day we're racing the heck out of these cars and for me that's what it's all about. I had the best shot at the Daytona 500 that I've ever had. In 22 starts, I've never had as good a shot as I had this year. I've said my thanks to Hendrick Motorsports for the great horsepower there - and to his team - I was proud to be driving that U.S. Army car."

ON THE TRUCK RACE TONIGHT, HOW WILL THE COOLER WEATHER AFFECT THE RACING? WILL IS BE AS WILD AS THE DAYTONA 500? "I hope so. And I hope to be right in the middle of it. The trucks are just awesome. And they put on a great show and we ought to be able to be up in the middle of it."

IS IT DIFFICULT NOT TO BE GOING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP NOW? "I'm incredibly happy with where I am in my life and so happy with the opportunity these guys have given me to do the racing on my terms and my schedule. I'm living the dream right now."

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF EVER GOING TO THE TRUCK SERIES FULL TIME AND GOING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? "I hate that last part you said. I do see that as very much a possibility. I would have been doing that in '06 had Kurt Busch not left Roush Racing at the end of '05. That's what I would have done in '06. In '06, I decided I wasn't done with Cup racing and wasn't willing to close the door to keep the other open, so I sacrificed the truck thing to be able to continue to Cup race on my schedule. Some day when I feel like I don't belong or can't be competitive or whatever it might be, when I make the decision that I don't want to Cup race anymore, maybe I would do the truck thing full time. That's one of the things that is still on the top of my list. But I still have a lot of good Cup racing in me."

CAN YOU COMPARE THE FORD RACING TECHNOLOGY TO WHAT YOU HAVE NOW WITH GINN AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "I'm just getting started. I had an awfully good engine at Daytona."

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE RACING HERE IN CALIFORNIA? "It's awesome. I had the choice. I chose to come out here and race. I love this race track. I love the truck racing as well, so I'm going to be racing in the race tonight and this is right up near the top of my list. This race track is what really makes it special. It's a great track and it's good to be able to share what we do with our fans out here that don't get a chance to make it back that way."

ON DAYTONA 500, IF NASCAR HAD GONE THE OTHER WAY AND HAD THROWN THE YELLOW FLAG AND WE HAD TO SIT AROUND AND WAIT 20 MINUTES BEFORE THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED TO RACE, WHETHER YOU COME OUT OF THAT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, IT BECOMES THE CONTROVERSY. HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF THAT? "You're right. I never considered that. I never gave that a consideration. But you know that hardware means a lot, but it doesn't mean as much as the respect of the fans and the competitors. I would have loved to have won it - to the line. I would have loved to have seen this team in victory lane because I know what it would have meant to them. But I didn't get it done. But I didn't give a thought about the controversy that could have been or the fact that the caution could have come out at a time when I wasn't ahead. I have accepted the result as what it was since about 10 seconds after we crossed the finish line. It took about 10 seconds for me to get my arms around it and I did, and that's it."

IF WE THINK WE HAVE CONTROVERSY NOW, HOW ABOUT THE OTHER WAY? "You're right. It's been like being caught up in a hurricane ever since. I've had a lot of well-wishers and so many people call. I've had a lot of people call who are disappointed and heart-broken. I hate that. I wish I could fix it for them. But I was glad to have had a shot at it."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT LAST WEEK'S DAYTONA 500 AND CALIFORNIA RACERS JOINING NASCAR

WHY IS CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY SO TOUGH ON ENGINES AND WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT THAT? "The guys in the engine department really look at how long you're maintaining that high rpm; and you've just got all kinds of issues with oil pressure and fuel pressure. It's just a lot of wear and tear when turn them that hard. It's a long race as well. We've seen similar issues at Michigan. It's something we try to work on, on the dyno. They guys in the engine department are probably the ones to ask that question. But I'm going to push it as hard as I can and hope that it lives."

THE FANS SAY THE RACING HERE IS BORING. IS THERE A WAY THEY COULD BE MADE MORE EXCITING? MAYBE SHORTENED OR WHATEVER? "Michigan is one of my favorite race tracks. This track was patterned after Michigan and it's not exactly the same, but it's similar. From a driver's standpoint I love it. There are a lot of different grooves to run on. But we haven't seen as exciting racing as we have on some other tracks. And I'm not sure why because I like this track almost as much as I like Michigan. We've had some good runs here and I've seen some exciting races. But on a consistent basis - I think because there is so much room here to race on, we don't see many cautions and the cars get real spread out and sometimes that's not going to be as exciting for the fans."

ON DAYTONA 500 WINNERS AND OTHER DRIVING TALENT THAT COMES OUT OF CALIFORNIA "I think NASCAR is the type of series that looks for talent everywhere. I think it's just more of a coincidence that the Daytona 500 winners have come from California. When you try to become a driver in this series, you realize that the owners aren't asking you to bring money - they'd like that if they don't have a sponsor - but they're looking for the best talent they can get. And then they build a team around that. I think we're just starting to see stock car racing just taking off everywhere - even on the west coast - and you're finding great race car drivers from all over and you're starting to see more from California now when you used to not have many at all."

HAS CALIFORNIA INCREASED THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION? HAVE THE TRACKS HERE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN DEVELOPING TALENT? "I didn't move to Indiana for more competition, there was just more opportunity to race. There were a lot more tracks we could go to, which also meant more competition. I didn't get to do enough racing around California and I did zero stock car racing in California.

But from around Bakersfield south, there are a lot of tracks popping up that are Late Models and NASCAR West and they are really honing in on stock car drivers and see those guys showcase their talents and be recognized by car owners outside of California."

HOW MUCH PRIDE IS THERE WHEN YOU COME TO A PLACE LIKE THIS AND YOU HAVE FAMILY & FRIENDS HERE? "I have a lot more family and friends that come to Sonoma than this one. You do feel like you have a lot of people pulling from you from home. I get a little bit of that here, but not as much as Jimmie Johnson or Robby Gordon or even Kevin Harvick. I think you get a lot of fans out here that pull for the guys who are from California. So there is a lot of pride on the line and you want to make them pride."

DO YOU THINK NASCAR IS GLAD TO GET OUT OF DAYTONA AFTER ALL THE CONTROVERSIAL STORYLINES? "It feels good to me just to get out from restrictor plate racing and have a car that has downforce and be able to drive it through the corners and work with the teams on the handling. That's a lot of fun. And there was a lot of controversy going on at Daytona and NASCAR was probably pretty happy to get away from that and get that behind us."

AS A CHAMPION OF THE SPORT, WHAT DO YOU TELL NEW FANS WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN TURNED OFF BY WHAT THEY SAW IN DAYTONA? "No matter what, we're going to continue to put great racing out there. NASCAR's job is to keep on a level playing field and govern the rules. People are constantly going to try to push those limits every weekend and when they push it too far, NASCAR is going to put a penalty down on that.

That's the history of racing and will always be the history of racing. The reason why you want to watch is because we put exciting racing out there on the race track - just like that finish at Daytona. There were some lulls in the race, but at the end it came down to a great, exciting finish."

PART OF THE GREAT HISTORY OF THIS SPORT IS THE CHEATING AND PUSHING THE RULES. IS IT HARD FOR NASCAR TO REALLY HAD TO HAMMER DOWN ON PEOPLE THAT BREAK THE RULES? "There is a difference between pushing the limits and exceeding them. I don't really like the word cheating because I think that really, there are rules in these guy's jobs who build race cars to push it as far as they can. And yes, there are times when they push it too far and there is a difference between it happening before the car goes out on the race track to doing something during the race or when the race is over - especially if they've won. When that happens, you've got to slap a penalty on them when they've broken the rules of even if like me, they've had a part failure. If they don't make it through inspection, you've got to do something. That is always a challenge that NASCAR is always going to have."

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO RECOVER FROM COMING OUT OF DAYTONA THE WAY YOU DID? "I'm pretty happy that we came out of Daytona in 10th. Realistically, if you look at it, we're basically eighth in points. With the day that we had, I'm very happy with the results. Points-wise, I was very happy. I wasn't happy with the performance we had in the race and that all started because when we got put to the back because of the failure we had. That's something we've been working heavily on to make sure those mistakes don't happen in the future. We showed up here and the first lap on the track, the DuPont Chevrolet just felt awesome. It's been going well today. This is really where the championship is going to be made, on the downforce tracks. If we can put a good race car on the track this weekend, I'm going to be pretty excited about the type of year we're going to have."

IF THIS IS A GOOD INDICATOR, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE? "All we know is how we tested. We had a fairly good test in Las Vegas. Other than that, it's hard to tell. You can base it off of that, but all I can tell you is that so far since we've been here, the results have been good and I've been happy."

DID ANY PART OF YOU WANT MARK MARTIN TO TAKE THE WIN AT DAYTONA? "Oh, I would have been extremely happy for Mark. I've always been a huge fan of Mark's. He's a fantastic driver and I think it would have been very cool to see. But I don't pull for any other driver unless I'm out of it (laughs)."

ON THE LAST LAP AT DAYTONA, SHOULD NASCAR HAVE THROWN THE CAUTION EARLIER THAN IT DID? "Yes."

WHAT WOULD THAT HAVE DONE TO YOU AS A DRIVER SITTING IN THE SEAT? WOULD YOU HAVE SLOWED DOWN? "What usually happens when a crash like that happens, you're expecting a caution and you check up. But I hit the wall pretty hard there when that wreck started and all I remember them saying is no caution..still green, still green.

"The spotter's job is to keep you updated. So I just put it back to the floor. The race car was torn up and there were cars going everywhere. But it was really and truly a race back to the finish line."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT RACING AT HIS HOMETOWN TRACK AND LAST WEEK'S DAYTONA 500:

WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ABOUT NASCAR'S DECISION ABOUT THE FINAL CAUTION FLAG AT THE DAYTONA 500? "I don't know. It's real tough to have an opinion. I can see both sides of it. After watching Mark Martin's gracious interviews afterwards, I really don't know. I don't have an opinion. If we want consistency and that's what we're all after; if the caution comes out and Mark is the winner and if it doesn't come out, Kevin (Harvick) is the winner. It's a tough thing and it'll keep us talking for a long time."

YOU WON AT LAS VEGAS LAST YEAR. WITH THE NEW TRACK SURFACE, HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT THE SPEEDS AND THE RIGHT SIDE TIRES? "The speed inside the car doesn't seem high. I think we're going to put on a good race. The new banking is going to allow us to have more grooves. I'm disappointed to know that we're going to have some tire issues and that's why we're going back with a smaller fuel cell. When they resurface these tracks, it seems like there is something that goes wrong. I don't know why or what it is, but we hate the fact that we have these issues when we go back to Charlotte and when we go to Vegas now, we've got to run these smaller fuel cells."

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NEXT WEEK DURING THE OFF-WEEKEND? "Hopefully we get the Bristol test in where we can have the weekend off. If so, I'm going to do some snowboarding."

AFTER A DISAPPOINTING FINISH LAST WEEK AT DAYTONA, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE A GOOD RACE AT CALIFORNIA? "It's certainly important. But when you race in this sport, you're going to have DNF's and you're going to get caught up in big crashes. So we're far from being overly concerned. We're excited for this weekend and I think we're going to know a lot more about the first quarter of the season after Sunday's race here. It's so early in the season. Everybody has crashes and everybody has bad luck. So we're in no position to worry or panic. This race will show us what the first quarter of the season is going to be. We only have four plate races and coming here is the start of what the bulk of the season is built on. So we're excited in a couple of areas. One, we need to get back up in the points; and two, it's going to let us know how the first quarter of the season is going to go."

ON RACING AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, WHICH IS SO CLOSE TO WHERE HE GREW UP IN EL CAJON? "It's fun to be here. California Speedway has done an amazing job in welcoming me back and they have been very helpful with my foundation. California Speedway makes it very special for me to come home and I love being here. I want to win another one here."

MORE ARE MORE DRIVERS ARE COMING INTO NASCAR CUP FROM CALIFORNIA. WHY IS THAT? "There are a lot of racers in California in general. NASCAR, until recent times, has been kind of a distant thing that we've watched on television and didn't really have access to. And now, times have changed, obviously. There are races throughout the states and on the west coast, which is allowing drivers as they're coming up through their local ranks to think this might lead them toward road racing or something else, then why not NASCAR? So we have a lot of drivers focusing on NASCAR and not only drivers, but I think crew members as well."

DO YOU THINK THERE IS A SHIFT IN RACING WHERE WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE CALIFORNIA DRIVERS? "It's hard to say. There is a lot of racing in both north and southern California. I think it's more about the numbers than anything. I think California has been a hotbed at this point in time, but there are still areas up in the northwest that we don't race in. Kasey Kahne is doing a good job of showing what kind of talent is up there. So I think California is hot now, but it's not saying that it will always be hot. It might more somewhere else."

ON QUALIFYING THIS AFTERNOON REGARDING THE COOLER TEMPERATURES "The engines will certainly run better but if the clouds come in, that will change the speeds more than anything. If the sun stays out, I think the track will be warm - not slick - but not the potential for the lap times that we would expect."

WHAT'S THE SECRET TO DOING WELL HERE? "It seems that the track is aging. Being able to run from the bottom to the top so that you can work traffic and not get stuck behind somebody in a bad aero situation."