Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson Collect Second and Third Finishing Positions at California Speedway

Team Chevy Drivers Capture Seven of Top-10 Spots; Mark Martin Takes Points Lead for First Time Since September, 2002

Fontana, Calif. - Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS and Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS, finished second and third respectively in a dramatic four-lap shootout at California Speedway. The pair of California natives passed fellow Team Chevy driver Jeff Burton, No 31 Cingular Wireless Monte Carlo SS on the final restart of the 250-lap/500-mile Auto Club 500 and set their sites on leader but ran out of laps to catch leader and eventual winner Matt Kenseth.

"We had a fast race car and there were times we were able to show it," said Gordon. "We were racing up there with Matt (Kenseth) and Tony (Stewart) and that was fun. I really enjoyed that. It's just great when you have a good race car and the guys are making good adjustments and good pit stops.

"I don't know what happened to the 31 (Jeff Burton) on the restart. He just didn't go. We were able to get up there to second and hold Jimmie (Johnson) off. We never had anything for Matt (Kenseth)."

A total of seven Team Chevy Monte Carlo SS drivers scored top-10 finishing positions with four of the top-five carrying the Bowtie branding.

Burton finished fourth followed by Mark Martin, No. 01 U.S. Army Monte Carlo SS in fifth. Martin is now leading the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series point standings, the first time since September 2002.

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniels Monte Carlo SS, crossed the finish line in seventh spot with Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS, in eighth place. Kyle Busch, No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's Monte Carlo SS finished ninth.

Stewart showed strength in the early part of the race leading for 28 laps. A pass-through penalty for speeding on the entry to pit road put him to the back of the field to rally to his top-10 finish.

Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Monte Carlo SS, ran in the top-five the majority of the race despite a penalty for exiting pit road too fast. With less than 20 laps to go in the race, Harvick was chasing down Kenseth until a red flag for a multi car wreck stopped the field until the final restart. Harvick punctured his left-front and had to pit when the race went green for the final four laps.

Eight Team Chevy drivers now sit in the top-10 driver standings with two of the 36-race season in the books.

Round three of the 2007 season will be on March 11, 2007 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS - finished 3rd:

"It wasn't a bad day. A mysterious debris caution cost us and then we had some issues on pit road. But it was solid. We had the speed. We just had a stop at the end that kind of hurt us.

"It's good to get some points back and get back going the right direction. I really felt like we had a chance to win today. We had one of those debris cautions with five trucks on the track looking for debris and never found it. It's frustrating when that happens and we had to pit and had a bad pit stop and lost the lead at that point. But still all in all, it was a great day. We needed these points. We needed to get them back after Daytona."

YOU HAD TO BE PROUD OF YOUR CREW. THEY KEPT BATTLING AND YOU JUST KEPT COMING TO THE FRONT: "We did. They gave me a great race car. We passed a lot of race cars on the track today. We got out of sequence once and then with a couple of other situations that had us back in the pack, but I was able to drive by a lot of cars and make up a lot of ground, so I had a great race car."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS - finished 2nd:

ON THE LAST RESTART: "I've very happy with that second place finish. We started on the pole and we faded early. We were way too tight with the DuPont Chevrolet. It was really nice to get it turned around and free it up and come back up there. We were sitting there solid in the top two or three and then we had one set of tires that just went crazy on us and got real loose. So we're pretty thankful that the caution came out and we got four new Goodyears and we were able to drive to the front and finish second. It was a pretty good day for us.

"Other than just right on the restart, it looked like Burton - I don't know if he spun the tires or the engine bobbled or what - but he just didn't get up to speed. He left the outside lane and I was able to get a run on him and Jimmie (Johnson) was as well and get down to the bottom. But I just couldn't gain on Matt (Kenseth, winner). I could in (Turns) 3 and 4 but not in 1 and 2. So I was pretty much just trying to hold on and maintain second. I didn't see what all went on behind me other than the pass of Burton. And of course, (Kevin) Harvick had his troubles.

"But Matt Kenseth did a great job. Those guys were solid all day and probably the best overall car for most of the day except for when Jimmie Johnson was out front. Other than that, we were a second or third place car all day."

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

'I'm real proud of my guys. They worked really hard. We had a great pit stop there at the end. I don't know. I dropped the ball. I just didn't get it done. My guys have been working their butts off and it's a good start to the year. We've got to keep working. We still have room to grow, for sure. But I'm real proud of where are and we're going to keep digging."

HOW MUCH DID THE TRACK CHANGE TODAY? "It changed quite a bit for us. But on the next to the last run, the long green flag run, we were really fast. We were mowing them down big time. I wish those last two cautions would have never come out. We would have had a great chance, I think. But for whatever reason, the last set of tires we put on and with the cooling down, it just didn't suit our car as well. But all in all, it was a good day. Sorry I messed up on that restart and spun the tires and gave up two spots, but we'll do better next time."

MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 5th:

"I'm just proud to represent the United States Army and to work with this team - man, this is just awesome. We had a couple of difficulties here today. We had a really fast car. I'm very encouraged. There were times when we were as fast as the leader. There were a couple of times when we were a little faster and times when we were off. All in all, we have potential here to get up there and win a race. I think we've shown that the last two weeks. We'll keep working to try to make all these Ginn Racing teams better.

"I am just proud to be here representing the U.S. Army. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this team. Man, this is just awesome. We had a couple of difficulties here today, we had a very fast car. There were times we were as fast as the leaders, there were a couple times we were a little faster. All in all, I think we have potential here to get up there and win a race. We have shown that the last two weeks. We will keep working to make all these Ginn Racing teams better I am very proud of this team to come home with a top-five and I want to thank all the fans. They are incredible, all the encouragement they have given me this week.

"I am loving this and I am rolling, man."

ARE YOU GOING TO STAY IN THE CAR FULL-TIME NOW WITH ALL THE SUCCESS THAT YOU'RE HAVING? "No."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS, Finished 17TH:

Note: on lap 245 when race changed from red flag for wreck to yellow condition, Harvick was running second gaining on the leader, came over radio saying that left front tire was flat. He pitted as race was going green for final three laps and finished 17th, last car on the lead lap. Goodyear reported finding a puncture in the tire on examination on pit road: "It is a little disappointing, the thing was really good. Man what a great job this Shell-Pennzoil did. This Chevrolet was really fun to drive today. To come to California where we have struggled before and have a chance to win, is awesome. We just had some bad luck. There is nothing we can do about that. That is two days in a row we had tire trouble, so what do you do."

ON WHAT HAPPEN TO THE TIRE: "I don't know what I hit, I didn't notice we hit anything but it is just one of those deals."

ON RUNNING SO WELL AT CALIFORNIA: "This and Atlanta have always been our worst tracks. So when we can come here and contend for a win, We are doing pretty good. I feel pretty good about it. We had a great run, this is one of our worst places. But to run like that and just have some bad luck, you just can't control that so we will just roll with it."

ON GAINING ON MATT KENSETH AS LAPS WERE RUNNING DOWN: "We were going to beat him. But, shoulda, woulda, coulda. He won the race. We ran him down by a couple of seconds."

ON THIS BEING A RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING YEAR: "I hope so. Our cars are strong and I think these are conservative. So, we will see what happens as we go forward here."

"We had a great Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet today. We just had a little bad luck there at the end there. Nothing you can do about that so we will take all the positives out of it. We had a car that was capable of winning the race and had a shot at winning the race. We had run him down from quite a ways. Just one of those deals."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 8th:

YOU TOLD YOUR CREW THAT YOU WERE 300 RPM BELOW THE PIT ROAD SPEED LIMIT WHEN NASCAR CALLED YOU FOR SPEEDING. "Unless the line is in a spot that I don't know it's at. I don't know. They've got the computer stuff and it tells you exactly when and where, so I'll be interested to see it.

"We had a good race car. I mean, I don't know what kind of times we ran when we were by ourselves, but after the stops and stuff and we got in clean air, we had a good car today that's for sure."

DID YOU NEED TO TAKE TIRES AT THE END? "We had to do something. We knew the guys behind us were going to take tires. We were kind of right in the middle of a cut-off point. We knew a certain amount of guys were going to take four and rest of them were going to stay out that were a little further up there. So, we just took the chance."

JEFF GREEN, NO. 66 YELLOW TRANSPORTATION MONTE CARLO SS -Finished 30TH:

"The car just wouldn't turn for us today. We were tight getting in the corners and sliding the back end coming off the corners all day. These tires were just giving us fits. Hopefully, they'll bring a little softer compound back here next time. We qualified well, which is a positive, but we're going to have to work on getting the car to turn with this harder tire on race runs."

JOHNNY SAUTER, NO. 70 BEST BUY/YELLOW TRANSPORTATION MONT CARLO SS - Finished 18th:

"I'm pretty happy with that finish. With how we were running yesterday in practice, you couldn't have convinced me that we could come out of here with a top-20 finish. The car wouldn't turn early on, but 'Bootie' kept adjusting on it and made it a lot better. It was weird, because different sets of tires caused it to handle a lot differently. All in all, it was a good day. I'll take it."

J.J. YELEY, NO. 18 INTERSTATE BATTERIES MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 13th:

"The Interstate Batteries Chevrolet drove really good. I talked a lot to Steve (Addington, crew chief), after practice. Obviously we weren't spectacular, 42nd in practice, the car just didn't handle the way I needed it to. Him and the rest of the crew, I think that is the beauty of this season could be or have been a crew chief at some point. When you have that much knowledge in a little pow-wow, you are going to get stuff fixed. The car they gave me today was great. We still probably weren't the quickest for the first two or three laps, but on a long run, it was a lot of fun to drive all day, it turned all day and still had pretty good forward grip. When you can get a car to do both of those things, you have done something.

"At the end of the race, it was one of those you wish you would have but don't know if you should have on coming in and taking tires, looking back, we probably could have gotten tires, that would have been a little bit more beneficial. The car was really good there at the end of the last run, you just don't know what is going to happen under a red like that when the cars are sitting around and cooling off. We gave up a little bit, the car was a lot tighter than before the caution came out. I had to check up getting in to three, the 5 car got under me and got me loose. That is the way you have to pass, the bottom lane is where you have to be. Just got me up the race track, I lost a bunch of momentum and gave up three or four spots but we still come away with a good run after qualifying 29th and not good in practice, that is what we need to do all season long, battling all race long.

"It is definitely a lot more fun racing up front. The guys are a lot more generous and hospitable up there and you can return the favor. It was fun to race up there with a bunch of gentleman racers I guess you would say. I am looking forward to going to Vegas.

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS, Finished 9th:

"Today was a great effort by the Carquest/Kellogg's team, we just came up short. Under the red flag, we talked about pit strategy and gambled a bit by coming down for four tires.

"The car got really loose after that and we weren't able to make up the spots we thought we could.

"Just struggled with the handling all day today. We'll take the weekend off and hope to do better at Vegas."

CLINT BOWYER, NO. 07 JACK DANIELS MONTE CARLO SS - Finished 6th:

"Man this was a great day for our Jack Daniels Chevy team. The old girl, Betsy, has been awesome since we unloaded. She is my favorite car. I had a blast out there running up there today with my teammates. We had to make a few adjustments during the race, but nothing too radical. The car drove great and I am really happy to come out of here with a top-10 finish. Looking forward to Las Vegas and seeing what we can do there."

POST RACE TRANSCRIPT - JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CROMAX MONTE CARLO SS, finished 2nd, and JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS, finished 3rd:

JEFF GORDON:

"We started on the pole and went backyards pretty fast. We made some adjustments in practice yesterday because we were so loose and with the overcast skies, we just couldn't get those adjustments out until we made some pit stops and we were real tight. We had a fast race car and there were times we were able to show it and we were racing up there with Matt (Kenseth) and Tony (Stewart) and that was fun. I really enjoyed that. It's just great when you have a good race car and the guys are making good adjustments and good pit stops.

"We had one set of tires that we over-adjusted on and that cost us a bunch of positions. And then on that last red flag and restart, (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) made a great call in keeping us out. And it looked like the No. 29 (Harvick) maybe had a flat left front; and then the No. 31 (Burton) - I don't know what happened to him on the restart. He just didn't go. We were able to get up there to second and hold Jimmie (Johnson) off. We never had anything for Matt (Kenseth)."

COULD YOU BELIEVE YOUR EYES WHEN YOU SAW HARVICK ON PIT ROAD OR DID THEY TELL YOU ON THE RADIO HE HAD A FLAT TIRE? "When we were coming to take the green, there was a piece of debris on the back straightaway. I guess it was just tape though. I couldn't tell what it was. It looked like debris. I was telling them I saw something on the race track and then Steve came on (the radio) and said he thought the No. 29 had a flat left front. I hated that for him. That stinks. You know, it's crazy how things like that happen. A guy wins the Daytona 500 and everything goes right last week and then something like that happens. It's unfortunate and we probably would have ended up 3rd or 4th if he'd stayed out there."

HOW MUCH MORE COMPLICATED S IT WHEN THE TEMPERATURE CHANGES SO DRASTICALLY LIKE IT DID TODAY? "The biggest difference is that it was warm yesterday and the sun was out and the track temperature was probably 20 - 25 degrees warmed. We were all screaming. The grip just wasn't there. Today, conditions were actually really good. It's just that the adjustments we had made and the set-up we had just really didn't suit the track temperature. Luckily we kept the car very adjustable to be able to do that. And it just took us a little while to do that. Once we did, we were a top three or four car for the rest of the day."

YOU MAKE A MAJOR TRACKBAR ADJUSTMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RACE. WERE YOU JUST NOT READY FOR THE COOLER TRACK TEMPERATURES? "We made a lot of adjustments yesterday because we were real loose. We put Jimmie's set-up in. But we knew the car was going to be tight. We made some adjustments air-pressure wise but it was even tighter than what we anticipated. But it was even tighter than what we anticipated. I'd rather be on the tight side than on the loose side to start the race off. It just took us a while to get the right adjustments. It wasn't just a track bar adjustment. It took a little bit on the track bar and a little bit of bite and rubbers out of the left rear and then air pressure. But you've got to sneak up on it. You can't do it all at once. So the crew chiefs and engineers must have been talking back and forth because Jimmie made some adjustments that they said helped and so we made that one it did seem to help a little bit. But we just had one adjustment on a set of tires that was just too much and came out second behind Jimmie. We were looking good and Jimmie was running good, and the car was just way too loose. I was just happy to bring it home at that point."

YOU MADE A NUMBER OF PIT STOPS EARLY TO GET THE CAR RIGHT. IS THAT JUST CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE UP THAT GROUND THAT ENABLES YOU TO GET THE CAR JUST LIKE YOU WANT IT? AND HOW SATISFYING IS A SECOND PLACE FINISH GIVEN WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH EARLY IN THE RACE? "That's called being way off. We messed up on pit strategy early where we should have come in. We didn't. We stayed out. So when the caution came out the next time, we were basically going to be messed up on our fuel strategy and our pit window. So we came in and said hey, we need to make adjustments to it anyway. This is a long race. A lot of stuff happens here. We knew we had a fast car and I think we did have confidence in that. It's a lot easier to free a car up than it is to tighten it up. We were able to make some pretty big adjustments there. And everything just kind of went our way from that point on. So I'm very thrilled to have a second place finish because from that point on, cautions fell at the right time. We were getting ready to pit and a caution came out and put some guys a lap down (but) kept us on the lead lap. And to get a second place finish, those things have to go your way. We had some great pit stops and that great pit stall didn't hurt any. But it was a great effort for our whole team. I'm very happy to finish second."

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THE YEAR OFF TO A GOOD START? "I think it's extremely important. I know that it's early in the season, but we're trying to build a championship right now - not just with points, but with the team. I feel like last year was a building year for us and this year is a year to see what we're made of and to see if we're going to pull off this championship. We've got a great organization that provides us with everything that we need. We've got the momentum from Jimmie winning the championship last year and there is nothing better than to get the year off to a good start to build confidence. Today, we had a good race car and battled for the lead. I'm looking forward to trying to do some more of that. We were concerned about the unleaded fuel and we were able to bring that home. We're curious to see what the inside of that engine looks like. But for us, it's two solid weeks. To me, it's more about the fight. Last week, we weren't very good. We just kept fighting and got back up there. I think we were capable of a top five there at the end. This week, we were in the top five pretty much all day long and with a few adjustments here and there, we were in between maybe being able to win and finishing second or third."

KENSETH HAD THE CAR TO BEAT TODAY, BUT WAS HARVICK THE GUY TO BEAT AT THE END? "Other than there at the end when I saw Harvick, I was really horrible at the time, he gained on me and was passing me and he looked like he was pretty strong. You can never count Harvick out on restarts with a few laps to go. But Matt (Kenseth) had him killed all day and I think Jimmie was the only other car (to beat). Tony was strong at times, but Jimmie looked like the car to beat if he could get out front and I don't think anybody could have touched him. But overall, Matt was the most well-rounded car that I saw all day. Their pit stops were solid. He was solid and didn't make many mistakes. The car handled pretty good right from the beginning to the end of a run. Harvick, to me, was hit or miss."

IF THERE ARE GOING TO BE 150 GREEN-FLAG LAPS AT THE END OF A RACE, ISN'T THERE ALWAYS GOING TO BE A DEBRIS CAUTION? DO YOU HAVE TO FACTOR THAT IN? "You need to ask somebody else that. We aren't the ones that make that decision. It does seem like it does happen. I guess it just depends on the track and the situation. I really don't know what happened on that. I'm sure they've got an explanation. You can go over to that truck (NASCAR) to ask that question."

ON THE UPCOMING LAS VEGAS RACE WITH THE NEW TRACK SURFACE: "I was pretty happy with what they did with the race track. It was a little bumpy and rough down in Turn 1. Mainly what Goodyear wasn't happy with is that they didn't like what they saw in the tires building up a little bit too much temperature and having some failures. And so they reconstructed a tire and built a different tire that we haven't tested there that I hear is rock hard and is not going to be a lot of fun to drive on. So I'm not looking forward to that. But I'm looking forward to racing on the new surface. In the short period of time we were there, there was already an outside groove building. That's always promising when you see something like that. I just hope the garage area is done because it was a long way from being done. They had a lot of work to do."

JIMMIE JOHNSON:

"Our day was a lot like Jeff's (Gordon). We stayed out there at one point in time and had to pit the next caution and lost a lot of track position. We had a few mistakes on pit road that put us back in the pack and had to recover from that.

But the great thing was that I had an awesome race car. Regardless of whether I started 40th or 15th or wherever it was on a restart, I could drive right up inside the top-five, to top-three. I am really; really proud of my guys and the car they gave me. We had a nice comfortable lead and after a couple of green flag pit stops and the wonderful debris caution came out. If anyone has seen the debris, I would like to know where it was. (CHUCKLES). I didn't see it either, there were five trucks looking for it. That started our problem; we had a little mistake on pit road and lost some track position. But once again, I had a great car and was able to get by the 31 with Jeff on the restart and then Harvick had his trouble and we ended up third."

ON ONE MANUACTURER DOMINATING THIS SEASON: "I personally feel you have to look at the teams. Hendrick, Childress and Roush on the Ford side. The manufacturers want to do more but the rules NASCAR has them all working in they are all very similar, it is more teams than it is manufacturer."

ON IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A GOOD RACE HERE AFTER DISAPPOINTMENT AT DAYTONA: "I have been fortunate enough to be in a good position going in to the final races leading in to the Chase. To get off to a good start now, sure makes those final races easier.

"It is really important not to have two bad weeks in a row. From my experience in racing and everybody in the garage area, you know you have bad days, but you hope you have more good days than bad days. We had a bad weekend last weekend and bounced back, it is great driving for this Hendrick Motorsports organization because we may have troubles, we may get be behind, but it won't be long. We have a lot of fight as Jeff pointed out in our organization and our individual teams. We're very lucky to be a part of that. You can't keep us down for long. I think we have been able to show that. We are exciting for the upcoming races. This weekend really showed us what our downforce package is going to be like for the first quarter of the season and I think we are feeling very good about things at Hendrick."

ON DEBRIS CAUTIONS: "It did seem like there would be one coming to be honest. I hate it and wish it didn't take place, but I think we all saw it coming."

ON ONE TEAM SEEMING TO HAVE A SLIGHT EDGE ON EVERYONE N THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE SEASON: "To me, it seems like the same players from the closing races of last season are still strong with the current car. With the Car of Tomorrow, I think we are all learning at the same time who has got what. We feel pretty strong about the development on our COT but we will find out. It is great to get off to a good start, especially here with Vegas coming up and Atlanta not too far away. Nice to know our downforce stuff is where it needs to be."

ON CATCHING KENSETH AND/OR HARVICK NEAR THE END: "Harvick seemed like he had a solid top-five car but I don't recall him leading a lot, I saw Matt leading a lot. Maybe I didn't see the points in the race where the 29 lead, but he definitely had a strong car and was in the top-five all day long."

ON MISHAP DURING PIT STOP: "I don't know exactly what went on in our pit stop. Jeff and I were just laughing about it. We were just slow on that stop and lost four spots. It is hard from my perspective to tell what went wrong but we definitely lost time."