MARTIN TRUEX JR. CAPTURES FIRST CAREER NASCAR CUP WIN IN AUTISM SPEAKS 400

Team Chevy Takes Five Of Top-10 Finishing Positions at Dover

Win Gives Impala SS Sixth Straight New Generation Race Car Event Win
Team Chevy Drivers Have Won 12 of 13 NNCS Points races This Season

DOVER, DEL - Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Impala SS collected his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (NNCS) career win in the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway. Truex's victory is the sixth win of six possible events for the new generation Impala SS race car, and the 12th Chevrolet win of the season in 13 NNCS points-paying races to date.

It was a bittersweet day in Dover as Truex's win came with the sad passing of NASCAR Vice Chairman, Bill France Jr.

Truex Jr. led six times for a total of 216 laps of the 400-lap race on the venue he calls his home track. "I just don't know what to say. I've got to thank all these guys and everyone at DEI for all their hard work in times of change and times when people don't really know what's going on and they need some leadership and some direction, I'm just real happy to be the one here in victory lane. It couldn't come at a better race track for us and for Bass Pro Shops and Chevrolet and everybody involved. What an unbelievable race car we had today."

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Impala SS finished 4th, Mark Martin, No. 01 U.S. Army Impala SS was 7th, Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniels Impala SS was 8th, and Jeff Gordon, finished 9th in the DuPont Impala SS. While running second to Truex Jr., defending NASCAR champion, Jimmie Johnson fell off the pace with a flat right rear tire on his No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, but worked his way back through the field with just 15 laps remaining to recover with a 15th place finish.

Chevrolet continues to lead the Manufacturers' Cup standings as the NNCS heads for Round 14 of the 36-race season on June 10th at Pocono Raceway.

STATEMENT FROM BRENT DEWAR; GENERAL MOTORS NORTH AMERICA VICE-PRESIDENT OF VEHICLE SALES, SERVICE AND MARKETING: REGARDING THE DEATH OF BILL FRANCE, JR.:

"The world of racing has lost a true innovator in Bill France, Jr., who made NASCAR the premiere sport it is today. His vision, tenacity and friendship will be missed. He left the sport better and provided the foundation for continued growth. Chevrolet and General Motors extends its thoughts and prayers to the France family."

MARTIN TRUEX JR., NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS IMPALA SS - Race winner:

"Wow..thank you, guys! Holy mackerel!

IT'S BEEN A BITTERSWEET DAY IN DOVER AS YOU TAKE YOUR FIRST NASCAR NEXTEL CUP VICTORY ON YOUR HOME TRACK, MIXED IN WITH THE SAD PASSING OF BILL FRANCE JR. WHAT DOES THIS DAY MEAN TO YOU? "Man. I just don't know what to say. I've got to thank all these guys and everyone at DEI for all their hard work in times of change and times when people don't really know what's going on and they need some leadership and some direction, I'm just real happy to be the one here in victory lane. It couldn't come at a better race track for us and for Bass Pro Shops and Chevrolet and everybody involved. This is just unbelievable, man. What an unbelievable race car we had today."

DALE EARNHARDT JR. CAME INTO VICTORY LANE AND CONGRATULATE YOU. WHAT DID HE SAY? "He said, 'I told you, you could do it, man.' It means a lot. He's been a great friend. He said, 'I'll see you at the house tonight.' So we're going to have some fun. But I can't thank these guys enough for their hard work. They work their guts out every week. The guys at the shop and the motors have come a long way. All the guys at our shop really work hard - seven days a week sometimes until all hours of the night. I just want to thank them and Teresa (Earnhardt) and Max (Siegel) and Richie Gilmore. There are so many people to thank - all the guys who have helped me get to this level. It's just a great day for all of us."

KEVIN "BONO" MANION, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS IMPALA SS, RACE WINNING CREW CHIEF:

"We worked so hard this week, I can't say enough for the guys on this team. We all love Dale, Jr., but when he made his announcement; we all said we have to carry the torch now. We love DEI and how it works. I have to thank Tony (Eury), Jr., Tony (Eury), Sr., Richie Gilmore, Max Siegel, who is a great asset, Steve Hmiel, everybody. Man, this is just awesome.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWES IMPALA SS, FINISHED 15TH:

"We overcame a lot today. I though we were in position to maybe win or at least finish second and then a right rear went down on us. I think maybe ours was a puncture of some kind. I am not sure what happened to the other guys that had problems. I really think ran something over because I was really good and went from catching the No.1 (Martin Truex, Jr.) a little bit at a time to really loose and losing spots. So I think I ran something over."

ON LOSS OF BILL FRANCE JUNIOR THIS AFTERNOON: "I just found out minutes ago so I don't think I have had time to process it yet. I just really don't know what it say right now."

J.D. GIBBS, PRESIDENT OF JOE GIBBS RACING:

ON LOSS OF BILL FRANCE JUNIOR: "It is hard to work with your Dad and them work with their son. I know that is hard. The fact that they have been able to do that so successfully for such a long and be as strong as they are today, is really and truly an accomplishment. Really and truly, we trust NASCAR. We may not agree with them about everything, but we trust them to make good decisions. He made good decisions. My family is indebted to him; our sport is indebted to him. I think you will see a lot of that the next few weeks, appreciation for everything he did and an outpouring toward him and his family."

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 8 BUDWEISER IMPALA SS:

ON THE LOSS OF BILL FRANCE JUNIOR: "It's a profound loss for the sport. His Dad really started NASCAR, but he's the one probably most responsible for the state of our sport today. He's one of those giants - very intimidating to me. I didn't know him well, but my Dad was close with him and I know that made my Dad very very proud to get close to someone that not a lot of others did."

CLINT BOWYER, NO. 07 JACK DANIEL'S IMPALA SS, FINISHED EIGHTH:

"I hate to complain about an eighth-place finish but the Jack Daniel's Chevy was a top three car all day until the vey end. We didn't pit that last time when everybody behind us did. We were real loose for that last run and lost a bunch of spots. I hate it for the crew because they did a great job in the pits all day. We have to look at the big picture with our finish because it was a good points day but that doesn't make me feel much better right now."

MARK MARTIN NO. 01 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET IMPALA SS, FINISHED SEVENTH:

"That was by far our best COT effort. I actually had fun today for the first time in a COT. We are still a whisker off, but we've made a lot of strides in a short time. Ryan (Pemberton, crew chief) and these guys have done a great job. We didn't have a car to win, but we had a good car and that showed by finishing seventh. It's an honor to drive this Army Chevy."

RICHARD CHILDRESS, OWNER RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING:

ON LOSS OF BILL FRANCE JUNIOR: "Bill France Jr. was not only a leader in our sport but he was also a very good friend. Not only did he teach me a lot about our sport but he taught me numerous lessons about life. Over the last several years, NASCAR has grown to an unprecedented level of popularity. None of that would have been possible without the vision and leadership Mr. France provided. My thoughts and prayers go out to Betty Jane, Brian, Lesa and the entire France family."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT IMPALA SS - FINISHED 9TH

HOW WOULD YOU SUMMERIZE YOUR DAY IN THE RACE CAR? "It was a really hard-fought ninth place finish. I started off the race great. I drove to the front and thought we were going to have an awesome day but it just went downhill from there. We were really loose. We made all kinds of adjustments but never really seemed to be able to get it right. It was a good points day for us. We'll take it."

WHAT DID BILL FRANCE JR. MEAN TO THIS SPORT? "He meant everything to it and to me. I can remember going to his father's funeral and at that time, seeing Bill Junior just come along and just take a hold of this sport and take it to the next level. He was a voice and personality that took this sport to another level. I'm really saddened to hear that news. I knew he wasn't doing well. I wish I could have had a chance to see him and talk to him before he went. Certainly our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire France family. He's going to be missed. It's going to be hard to be a part of this sport without him."

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE BILL FRANCE JR? "He was a real soft-hearted guy who had a real hard shell on the outside. He ran things with an iron fist, but he had a passion for this sport that a lot of people maybe didn't get a chance to see. You don't see it very often. I loved being around him. He's one of those guys you always wanted to listen to."

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THOUGHT IF NASCAR HAD THROWN A RED FLAG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RACE FOR BILL FRANCE JR? "Well, if you were thinking about Bill at that time, I think he would have been really upset if they would have thrown a red flag for him. I'm pretty sure they did what he would have asked for."

DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX KINKO'S IMPALA SS, FINISHED FOURTH:

"It was a great run today for the #11 FedEX Kinko's Chevrolet team. Our car continued to get better throughout the day and we made all the right adjustments throughout the day...Mike and the pit crew did a great job. I still don't consider this track one of my favorites, but I am becoming more comfortable running here and with the success we've had I have to say I do like it a bit more. It's just such a physically demanding track. Its hard to even walk right now.

"Looking at where we started on Friday in practice and qualifying, we were really tight and couldn't carry speed through the corners. The team did a great job in our final two practices to free us up and it showed today. (He #1 car was in a different time zone today. I'm happy with how we progressed through the weekend and I'm looking forward to Pocono."

ON LOSS OF BILL FRANCE JUNIOR THIS AFTERNOON: "My condolences go out to the France family today. We lost a great person this afternoon.. He was a pioneer and helped make NASCAR what it is today."

STERLING MARLIN, NO. 14 WASTE MANAGEMENT IMPALA SS:

STATEMENT ON LOSS OF BILL FRANCE JUNIOR: " It's a sad day, the sport of auto racing has lost a giant. Bill France Jr. was without a doubt the person responsible for bringing NASCAR to a major league level. I always enjoyed his company. I will miss him as will the entire motorsports community."

JOE NEMECHEK, NO. 13 HAIER IMPALA SS:

STATEMENT ON THE LOSS OF BILL FRANCE, JR.: "Mr. France will go down as one of the outstanding executives in all of the major sports. He was not only a visionary, but a compassionate competitor about NASCAR. He worked hard to achieve his visions, and all of us in the sport have greatly benefited from his leadership. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the France family."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT IMPALA SS - FINISHED 40TH

ON RACING WITH KURT BUSCH: "He just wasn't clear off of (Turn) 4. It's a shame because we've been racing him how he has raced us for a whole year. He's raced us every lap like it pays a million dollars, so I've kind of adopted Matt Kenseth's policy of racing guys the same way they race me. He never was clear and came off the corner and crashed both of us."

WHAT WAS YOUR VIEW OF WHAT OCCURRED ON PIT ROAD? "I didn't see him until the last minute, but he about hit one of our crew guys. So that was self-explanatory I think."

IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'D GO TO WAR FOR TO PROTECT YOUR GUYS? "Yeah, because they'd go to war for me. It didn't make much sense."

DID YOU ACCOMPLISH YOUR MISSION OF WRECKING HIM DURING THE RACE? "No, I've never tried to wreck him. I've had plenty of chances to wreck the guy. That's not what it was about. It's about racing people with respect and he hasn't done that with anybody for a year. You finally get to the point where you're tired of giving guys positions. Most of the guys are pretty good. There are only a couple of bad apples out there and he's one of them. When you've got guys that you let go every time they get to you and they don't do the same thing when the roles are reversed, you finally get tired of it. You finally learn to race those guys they way they race you. You don't see me having problems with Mark Martin and the guys that run up front every week. His brother figured it out and his brother and I have gotten along great and have no problems. This is a sport that is so competitive that you can't afford to give guys positions all the time if they're not going to do it back for you. I'm just going to race guys the way they race me. Like I said, I don't have problems with 95 percent of the guys out there. It's only a couple."

ON THE PASSING OF BILL FRANCE JR: "It's just sad. You look at what he's been able to do in the time he's been with NASCAR and obviously learning from his father. There aren't enough words to describe what he's meant to this sport and what he's done for it. I guarantee it's the biggest loss in racing since Dale Earnhardt, and probably bigger."

TRANSCRIPT OF POST RACE WINNER'S PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MARTIN TRUEX, JR. AND KEVINM "BONO" MANION, DRIVER AND CREW CHIEF OF NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER IMPALA SS FIELDED BY DALE EARNHARDT, INC.

TRUEX JR. - ON THE WIN: "It's a great day. I've got to thank Bass Pro and Tracker Boats and Chevrolet and all the people who helped us and all the guys back at the shop that worked so hard. They've had a lot to read about and have had a lot of things to think about the past couple of weeks. It feels real good to give them something to look forward to."

TRUEX JR. - AT WHAT POINT DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD THE RACE WON? "Well, you never feel like you have them until you actually have them. I was sitting there with 70 or 80 laps to go thinking all right, what's going to happen? Because we've been in position before when we had a shot. And it seems like even when we run good, and we're running in the top 10 or top five, it seems like something along the line happens to give us some trouble. So I wasn't counting my chickens by any means. I was just hoping and praying that we wouldn't have a bunch of cautions so that it would come down to pit strategy and tires and all that. We were fortunate that it kept going green. Once the white came out, I felt good. I knew we weren't going to have a green, white, checkered. Then I knew."

TRUEX JR. - DOES IT NICE TO GIVE DEI SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO TALK ABOUT NOW? DOES THIS MEAN DEI IS NOT DEAD AFTERALL? "I still don't understand where everyone was coming from when they thought that DEI was going to go away just because Dale Junior went away. It started before he started driving. He's a great asset. He's been a great teammate for me. He's been a great mentor for me. But we can go on. We can win races, just as we've shown today. We've had cars capable of winning a few times this year and we don't seem to get any of the credit we deserve. Bono and all his guys don't ever get any credit. So, it's nice to give them that today and put them in the spotlight a little bit and show everybody just how good they are. And all the guys at the shop have been working real hard and they've been reading about how they're not doing the right things and they're not doing a good job and all of a sudden they're not going to have a job. So, it feels good to hush up all that and solidify the fact that we're here for real and we're going to win races and contend for championships in the future."

TRUEX JR. - IN AN ODD TWIST, TWO OF THE LAST THREE TIMES THE NO. 1 CAR HAS WON HAS BEEN ON MONDAYS AFTER RAINOUTS. ANY REASON WHY THIS IS A RAINOUT CAR? TRUEX JR: "Well, we've had two rainouts a couple of weeks ago and we didn't win then. So, I don't know."

TRUEX JR. - ON THE PROGRESS OF THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR, WHAT'S IMPROVED? YOU, OR THE TEAM? TRUEX JR: "Well, our luck has gotten better. We've run pretty decent with it each time we've been out. At Martinsville, we had a really fast car but lost the brakes. At Phoenix we ran well, but I can't even remember what happened to us there. At Darlington, we ran very well. We finished 11th but we ran better than that all day. We've been running fairly decent with it. We haven't obviously been able to do what we did today. But we've learned a lot about it and applied things that worked good for us. We tried some new stuff this weekend on it and it seemed to work really well for us. We didn't hit on it until happy hour and that's when our car came to life. From here on out, who knows? Maybe it'll work everywhere, maybe it won't. We'll just have to see. But we're going to keep working hard and hopefully win some more races, that's for sure."

TRUEX JR. - WITH DALE JUNIOR LEAVING DEI, ARE YOU READY TO ASSUME MORE OF A LEADERSHIP ROLE? "Well, I kind of have to, you know. Somebody's got to do it. A lot of people there look up to Dale Junior and what he thinks about the race cars and the people and the job they're doing. I'll have to be a little more vocal and put a little more interest in the things I'm saying and the things I think about how things are going. I'm real easy to get along with. I don't pick on people when they make mistakes and that's a big part of it, I think. I'll just tell everybody they're doing a good job and I plan on doing that because they are."

TRUEX JR. - RYAN NEWMAN GOT YOU ON A COUPLE OF RESTARTS, BUT YOU CLEARLY HAD THE BETTER CAR ON THE LONG RUNS. IF IT WOULD HAVE COME DOWN TO A FOUR, FIVE, OR SIX-CAR SPRINT TO THE FINISH, DO YOU THINK YOU STILL WOULD HAVE HAD THE CAR TO WIN? "With older tires, yes. If we would have had to pit and he beat me out of the pits, then no. We wouldn't have been able to - unless we made the proper adjustments. I was just too loose for six or seven or eight laps to get going on new tires. And then after that, I was really good. If it came down to it, we would have had to change a little bit. But if it came down to us being in the lead, I think I could have held him off. But on new tires, I was a little bit slower."

TRUEX - ON HOW BIG OF A THREAT HE CONSIDERED JOHNSON WHO SEEMED TO BE CLOSING: "I think the guys on the pit box considered it a lot more of a threat that I was. I had a straightaway lead. They got a little nervous when he got to second but then they realized that I was running two to three tenths faster lap times than he was. I wasn't too worried about it. Anytime you get close to the end and have a driver like Jimmie Johnson coming out of no-where, you think about what might happen if a caution came out and we have to pit again. Most nervous I got all day was that last caution when I guess there was about 45 or 46 laps to go and we weren't sure whether to pit or not pit. We said well we will stay out; our car is really good on old tires. Everyone else stayed out too. That was really the time all day when I thought that our win could possibly be in jeopardy."

MANION - ON WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO CALL HIS FIRST CUP WIN: "No, I haven't other than the All-Star Open a few weeks ago. This is the first points race and it is incredible. It is really no different than calling a Busch race and actually, to be honest with you, it is a heck of a lot easier. Back when we won a couple of Busch championships, calling those Busch races with the tire rule they have is really difficult. You have to schedule how to use the tires. Here in Cup, it is when the caution comes out, you pit, that is all there is to it. You have enough tires, there is no rule, so it is fairly easy to call. It makes it harder when you are leading to call whether you are going to pit or not. Like Martin said, that is the only time. I told him, ok, you can make it on gas from here, the only thing that is going to be a question is if the caution comes out. We had jotted down a few numbers on the top of the pit box that if the caution came out before this lap, we would pit, if it came out after that lap, we would stay out. We only had 17 green flag laps on our tires so it was almost a no-brainer to stay out. It feels really good to have a car that good. At Homestead last year we really thought that we had a car that was capable of winning and calling that race was very difficult. I made calls that just didn't turn out like to day."

TRUEX - ON WHAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. SAID TO HIM IN VICTORY LANE: "He just said he knew I could do it and he would see me tonight. (LAUGHS) I am sure we will have a big time."

TRUEX - ON HOW THIS FEELS COMPARED TO WINNING THE ALL-STAR OPEN: "This is way bigger than the Open. The Open was just to get in to the All-Star race. This is a first-win man. This is awesome. Doesn't get any better than this. You know. This has been probably one of the biggest accomplishments for everybody on my whole team. The biggest accomplishment of their racing careers. Mine is no different. Championships in the Busch Series were great, but if you win at this level, you have beat the best of the best. Today was our day and if feels great."

MANION - ON IMPACT OF THIS WIN ON ENTIRE TEAM: "For the team, this is a huge win. Most of us with the team have been there since the beginning, since the inception of Chance 2. Mostly all the same guys, I have only lost a few. We have added on some great talent over the winter to make our team stronger. I think we are at the point now, where we feel we can run in the top-10 every week. We feel like we can go to the track every week and make adjustments to the car that will make it a race-winning car. The team, I haven't gotten to spend a whole lot of time with them yet today, I am sure tonight we will probably hang out and BS a little bit, bench race and have a good time."

TRUEX - ON THINKING ABOUT HOW GOOD THE CHASE IS LOOKING RIGHT NOW: "Yes it is but we have got a lot of racing left to do. Like I said earlier, we have had great race cars all year, we have just had a lot of bad luck. After California we were 42nd in the points I think. It has been an uphill battle for us this year. But we have run well and that is the main thing. Last year we were getting bad finishes but we weren't running that well either. We can take a few bad finishes here and there. We have been in a good, steady climb in the points. The Chase is definitely not out of the question for us especially with the momentum we have. We have had some great runs as of late. I think the Open helped with confidence and helped get everybody on the same page. Who knows, we will just have to wait and see, but I think we have got what it takes to make the Chase. We still have a ways to go to have a shot at a Championship obviously. We aren't a top-five car every week like the No. 48, the No. 24, No. 20 and guys like that. We still have stuff to work on but we are working our way there, we are getting closer each week and looking good."

TRUEX - ON WHAT IT MEANT TO HIS DAD TO BE HERE FOR THE FIRST WIN: "I am just glad he was here for it. He doesn't miss many. He has obviously been the biggest part of my racing career and the biggest reason for me getting to where I am at. He ran me in my first go-kart, my first modified. He owned my Busch North cars and has been kind of my roll model and my teacher until I got until I got to the Busch Series and now he kind of stands back and watches. He helps me with business decisions and with advice and things like that. He has been a huge part of my career, it was awesome to have him here and I am sure he was just about as happy as I was, if not happier than I was about this win. It seems like it has been a long time coming and he is a huge supporter of mine and I am glad he was here for it."

TRUEX - ON FIRST TIME HE EVER CAME TO DOVER: "The first time I came here was to drive a race car. I didn't go to many races when I was younger. I was always doing my own stuff, racing somewhere. I can't remember if it was 2001 or 2002, we build a Busch car at my Dad's shop and came here and ran it. We qualified like 17th for our first time ever, we had a good run going that day and I think we got tore up pretty early in the race and didn't do so well. I have always felt comfortable at this race track since the first time I got on it. I have always enjoyed it. It has always been one of those ones that I can't wait for it to come up again. I am excited about September already."

MANION - ON WHAT ADJUSTMENTS HE MADE FROM FIRST PRACTICE TO FINAL PRACTICE TO GET SUCH A GOOD CAR: "There were quite a few adjustments actually, I will try to make the answer short. Pretty much everything. We have run this car twice, at Bristol and at Darlington, and we have had two different packages. We ran very well at both races. We decided to bring our Darlington package with us. In talking with Tony Gibson and Tony Eury, Jr., they were bringing their basic Bristol package with them. We are running really close to the same stuff and are working really well together. We unloaded and spent most of the practice in race trim. Dale, Jr. out-qualified us by quite a bit landing on the front row. Saturday morning the schedule allowed two hours between practices so we did our deal on Saturday morning and they did their deal and were extremely happy. We were middle of the road, bouncing on the fence about which way to go. We talked to those guys and basically decided to change our stuff over to be similar to theirs. Similar to what we ran at Bristol and as soon as happy hour started, we were right on so it was a good change."