Jeff Gordon Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Jeff Gordon California Hauler Chat Audio File

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Cromax Pro Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed the Chase, the affect of the hot temperatures on a driver, working with Kyle Busch the rest of this season, his thoughts on bonus points for wins and racing at Richmond.

WOULD YOU BE SURPISED IF ALL 12 SPOTS WERE LOCKED UP AFTER THIS WEEKEND? "I don't know, I haven't even paid attention to it to be honest. I just know we've had a great year and got ourselves in (the Chase) a couple of weeks ago. To me it's only about the guys right now battling for 12th and 13th of who's going to make it in there at the end. So I still think there's a little bit of a battle going on there and that's all I know."

HAVE DRIVERS FIGURED OUT MORE HOW TO GET INTO THE CHASE AND HAS IT TAKEN SOME OF THE SUSPENSE OUT OF IT? "I think every year it's just going to be different. It just depends on how a team performs week in and week out and year to year it's always going to be different. Just like with the championship with the points system, sometimes you'd have it come down to the final race, sometimes it'd be wrapped up (with) five to go. You just never know."

HOW DOES THE HEAT AFFECT THE DRIVER WITH THE TRIPLE DIGIT TEMPERATURES HERE? "It's going to be hot on Sunday for sure and being hydrated is going to be important. Luckily this isn't a real physically demanding race track so that side of it shouldn't be too bad. Most of what we deal with when it's hot like this is track temperature. We're seeing track temperatures almost 150 degrees and that's just unheard of, that's pretty crazy so you basically have about a half to three quarters of a lap of good grip in the tires and then you really start sliding around so getting the car handle to well on a hot race track is going to be the biggest challenge we have all weekend."

IN THESE CONDITIONS DO YOU LOSE A FEW POUNDS AFTER THE RACE? "I lose a few pounds or more every weekend. Yeah, like I said there's some tracks like Watkins Glen or Bristol, if it's warm there you're probably going to lose the most weight. Here this weekend just the sheer heat is definitely going to make us lose some weight. It shouldn't be a big deal."

WITH HALF THE CHASE RACES USING THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR, DO YOU FEEL LIKE SOME OF THE OTHER DRIVERS HAVE CAUGHT UP WITH YOU? "For sure, for sure. I think we got a jump start. We came very well prepared at the beginning of the year and I just think there was a lot of room for improvement for some teams and not much room for improvement for us and we've kind of been at a stand still where we've made tiny, small, increment changes and improvements and other guys have made huge improvements and caught up to us so we definitely don't have the advantage through the Chase that we did earlier in the season."

HOW MUCH DOES THAT CONCERN YOU? "I still think we're a solid, strong team and we're going to perform well, we're going to run well. Certain tracks that I feel like we ran well at earlier in the year, I think we're still going to run well at - New Hampshire, Martinsville, those types of tracks. Then there's some that we got to get better at."

ON JOE GIBBS RACING POSSIBLY GOING TO TOYOTA NEXT YEAR: "Well they're a strong organization, strong team, good drivers and I think that would be a good move for Toyota and it could possibly work out well for Gibbs too. We'll just have to see. Everybody talks about the engineering and technology that Toyota can bring and yet they haven't seen the results so far this year. So you put them with a top organization like Gibbs and I think they'll finally start to see the results that they're looking for, but is that going to take Gibbs to the next level or hold them back? I think that's probably the real question."

ON HAVING A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM GIVING TOYOTA MORE QUALITY FEEDBACK: "Yes, I can tell you that I don't think that the Gibbs teams are in it to try to give Toyota feedback to give to other teams (laughs). They want to position themselves to be more competitive. That's all they care about. That's all any of the top teams care about. You got to ask the question, what would encourage them to do that? Obviously financially would be one (reason) and then to make their teams go faster so obviously they think that there's something there that will help them go faster and we believe being with General Motors is what's going to keep us going fast."

IN THE SHORT TERM, DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE INEVITABLE THAT GIBBS WOULD HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A DROP OFF NEXT YEAR IF THEY GO THAT DIRECTION? "Yes and no, it depends. You've got the development of the engines and the cars and everything for one year going into it. I think had they gone to it this year, yes, but going into it next year.you know, there's going to be some transition and change over. I don't know enough about all the details of it to know. If they're doing their own engines, I think that they've got something very solid to work with and they know what their Chevy engine's doing right now and they know what they got to compare to and what's made it successful and work and try to take the new engine, compare it that and try to make it better. That's to me the plus that they have and I think that's one of the reasons why Bill Davis Racing has done well this year even though they've had some engine trouble. I think they've been the most competitive Toyotas out there and mainly it's because they're an established team that has experience working together and they do all their stuff in house, they don't have it sent to them from a factory."

WILL IT CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU TELL KYLE BUSCH ABOUT YOUR CAR KNOWING HE'S GOING TO ANOTHER MANUFACTURER NEXT YEAR? "Not at this point, no. Nope, it doesn't change.we need information from him to help win the championship just like he needs it from us and we're trying to get a championship for ourselves first and then if we can't get it done hopefully one of our teammates does. You know what? I'd be happy if I can't get it done, Jimmie can't get it done, I'd be very happy for Hendrick and for Rick and for Kyle and for Alan and the entire team if they pull it off. So I'm going to give him everything I can. Next year is next year."

DO YOU THINK 10 POINTS IS ENOUGH FOR A WIN IN TERMS OF THE SEEDING WHEN THE CHASE STARTS? "No, I think it's pretty good the way it is. I think that it's a huge incentive and you see guys pushing hard to try to get those bonus points and that's the only thing that's going to separate you from the others. I think any more than that and you might have too much separation if somebody goes on a big win spree so I think it's working pretty good."

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE A REWARD FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE A 200-POINT LEAD AND GET MAYBE AN EXTRA 10 POINTS? "I do think there should be some incentive for the guy who's leading at 26. I think that you put a lot into the 26 races and basically you can end up 12th in the points and all of what you've done up to this point is pretty much gone so yes I would like to see them have either bonus points or some sort of a bonus whether it's money or points or something to reward what you've done for anybody that's been in this position. I don't know, I haven't thought enough about how it should be structured but I do know that when it all comes down to 10 races it's not the best scenario but I also think that we've got advantages that do come along with being the points leader. We were locked in fairly early. We've been able to focus on some other things. We've got our pit stall this weekend. We don't have to worry about teaming up with anybody else so there are small incentives that come along with it."

WOULD YOU ARGUE THAT WINS ARE ALMOST WORTH MORE DURING THE FIRST 26 RACES THAN THEY ARE DURING THE CHASE SINCE YOU DON'T GET BONUS POINTS IN THE FINAL 10 RACES? "(Laughs) Where are you from dude? Yeah obviously, because a win is never just a win. In the final 10 races if you're going for the Cup and you win the race, it's huge. Just because it doesn't pay 10 bonus points doesn't mean anything. You want the win and you want the points that come along with it, you want the momentum, you want everything that is going to help you win a championship which is really what we're all here to do."

ON RETURNING TO RICHMOND WITH THE IMPALA SS: "I love Richmond. Richmond's a great track. It's nice to be in the position we're in this year where we don't have to sweat it and we ran well there earlier in the season so I'm looking forward to going back. The thing is there's just not a lot on the line other than the 10 bonus points for us so we're treating that race just like we do this race. Maybe we can learn a little bit with the Car of Tomorrow but we're going in there pretty relaxed, going to go in there and enjoy ourselves and try to fight hard, try to get a win."

WILL IT BE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF RACE IN RICHMOND WITH MOST OF THE TOP 12 DRIVERS LIKELY BEING LOCKED IN? "Very possibly, yeah. I think that it could be a race where guys are just really fighting hard to get those bonus points and get themselves positioned a little bit better for when we get to New Hampshire and the Chase starts so that's not a bad thing either. That could be just as exciting as guys trying to make it in the Chase."

WITH SAFETY IMPROVING SO MUCH, DO YOU PEOPLE REALLY REALIZE THE DANGERS? "The competitors certainly know that you don't want to put yourself in that position, you don't to go through it. I think it goes in cycles. For the competitors and for the fans and the media where when it seems like we'll see crashes and no injuries and we see safety advances and we get comfortable with it and think everything (is) looking good, we're fine, we've got nothing to worry about then boom, one thing happens, somebody gets hurt and it wakes everybody up and then we start focusing a little bit harder and taking it a little more serious. I've just seen it go in cycles like that for years and it's just the way our sport is."

ON PEOPLE SEEING DRIVERS GET OUT OF THE CAR AFTER A CRASH AND PEOPLE GETTING THE SENSE THE DRIVER IS FINE: "Well yeah because most of the time the adrenalin is flowing and you don't feel the pain at the moment. When I hit at Texas a few years back there was an in-car camera and showed that I was hurting pretty bad. It knocked the wind out of me and bruised some ribs and so I was in a lot of pain so maybe people thought about it then. Even though we get out we're still bumped and bruised and a lot of times it's a concussion that you don't even realize you have until a day or two later. The cameras don't follow us then so that's the nature of the business as well."

DID IT SURPRISE A LOT OF COMPETITORS THAT DENNY HAMLIN HAS BEEN SO CONSISTENT THIS QUICK OUT OF THE GATE? "Sure, it always does. Obviously the Gibbs team is a good solid team but you never know with a young, new guy whether they're going to do well (or) not do well. And I think Denny's impressed a lot of people. I mean he certainly impressed me. Probably the most impressive thing that he did last year I thought was how competitive he was at Martinsville. I think Martinsville is one of the toughest tracks out there. Of course his Pocono races were pretty phenomenal too and those two tracks are very tough race tracks so it says a lot about his talent."

IF YOU COULD DO DINNER WITH ANYONE IN THE SPORT, PAST OR PRESENT, WHO WOULD IT BE? "Probably Bill France Sr."

Tony Stewart Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Tony Stewart California Hauler Chat Audio File

Tony Stewart, No. 20 The Home Depot Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed his approach to the final two races to the Chase, comparing his situation heading to Richmond this year versus last year, if he's concerned that other drivers have narrowed the gap with NASCAR's new generation race car, how he would feel racing against drivers locked in to the Chase and racing for wins, the press conference planned for next week and how attached he is to his number.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON PREPARING FOR THE CHASE: "You want to be running good when the Chase starts. You don't want to have two bad weekends and then all the sudden have to start the Chase so it's something you definitely want to be on top of your game when it starts obviously."

ON COMPARING HIS SITUATION HEADING TO RICHMOND THIS YEAR VERSUS LAST YEAR: "Yeah, it's nice. It's nice coming here and knowing that if it comes down to a fuel mileage race this weekend that we can take a chance like we did at Kansas City and go for those 10 points versus not being locked in like we were last year and fighting at this time so it's definitely taken a lot of the stress and the pressure off for sure."

ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT OTHER DRIVERS HAVE APPEARED TO NARROW THE GAP WITH THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR WITH HALF THE CHASE RACES FEATURING THIS CAR: "No because last year we all had old cars that everybody had narrowed the gap so you just got to take whatever car it is that week that you're driving and do a better job than everybody else. The philosophy is no different than it ever used to be. It's always the same each week."

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Denny Hamlin California Hauler Chat Audio File

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Monte Carlo SS met with media to discuss the state of his contract with Joe Gibbs racing, the COT, closing in on the Chase, racing for bonus points, racing at California Speedway, the hot weather, strategy for the Chase, running at Richmond next weekend, the importance of consistency, and points racing.

Select quotes from driver interview:

THERE WAS A REPORT THIS WEEK THAT YOU'VE SIGNED AN EXTENSION WITH JOE GIBBS RACING. CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT? "We're still working on it. We're trying to get it in line with the FedEx sponsorship and if we can do that I know we've got good partnership right now between myself and FexEx. I think really, Gibbs just wants to get those two deals in line. And that way we know what we've got in the future."

MANY OF THE DRIVERS IN THE GARAGE ARE PRETTY MUCH MARRIED TO THEIR MANUFACTURERS. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT THE POSSIBITY OF SWITCHING? "There are goods and bads to it. Obviously Chevrolet has been very good to our organization in the present and in the past. So we know that if you want to win, you can definitely drive a Chevrolet for sure. So whether there is change or not, either way Gibbs is going to make whatever it is, successful."

EVEN THOUGH THE CHEVROLETS DOMINATE THIS GARAGE, THAT A FACTOR? "No, I mean you know that's the thing. What's dominant now; is it going to be dominating years down the road? And that's what I'm thinking is an option of what everyone is looking at. What's going to be good five or six years down the road? And I think that's why there tends to be people looking around for different options because ultimately we've got a great relationship with Chevrolet. We've always had a great relationship with Chevrolet. And I couldn't be prouder to be with them. So if there is no change at all, I'll be happy.

MOVING FORWARD IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF RACES, HOW ARE DRIVERS WHO ARE LOCKED INTO THE CHASE GOING TO APPROACH EACH RACE? WILL THEY JUST GO ALL OUT FOR A WIN? "Yeah, we've been doing that for the past six or seven weeks for sure. There is really nothing else we can do. We're trying all we can to get a win. We're not really saving any race cars for the Chase at the risk of wrecking them. I know a lot of teams are. But we feel like we bring the best thing we have to the race track and we try to do everything we can to get a win and that's going to be our best possible solution because ultimately we don't want to lose by less than 10 points because we didn't put a 100 percent effort in before the Chase even though we were locked in."

Jimmie Johnson Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Jimmie Johnson California Hauler Chat Audio File

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at California Speedway and discussed visiting his former high school, his outlook for the Chase, racing in California, how the hot weather affects him, on what kind of race Richmond will be, the Chase format, rumors of a switch to Toyota by Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, car numbers, bonus points and Denny Hamlin.

ON HIS VISIT TO HIS HIGH SCHOOL: "I was shocked to see some of my old teachers that were still there at the school. The vice-principal is now the principal She treated me well. I had a couple trips to visit her when I got in trouble and she didn't rat me out too bad so it was nice. The students were great. The school couldn't have been more inviting and made me feel more comfortable and put on a good display for me and make me feel great coming back home. A really cool experience. The whole week was really busy, really active. I got very little sleep through it all and came back here. I got to the track yesterday afternoon and fell asleep about four o'clock in the afternoon and was out all night long. I burned it from both ends this last week. A lot of cool opportunities, raised a lot of great money, went to the Padres game, the school - just a ton of stuff going on."

DID THE VISIT BRING BACK MEMORIES? "When I left there I thought that was the last time I would see those halls so it was kind of funny to come back and actually walk through and see everything. I can't believe how small it all seems when you go back. It seemed like such a big campus and when you go back things definitely shrink. It was just a great experience."

WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE CHASE? "It's a great situation to be in. All we have to do is start these two events so we're essentially locked in. With that in mind we want victories. We want those 10 points to carry us over into the Chase. It's nice being able to race against the No. 11, race against the No. 24; the No. 17 I guess is locked in, the No. 99. Racing against those guys with the same mindset and not be out there still trying to collect points and possibly lose 10 to them the way the seeding process works."

ON RACING IN CALIFORNIA: "It's great. I forget how hot it is out here until we get here every time in September. I think that traditions this weekend will help me. The hotter it is, the slicker the track is the better. A few of us guys do and I think I'm in that group of those drivers."

IT MAY BE OVER 100 DEGREES ON RACE DAY. WILL THAT AFFECT YOU? "It takes away a lot of grip and the tires don't like to stick to the asphalt so with the track being so slick and the tires not liking it, it makes the cars a lot harder to drive. Setup is more important and I think my off-road background carries over and helps me deal with those things. I also train hard so I think that the hotter temperatures and also running the Busch and the Cup race this weekend, I'm just prepared physically for the hot weather and looking forward to it."

DO YOU LOSE A FEW POUNDS AFER A RACE? "You lose a lot. Your goal is to not lose any. You're supposed to drink enough during the event to replace what you are sweating out but it's impossible to keep up when it's this hot."

WITH MOST OF THE CHASE DRIVERS LOCKED IN BY RICHMOND, WILL IT MAKE IT A CRAZIER RACE WITH ALL THOSE DRIVERS GOING FOR A WIN TO GET BONUS POINTS? "I hadn't thought about it. I think it would be in some ways be a much more enjoying event for the field. Guys that are on that bubble trying to get in or out, the drama that kind of carries into it is probably great for television, great press and all that. But not having that pressure on you to make it in or be on the edge and even someone to have bad luck in order to make it. That pressure not being there has got to be relieving for the guys where that takes place. But I think you're going to see good, hard racing. I think the new car has put on good racing in general. I remember a competitive race at Richmond. Guys three wide in some situations so I think we'll put on a good show regardless of the Chase situation."

DID ANY OF YOUR OLD TEACHERS OR PRINCIPALS SAY THAT THEY NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD MAKE IT? "No, everybody. I forgot about my desire and the things I would say to people because somebody would give me a hard time for not being around or missing something fun that went on or missing my homework or whatever it was. Those teachers reminded me that I would say 'it's no big deal, I'm going to be a professional race car driver, I don't need to worry about my homework'. So thankfully it all worked out (laughs)."

WHAT'S THE HOTTEST WEATHER YOU'VE EVER RACED IN? "As far as air temperature I would say the race in Barstow that we would run for the SCORE Desert Series was always really, really hot. It was in July. I can remember 110, 115, stuff like that. The hottest I've ever been in a vehicle has been - actually, it was in that Daytona Prototype that I ran in July at Daytona. Those things are so hot. Cup cars are hot, and hotter than most. But those enclosed-cockpit endurance cars are really, really hot."

THOSE WERE HOTTER THAN THE OFF-ROAD TRUCKS? "The trucks you have. you don't run a windshield in them so you have air running across your suit plus you can always turn on your water bottle and let it saturate your suit, which is helpful. In a Daytona Prototype there is no air moving around inside those cars. On top of that you have the radiator at the front of the vehicle and the vents run over the windshield and over the cockpit of the car. Unlike a Nextel Cup car where it kind of blows down and out, it comes right over the cockpit of the car and just superheats the inside of it."

HOW WAS THE CAR IN PRACTICE? "We've been awesome. Really, really good off the Truck. Hopefully we can go out and repeat. I'd like to get a pole this year. I've kind of had a lean year in qualifying."

FOR THE FIRST CHASE, AT RICHMOND THERE WAS STILL 15 DRIVERS ELLIGIBLE AND NOW THE FIELD IS ALMOST LOCKED UP. WHAT'S CHANGED? "I think that over the course of 26 races, that threshold is kind of at 12. You can fudge it; some years it might be 14, some years it could be less but you're right at that mark where it's tough after 26 races to be within a certain points span. Now we have 12 that get in but I think that's more of it than anything. It's that 12th-place cutoff and the points that are associated with that that are making this year not as exciting for that transfer spot going in."

DOES NASCAR LOSE ANYTHING BY CHANGING THE CHASE FORMAT? "If there's anything lost going into the Chase, say Richmond for one event, they are gaining so much more by ensuring they have - and Jeff Gordon has missed it, Tony Stewart has missed it - there is so much more good that goes with it than the one race that you may lose. So I think that's why they have made the adjustment at 12."

IF GIBBS GOES TO TOYOTA, WHAT IMPACT WOULD THAT HAVE ON YOUR TEAM? "They're a strong company, Gibbs is, and I think that Toyota's commitment to the sport and what they are willing to do to get competitive and to compete for race wins and championships will force all the other manufacturers to spend more money. It will force all the teams to get more funding to try to compete. So I think that they may have some type of learning curve if they do go. It would be great for Toyota, it would be terrible for Chevrolet, for us to lose to those guys but that combination together, I would think, over a period of time, would be very, very tough to beat."

WOULD IT BE ANY DIFFERENT FOR YOUR TEAM NOW KNOWING THAT KYLE BUSCH IS GOING TO A DIFFERENT MANUFACTURER? "No, we've still kept everything open for him and nothing against Kyle, but I think it's hard for us to leave our notebooks open knowing that he's going to arguably one of the best teams in the garage area and maybe to a different manufacturer. It's been open-book policy to him still and I guess with the new car being full-time next year and all the things that change over the course of an off-season, we're not too concerned about that. But he's done a great job, he's still driving his butt off and given us solid information and we've been supporting him as much as we can so it's been going well."

WOULD YOU THINK THAT GIBBS WOULD HAVE SOME PERFORMANCE DROP-OFF NEXT YEAR? "You would think so. I'm not saying it will but anytime you have to change that much by changing manufacturers, there's got to be some type of learning process. Unless they're currently doing it now and developing engines, developing chassis, trying to get some time with that new body. As I say that, the purpose of the new car is to make things more equal. So it could make that period of time to adapt much shorter because you don't have the flexibility on bodies that we used to have. Also the suspension and geometry is much tighter than in years past so it should be a shorter learning process."

ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT THE OTHER TEAMS HAVE CLOSED THE GAP WITH THE NEW CAR NOW? "Yeah, there are certainly a lot of other teams that have closed the gap. That's really by NASCAR's design. I think we did a very good job of sorting out our cars before the season started and had a little bit of an advantage. But as the year went on, we really haven't had anywhere else to go and we're kind of topped out and finding very small subtle teams where the teams below us have been catching up and if not, better at times. It's by design as NASCAR wants it but the competitor in us, we're like 'well, this isn't any fun, we're tapped out, we're there, and everybody's catching us'."

WHAT IS IN A DRIVER'S NUMBER? "My deal with numbers growing up, there were certain numbers that were lucky for me and worked well. We didn't have as much built on the numbers in the different classes I raced and series growing up but when I could choose, I wanted something with a four or an eight in it and fortunately 48 was available and it worked out and fit and fell into place. I think a number in the licensing business side of it, it's probably more important for a team than a driver but it's so often a driver's number and the driver name are so associated together outside of the business sense and the way people recognize the teams. So it's kind of a catch and I'm sure it's coming back to the Earnhardt, Jr. situation. On the business side, they've spent a lot of money and put a lot of time and invested into that No. 8; a lot of equity into it. I guess they don't want to give it up."

WHAT IS YOUR TEAM'S OBJECTIVE HERE AND AT RICHMOND? "Make sure the engine starts so we can drive off so we're locked in and beyond that it's just about winning. It's nice to be in that situation right now and not have to worry about earning points to get into the Chase. Then it also puts us on par with the other guys that are locked in and we're not going to enter an event more conservatively than the No. 24 or the No. 11 or any of those guys and potentially lose 10 points."

IS 10 POINTS ENOUGH FOR A WIN WHEN THE SEEDING IS DECIDED? "It's hard to say. I've been quick to judge the points system and in years past and it's worked out to be pretty fair and entertaining. So it doesn't seem like a lot but you never know. I've lost the points championship by eight points one year and last year was a much larger margin so it kind of depends on how things play out. I think 10 is a good place to start. I know that NASCAR wants to keep it exciting and fair at the same time. I haven't heard of any potential changes but if we get through the Chase and they don't think it's right I think I'd change it."

DOES DENNY HAMLIN'S SUCCESS SURPRISE A LOT OF DRIVERS? "It's certainly surprising but I think we've all grown to be used to it because those first handful of times in a Busch car was rock-steady and smooth. Same in a Cup car. You could see him on track. He's certainly driving hard but he doesn't take unneeded risks. He doesn't put people in compromising positions and situations. He's a very smart driver on top of an intense, hard and fast driver."

DO YOU THINK HE'S HIGH-PROFILE NOW? "Yeah, our race fans certainly know who everyone is. I can say that getting started, I had a similar path with what Denny has had. Came out with a big team, had a great mentor ahead of me and Jeff Gordon like he does with Tony Stewart. He's able to win races and compete for championships. It just takes a while to get that status and Denny certainly will be at that point and the biggest thing that helped me personally was winning the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard and then we got the championship. That has pushed it over the top. I think Denny has all those things in his future."

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Jeff Burton California Hauler Chat Audio File

Jeff Burton, No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at California Speedway and discussed the team's objectives at California, not adjusting his driving style, the heat in California, the sunset between turns three and four, what a number means to a driver, his number, getting even on the race track, racing at Richmond, the stable of cars the team has, the danger element in NASCAR, the competitiveness of races, on how the strong cars get stronger towards the end of a race and the importance of track position.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON THE HEAT AT THE TRACK: "It's hot, it's definitely hot. There's no question about it. It's hotter than we prefer, for sure. But that's what we do. Condition is really important, having the cars so that they keep as much heat out as possible is really important. It's something everybody is going to have to deal with but we shouldn't be surprised. We're in California in August and September; it's going to be hot."

WITH THE RACE STARTING AT FIVE O'CLOCK, THERE'S A 35-35 MINUTE WINDOW OF SUNSET WHERE IT'S HARD TO SEE. "Yeah, it's right across (turns) three and four and there is a moment as you go down the back straightaway as you approach turn three that you are really at the mercy of what you can't see. It's an uncomfortable situation, not the best situation in the world but it's similar to. we kind of have that problem in Atlanta too and a few other places. But here it seems to be worse than everywhere else and certainly if we can do something about it it would be nice."

ON THE DANGER ELEMENT IN NASCAR: "It's not as dangerous as it was 10 years ago. I do think that people have become so accustomed to watching a guy pop out that they're pretty immune to it. Everybody does their best to minimize anything when it does happen. The driver does, NASCAR does, the media does. A lot of times we're hurting more than people ever know about because you don't want everybody to know you're hurt. I always laugh when I watch a race and a guy takes a big hit and he gets out of the car and someone says 'oh, he's okay, he got out'. They don't have a clue if he's okay or not. Unless he's carried out, he has to get out. So I always find that a little humorous. From the outside looking in, 'hey, he got out, he's okay'. Okay sometimes is a relative term but this is a dangerous sport. Anytime you strap yourself into something that's propelling down a straightaway at 200 miles an hour you have the potential to get hurt and that's just the way it is. That's part of our sport and I do believe that we' ve all become a little immune to it. And that's a good thing. That's a really good thing. But it's still a very dangerous sport."

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Kyle Busch California Hauler Chat Audio File

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Cheez-It/CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed future plans for Joe Gibbs Racing, racing in the heat, his Busch car sponsor, his relationship with his brother, how he handles conflicts on track, his goal for the rest of this season, heading to Richmond and the affect of starting a race at 5 p.m.

ON RACING IN THE HEAT: "It was warm at Bristol. At Bristol you walk outside and you're sweating. Here at least you have to be doing something to sweat. For me I like the West Coast a lot better. The weather, yeah it's hotter and guys complain about the heat and stuff but to me it's home. I'm used to it. I think I might have a little bit of an advantage over the rest of the guys because they're complaining about it but I like it better here. I could do a 118 degree heat. I did it in Vegas."

ON GOING TO RICHMOND: "I think if we start this weekend and have just a solid effort. If Dale Jr. wins and we finish 20 something or better then we pretty much are locked in for Richmond. So I'm looking forward to this week. Hopefully we've got a good enough car where we can just go out there for a win and compete for a win because I feel like that'll be the best situation for us, just try to win this week and try to win next week due to the fact that we're trying to raise our standings when the Chase starts for the 10 point bonus for wins. It's going to be hard to do but I've won here before. I feel like we can hopefully do it again and Richmond my worst finish there is fifth place so I'm looking forward to being able to go there again and run with those guys. We finished second there in the spring so I feel like we've got a good car or at least a good shot of returning to do the same performance."

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Clint Bowyer California Hauler Chat Audio File

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at California Speedway and discussed the heat in California, his outlook on the next few races, what the team needs from the engine at California, the upcoming race at Richmond, his outlook for the Chase, why the drivers that are leading in points have led most of the laps, why leaders' cars get stronger towards the end of the race, passing at Bristol, pressure in the next few races and who the first person is who he calls after a race.

Select quotes from driver interview:

YOUR OUTLOOK ON THE NEXT FEW RACES: "I want to definitely stay where I'm at in the points if we can't move up. But I want to win. We need to get a win. I don't want to be the only guy in the Chase that hasn't won. If we are, certainly that isn't a bad thing. That isn't a bad problem to have but we just have got to pick it up. I think we can do it. Just the last month, month and a half we've had to be so conservative with everything we've done. Me in the race car, Gil (Martin) on the box, just everybody. The engine shop, everybody had to make sure that we didn't have any trouble and just got a solid finish. Now the focus isn't on 'we've just got to have a top 10 now, we've got to win'."

ON GETTING INTO THE CHASE "You're definitely not in. You're not in until they say you're mathematically in but things are definitely in our favor right now. Things are looking good and we can start to get back to racing. It's just so weird. I don't like racing like this. Having that pressure of having to have a solid run and 'we just need a top 10 for the next three or four weeks and then we'll be fine'. That's not the kind of racing that we're made of and it's not like we're doing anything completely different. When they gamble on that pit stop.when it would pay off and you know it would pay off, you just can't take that chance."

Martin Truex, Jr. Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at California

Martin Truex, Jr. California Hauler Chat Audio File

Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed the effect of the heat, approaching the Chase, how he'll approach the new two races and if he'll be more conservative, on most drivers being locked in to the Chase and how it will affect racing at Richmond, his role as a leader following Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s announcement, his thoughts on drivers considered for the No.8 Chevy next year, if this is a breakout year for him, interaction with Regan Smith, dealing with the pressure of the Chase, racing at Richmond with the Impala SS, the challenge of the sun at California and DEI's future.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON HOW HE APPROACHS THE NEXT TWO RACES: "Well we feel great about how our season's went. I've said it a few times that we've came from.we left here in the spring and we were 42nd in the points so we've came a long way. We still had a few bad finishes after that and some trouble but our cars have been fast all year long, my team's been doing a great job for me and we've been having a lot of fun this year. A lot of things have gone the way we wanted them too, a few haven't but for the most part it's been a really great year and we've just got to hang on to these next two and show them what we've got in the last 10."

WHAT ARE YOU OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEXT TWO RACES? "Same way we've done all year, go out and do the best job we can do. So far our car seems pretty good. We were second in practice and hopefully that will translate into a good qualifying run and that usually helps have a good race so so far the weekend started off good and we're just doing our thing, same thing we do every week and hopefully we'll have a great race car and we can stay in the top 10 all day and maybe have a shot at the win at the end."

ON REPORTS OF MARK MARTIN AND ARIC ALMIROLA SPLITTING DUTIES FOR THE NO. 8 NEXT YEAR AND IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN IF THAT'S A GOOD DRIVER LINEUP FOR DEI: "Well I don't know. It sounds good but you never know until you get out there on the race track. You know guys change cars and drivers all the time and you go through the winter and everyone talks about how great they're going to be or how bad they're going to do and usually it's the opposite so we'll just see. You just never know until it's all worked out and we're at the race track. I enjoy working with all those guys. I know Regan a little bit. He's a very nice kid and he looks like he's got a lot of talent. It will be interesting to see what he can do, if he comes over, and the same with Aric. He's kind of got thrown to the wolves here lately with going to Bristol last week and that's a tough place to race anytime especially one of your first ones. Mark's high on both of them and if Mark thinks that they've got it then they probably do because he's a pretty smart guy."