Jeff Gordon Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Jeff Gordon Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed driving the outgoing car and how he will miss it, if he will keep an old car for himself, the connection between the car and the rise of NASCAR, how he deals with not winning, how Dale Earnhardt would race this event, similarities between himself and Earnhardt, Max Siegel and how he's handled the Dale Jr. issue, how difficult it will be for Jimmie Johnson to drive conservatively, the story on the creation of a fourth Hendrick team and on how sharing of information has helped the team and will help Dale Jr.

HAVE YOU BEEN SAVORING DRIVING THE OLD CAR DURING PRACTICE THIS WEEKEND? "We were talking about that earlier. I'm going to enjoy every second of it that I can, especially with these cars that these guys have been giving me this year. This car has been a lot of fun to drive and the evolution of this car and how much it's changed in the 15 years I've been in this series has been amazing. It's a real race car. It's amazing when you think of stock cars and the lack of technology that we have and really, just how much downforce and how much grip that we've been able to put in these cars and how fun they've been to drive over the last several years."

ANY SADNESS ABOUT THIS BEING THE FINAL RACE FOR THE CAR? "Yeah, we've put a lot of work and effort into it and Chevrolet and the Monte Carlo brand has been synonymous and so successful. We want to make it a good one. I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can."

IS THIS THE CHARLOTTE CAR? "I don't even know. I couldn't even tell you. I don't remember. It's a good one, I know that."

DO YOU HAVE SOME OF THE OLD CARS? "We've been talking about that. Hendrick. obviously it's been a yard sale for every team out there and we're trying to pick and choose which ones we want to keep and which ones we want to sell or get rid of. I probably will end up with one, yeah."

HOW CONNECTED IS THE RISE OF NASCAR AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT CAR? "Again, all I can say is that this is basically the car I've been driving for the last 15 years and the car that I learned to win races and championships and race 500-mile races with. And every one of them has been a Chevrolet whether it's a Monte Carlo or Lumina and for me to see the evolution of it over time should. I mean, it's been. you can go talk to Richard Petty and say those guys have been talking about the real evolution of those cars being actual stock cars off the showroom floor to where it is today. For me, over the last 15 years, to see the improvements that we've been able to make and how NASCAR's been challenged to keep a level playing field out there and the battles that we have between them and us, of constantly pushing the limits of being competitive out here, that part of it is what's been exciting for me over the years and knowing when we hit on something and go out there on the race track and see the numbers and the performance get better."

BEING SUCH A COMPETITOR WITH SUCH A DRIVE TO WIN, HAVE YOU HAD TO LEARN TO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP WHEN YOU DON'T WIN? "Yeah, but you know what, you lose a lot more races than you win. No matter how successful you are, you're not going to win every race. You're not going to win every year and so that teaches you in itself on how to be a better winner and how to be a better loser. The losses are what really drive you to want to win more and when you win a championship it's great; it's an amazing feeling, but when you go the next year and you don't win it then you realize just how much you like to win and how much the championship means. So the last several years by not winning it, I think it's really motivated me and this entire team to wanting to get it. I think that will be the toughest part of this year if we don't win it is how bad we want it and how hard we've worked for it and how good our team has been and our performance has been this year to be so close. You don't pull that off, it's certainly going to be a disappointment. Consistency is what we've been working on all year long. We'll see, we'll see what happens."

THAT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR KIDS TO LEARN HOW TO LOSE. YOU CAN'T WIN ALL THE TIME. "Well, I lost a lot as a kid too, so. (laughs)."

IF DALE EARNHARDT WERE HERE TODAY AND IT WAS HIM AGAINST JOHNSON, HOW WOULD HE RACE THIS RACE? "Probably like Hornaday is going to race Skinner in that Truck race. I think about that every once in a while. How would Dale be influencing things happening in this sport today, how would he run on the track, how would he compete against some of the drivers that are out there today. The only real time I ever battled him for the championship was in '95 and while he taught me some lessons in '93, '94 by putting the bumper to me several times, in '95 that rarely ever happened in competition. You knew when to stay away from him, you knew when you had to race him hard. You knew he was going to lean on you and you had to be ready for that. I can't think of a time when we were battling for a championship that he just intensely did anything dirty. He might have raced hard but that's about it."

WOULD IT BE AGAINST YOUR BRAIN TO TRY TO BE LIKE HIM? "Yeah, I think to be like him, I want to be like him in his drive and. it's easy to be the Intimidator when you've got a fast race car. I've always said the most intimidating thing is a guy in your mirror that's running you down. You don't have to drive a black car and rough guys up to do that. I think the style and the competitiveness, I think the microscope that we're under has changed that quite a bit over the years and the way NASCAR handles things, you can't do some of the things that you used to be able to do. I don't even know if Dale would be able to get away with some of those things today."

YOUR OPINION ON MAX SIEGEL AND HOW HE'S INFLUENCED THE SPORT: "I think it's early to tell yet. I think that he seems to be a really smart guy who has got a lot of influence and experience in bringing a lot of different aspects to the sport so I think the potential is huge. I'm very proud of DEI to hire him and I think if they give him enough power to really utilize his resources and his skills then I think that he will be great for them and for the sport."

HOW HAS HE HANDLED THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING DALE JR.? "I think he handled it very professionally which is what you would hope for and expect. I think he handled it gracefully and the only unfortunate thing is that he didn't prevent it from happening. I think that that was out of his hands and I think he's done a fantastic job. I don't know Max well. I've talked to him about wanting to get to know him better because everything I've heard about him and have read is impressive. So I've actually offered him, and unfortunately we haven't been able to do it, is to sit down and talk and pick his brain a little bit about some things. I like it when people come into our sport and they have a different perspective on it because of the experience they have in other areas, especially in the entertainment world like he has and brings fresh, new ideas on how we can make our sport better."

HOW DIFFICULT WILL IT BE FOR JIMMIE JOHNSON TO DRIVE CONSERVATIVELY? "I think that's one of the toughest positions to be in is when it's yours to lose. When you're behind, you go for broke and you've got really nothing to lose like for us, there's really no pressure on us. We're in second place in the points; we know it doesn't come down to just finishing a few positions ahead of Jimmie. I don't think we can lose second so for us it's just going out there and running hard, running our race with nothing to lose and everything to gain. But for those guys that have everything to lose, you've got to be careful because you can be too aggressive trying to go for five-in-a-row and make a mistake or you can be too cautious and make a mistake. So those are just some of the things that will be going through their minds but they've been so solid, so good that I'll be surprised if those things happen."

WHEN RICK HENDRICK STARTED THE FOURTH TEAM AND MERGED IT WITH YOURS, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION? "Actually it was the opposite."

YOU MEAN YOU GOING TO HIM? "Yeah. Here's what happened, was that we were building a new shop for the No. 24 team and in those plans and thoughts, guys like Brian Whitesell, Robbie Loomis and those guys. We ran through some different ideas and scenarios of should this be a two-car operation, not just a one-car operation. We've got the opportunity here to start fresh and at that time we've been getting beat by Gibbs and we had heard about how their shop was set up with two cars under one roof and we were trying to decide what to do going forward, if that was the way to go for the future. And as those scenarios started getting thrown around more and more, obviously it got back to Rick but it was more and more positives about than negatives and so what had happened was, Jimmie came to me and talked to me. We were in the middle of this discussion whether we do. we were on the fence. And I called Rick and I said 'Rick, we really have got to make some decisions on this shop, whether we're going to make it a t wo-car operation or not and I was just talking to this guy named Jimmie Johnson and I'm real impressed with him'. And he goes 'yeah, I know Jimmie and I've been pretty impressed with him as well'. And I said 'if we're going to do this thing, I think he can be a good guy but we've got to pull the plug. We've got to either do a one-car operation or a two-car operation and we've got to move forward.' And so that's what led into it. To me, I was sold on it because we were basically trying to win the championship in 2001 and I just felt like if we didn't move forward and ahead that we might not be battling for championships in the future. We need to do something to take ourselves to the next level and I thought that having another team there would be beneficial to us."

HOW DID YOU CONVINCE THE GUYS IN THE SHOP THAT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA? "Well, that was an evolution of. as you build it up and you start to see the positive and negatives, you realize you can't separate these guys up. You really, truly have to treat it like one team. Everybody's building cars together and that you just have two road crews, two crew chiefs and two drivers and that was the philosophy that we determined that was going to make it work."

DO YOU THINK THE NO. 48 WOULD BE WHERE IT IS TODAY IF YOU GUYS HAD GONE ANOTHER DIRECTION? "I can tell you this: for a fact, they wouldn't have gotten where they did as fast as they did. I'm not saying they wouldn't have gotten there but they came out of the box. I mean, we won a championship. We basically took championship cars and material and just turned it over and so it got them close. And then they had to do the rest but they've done a phenomenal job with it, obviously. It was a big part of it but you never know. you can always say 'coulda, woulda, shoulda,' but the thing is, it's been pretty good so that's all we're happy about."

SO IF YOU GUYS HAD NOT BUILT A NEW BUILDING, THIS MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED? "I don't think it would have happened. And not to take anything away from Jimmie, but Jimmie wasn't spectacular. You guys can all say it yourselves, and I've heard you say it before, when we hired him everybody was like 'Jimmie Johnson, why would they hire Jimmie Johnson. He hasn't set the world on fire in the Busch Series'. But I just saw something in him that I thought if we put him in the kind of equipment I'm in, I think he'll do very well and he did."

IS THAT THE KEY TO THE HENDRICK DOMINANCE, THE SHARING OF INFORMATION? "Then we would transfer that over to the No. 24/No. 48 shop and I think it took a little while for that to start to really come together and now really seeing the benefits and we can always make that better, those gaps between us even that much tighter and that much closer. Every crew chief has his way of doing it, every mechanic has his way of doing it until you're in the same shop. There's always going to be something different. It's definitely played a big role in all four teams being as good as they are."

DO YOU THINK JUNIOR WILL GET UP TO SPEED FASTED BECAUSE HE WILL HAVE THE BENEFIT OF ALL THIS KNOWLEDGE? "Yeah, definitely. I think we have very consistent employees. I think our organization is more put-together and stronger and more confident than they've ever been and I think it's no doubt it's going to benefit anybody that comes in, certainly Junior as well."

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed what he would need to do to get where Jimmie Johnson is right now, what he thinks Johnson's mindset is now, about Johnson wanting to win the final race, whether or not he's frustrated that he was close to competing for the championship, whether or not he'll be satisfied with third overall, how strong Johnson and Gordon have been, how he would approach the race if he were in Johnson's shoes, his focus sharpening in the Chase, Thanksgiving and the increased attention from the media that he has seen.

WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO DO TO GET WHERE JIMMIE JOHNSON IS RIGHT NOW? "Win every race? It's just incredible. Those guys are on it. They're extremely good and extremely talented but they've got things rolling their way too. When that happens, you can't beat that. Hats off to those guys. They've beat everybody pretty bad this year. When you can make Jeff Gordon look bad you're doing something right. They've flat-out beat him, hands down."

IN JOHNSON'S POSITION, DO YOU THINK HE WILL BE MORE WILLING TO LAY BACK FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE RACE AND THEN TURN IT ON LATER? HOW TOUGH IS IT TO COMPETE AGAINST THAT? "Like I say, it's hard. They're on top of their game and the whole team is good. I'm not taking anything from Jimmie because he's an incredible talent but the whole team is incredible. Chad's done a phenomenal job. The pit crew's had them out front of everybody every stop; everybody on that team is solid and it forces everybody to pick up their game. It's no different than any other sport. Every sport sees that type of caliber team and it makes everybody step up their game to compete with them."

JIMMIE IS SAYING HE WANTS TO WIN FIVE STRAIGHT - A LOT OF GUYS WOULD JUST SAY THEY WANT TO DRIVE TO GET THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND NOTHING BEYOND THAT: "I really believe you've got to go out there and the minute you start being conservative you start getting back into a situation that you don't want to be in and things happen. You just go about your weekend just like any other weekend and go out and try to win and do the best you can. That's all you can do."

IS IT FRUSTRATING TO KNOW THAT IF YOU HAD A BREAK IN THE CHASE, YOU MIGHT BE UP THERE WITH JEFF AND JIMMIE? "Yeah, I wish we could have definitely come down to the last weekend in contention to win this championship. We just fell a little short. Texas was pretty much the dagger, the last chance and we just fell a little short. But I'm proud of our year. We've been having a good year. I think the biggest thing that I'm excited about is our future together. We're all staying intact, pretty much as a team and I think that's going to be important to our success in the future."

HOW SATISFIED WILL YOU BE IF YOU END UP THIRD AND EVERYBODY PREDICTED YOU WOULD BE 12TH? "Really satisfied. We did a good job. We really did. We came a long ways but we've got some more learning to do. We've got to be a better team to win a championship. Looking back, the points that we've earned during this Chase probably would still be leading the championship right now and we definitely would have been at Homestead right here racing for a championship. You've always got to be better the next year and we're going to have to be better next year."

ANY OTHER CHASE YOU WOULD BE RIGHT THERE - THAT JUST SHOWS HOW STRONG JOHNSON AND GORDON HAVE BEEN THIS YEAR: "Yeah, exactly. They've been solid all year long and you can't take that from them. Especially when it's time here, they've been able to pick it up more than everybody else and that's why they're going to win a championship."

IF YOU WERE JIMMIE, HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THIS RACE ON SUNDAY? "Just like he's going to - just like any other race. Go out and do the best you can and try to win and let everything else handle itself."

DO YOU SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS DURING THE CHASE OR DO YOU JUST GET BEHIND THE WHEEL? "Definitely, since we've been inside this Chase it's hard to lose focus. The media, the pressure that's on you, the testing we have to do to be successful, it's hard. You can't get away from it so you're constantly in tune with what's going on and staying honed in on the task at hand. That helps that but certainly, there's points in a season and it's probably been that way my whole career where you really have got to sit down and think about it and say 'hey, get your butt back in gear and let's go back after it'. These races - they're 500-mile races and you get out there and you get to focusing on your points on a race track and hitting your marks and the next thing you know, you're getting passed and the people are beating you and you've got to force yourself to readjust, find another line, get back up on the wheel and make it happen."

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE OFF-SEASON? "Absolutely!"

WHAT'S THANKSGIVING LIKE AT THE BOWYER HOUSEHOLD? "I think we're going to my little brother's house this year. It's fun. Everybody is family. It's fun for me to be able to see everybody. I don't get a chance to see everybody all together and enjoy Grandma and Grandpa being down there and just enjoying family, just like any other family."

DO YOU GET A LOT OF ATTENTION FROM YOUR FAMILY? IS IT CELEBRITY STATUS? "I hope not. I don't want to take anything away from anybody else. That's what's fun about it. It's being around people that to them, you're just Clint. You're not a race car driver, you're just a kid that they grew up with."

ARE YOU A LEG MAN OR DO YOU LIKE WHITE MEAT? "I'm a white-meat guy."

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ALL THE MEDIA THAT HAVE DISCOVERED YOU HERE? DO YOU LIKE THE ATTENTION? "It's okay, I don't mind it. The better you do, the more you do of everything. The more success you have, the more, the more the more. That's just part of it. You've got to be good at everything. It isn't just getting in a car and being a good race car driver, in this sport you've got to be good across the board. You've got to keep the media happy, you've got to keep the exposure for your sponsors and things like that, there's a lot more to it than just holding onto that steering wheel."

IS THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS YOU THINK YOU'VE IMPROVED AT? "It's just something that, when I came to NASCAR and got this job, it's something that I really didn't realize that was such a big part of this business. It is a business. Back home, if things didn't go good, you got your butt shoed from the old man on the way home from the race track for an hour, hour-and-a-half. You went back to your day job and now you've got to be polished everywhere."

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's / CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS met with media to discuss the last race for the Monte Carlo SS, his last race with Hendrick, his state of mind, the success of Hendrick Motorsports, how Rick Hendrick runs his organization, on Jimmie Johnson's chances to win the title, what it takes to win at Homestead, on driving for JGR next year, his admiration for Rick Hendrick, and on the most memorable things about the 2007 season.

Select quotes from driver interview:

WILL YOU MISS THE OLD MONTE CARLO THAT'S FUN TO DRIVE? "Yeah, the old car is a blessing in disguise to have it here in Homestead to put it in its final race. We're going to miss it. But we'll still get to go out and run some Busch cars and Late Models and I guess I've got to go back to ARCA in order to race this thing. I'm not sure I want to do that."

ANY NOSTALGIA OR SADNESS ABOUT LOSING THE OLD CAR? "Yeah, it's a good race car. It's what we've raced for the past 20-some years. Now we'll go to the new one, which nobody is really a big fan of. It's kind of discouraging, I guess."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR LAST RACE WITH HENDRICK? "Yeah, it's the last race for a lot of things. It's the last race of the year, the last race with Hendrick, the sponsors, and the team. We'll go on in the next year and see what it all entails. But we've still got this final weekend here to make the most of it to try to get a final win if we can."

WHAT'S YOUR STATE OF MIND? ARE YOU EMOTIONAL? "It's time to move on, basically. Last week people were saying I was emotional in victory lane. I don't remember cracking a tear. It's just a part of racing. You've got bigger and better things that come about sometimes and like I said, it's time to move on and experience that."

SO FAR THIS YEAR, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HAS EARNED 18 CUP WINS. WHAT'S THE KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS? "If I knew that, Joe Gibbs Racing would win that much too. I think it's got a lot to do with people and personnel and Rick. But the drivers, I think you've got two of the best in the sport, which they've won all the races this year. So, Jeff and Jimmie have got it going on and they know what they're doing. And it shows every weekend. So, it's been tough being on the No. 5 and No. 25 side and not being able to run as well as they have. But we've been consistent. We just can't close our deals. We can't win as often. That's probably the most frustrating point when we can see your teammates doing it, yet you can't."

WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DOES RICK HENDRICK HAVE IN GUIDING HIS ORGANIZATION? "People always say that he's a great leader and he does what any man would do to make his company succeed and that's to be a bigger part of it and make sure he's there and knows what's going on. He's always wanted or has been there for everybody and he always wants to be around to make sure everything is going right."

IS THIS A ONE-MAN RACE? "It's pretty much a one-man race. It's Jimmie's (Johnson) to lose. Jimmie will have to crash out or blow up or something like that in order for Jeff (Gordon) to win the thing. You're not going to see Jimmie Johnson run 30th and Jeff win the race in order for him to win this championship. It's going to take a lot for that to happen and hopefully there is no bad luck on either one of their sides. They can just race it out to the end. But we're all going to try to race and beat him and beat him out. It's the championship that they're going to go for. We're not going to do anything, just like we never have in order to jeopardize their finish or their battle for the championship."

Tony Stewart Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Tony Stewart Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed: on the end of the season; on the last race for the old car; on leaving Chevrolet; on differences in eras and champions in Cup; Ricky Rudd retiring; on points racing; on what it is like when you are on a run of success like the NO. 48 team is right now: on relationship with Greg Zipadelli; on if Kansas was turning point in the Chase; on Jimmie winning 10 races; on next season; on success of entire Hendrick organization and on his own racing enterprise responsibilities in off season...

Kevin Harvick Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Kevin Harvick Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed: this being the last race for the Monte Carlo SS; proposed changes to NASCAR engine rules for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Busch Series; his qualifying for the Ford 400 and what it takes to maintain fitness and endurance for this long season:

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON HOMESTEAD BEING THE LAST RACE FOR THE MONTE CARLO SS: "I think it is going to make it better for everything, just only having one car. We will get over the fact that this car is better to drive handling wise. When you are racing the same car week in and week out, it is going to make the teams better, the drivers better, it should make everything better."

ON PROPOSED ENGINE RULE CHANGES FOR THE NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES AND THE NASCAR BUSCH SERIES TO LOWER HORSEPOWER: "I think it is going to mean a lot to both series. It is going to be cost effective for the engine bills first off, to help those pieces out. There are going to be a lot more race tracks where you are going to be wide open with the trucks. How that plays out, I don't really know. It seems like a lot of the race tracks we go to now that we are wide open, the handling comes in to effective. We will just have to wait and see how that handles the affects of the vehicles. As of right, it is hard to tell, but it is definitely going to save money."

ON BOTH RON HORNADAY, JR. AND JACK SPRAGUE BEING CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS FOR KHI IN 2008: "I would hope so. That is what we put that second team together for, obviously the No. 33 can race for the championship, we expect them both to run that way."

ON HOMESTEAD QUALIFYING: "The lap was good. We had a little bit of trouble in practice we couldn't decide where we wanted to be, after that we made our best guess at it and we guessed right."

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed being named NASCAR person of the year, how Jimmie Johnson needs to drive on Sunday, how difficult it is to play it safe, what it is about Hendrick Motorsports that makes them so good, if he thinks Rick Hendrick has something that other team owners don't, how he feels about one organization dominating the sport, if he's ready to bid farewell to the Monte Carlo, his opinions on Robbie Reiser's position change, what his team needs to do to be better than the No. 48 team, how he grades his team's progress this year, how he feels about the Roush/Yates merger, if he thinks there is a correlation between the outgoing car and the rise of NASCAR, what teams have learned and still need to learn about the new car and whether or not a new tire needs to be created for the new car.

Select quotes from driver interview:

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO PLAY IT SAFE AS AN ATHLETE? "How many football games have we seen get blown away because they're playing prevent defense? I think you've got to press and there is a big difference between being 100 percent and 98 percent. There is a big difference. When you start trying to be 85 percent I think that's when you get in trouble but Jimmie is a really good driver and Chad is obviously a really good crew chief and it's probably more nerves for them than anything else. If they just go out and execute the way they've done most of the year they'll be fine."

IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR THE SPORT WHEN ONE ORGANIZATION DOMINATES? "I think it's good for the sport that the two best teams are racing for the championship. That's what we have right now - the No. 48 and the No. 24, I don't think anyone can argue that they have been the best teams this year. I think that's a good thing. I do believe the championship would be more exciting to watch if there were other car owners and teams involved. I do believe that. I don't know that it's bad for the sport because they've deserved it. When someone goes out and works hard and does a good job, I certainly don't want to downplay that and say that it's bad for the sport. I think that they're the two deserving teams. Our points system, in my opinion, is a points system that has let the best two teams go out and battle for the win. So I think there's a lot right about that."

HOW WOULD YOU GRADE YOUR TEAM OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON? "We've done a good job. We haven't done a great job. My grading scale is pretty tough. If you look at us in comparison to the entire field I think you could give us a' B+' but if you look at us and you grade us on our goals I'd have to give us a 'C.' Our goals were to win more races, lead more laps, win a championship and we've fallen short in several of those categories. So I'd have to give us a 'C' but that's because I have high expectations. A lot of people are going to look at that and say 'well, he's just being a brat, he had a good year and he's saying he had a 'C' but the reality of it is, we're not here to be here. We are here to make the Chase; that's a great thing to make the Chase, but we're here to contend for the championship and we didn't do that in a year where I thought we could. So we're disappointed."

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

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

Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed: goals for Homestead race; thoughts on 2007 season, relationship with crew chief Kevin "Bono: Manion, thoughts on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s last race with DEI, on becoming the lead DEI driver, on what makes Hendrick Motorsports so good, on championship battle and other topics

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON GOALS FOR THE HOMESTEAD RACE: "To win, that is what we are here for."

ON IF THERE IS ANYTHING HE AND THE TEAM CAN TAKE FROM THIS RACE TO NEXT YEAR: "It is going to be a longer winter. If you run well, if you win the race, they guys will stay excited throughout the off-season, getting ready for Daytona. We are never going to run these cars again, we don't think, so there isn't much we can take away other than just trying to go for the win."

ON HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP: "The championship is all but settled, I think. We are trying to get to 10th in points or better to get on the stage in New York. That is real important to me and my team. We are trying real hard to get there and I definitely think we have what it takes. This has been a great track for us, I really enjoy it. I feel like we have a great shot to win this weekend."

ON BEING JIMMIE'S CHAMPIONSHIP TO LOSE: "He is just being cautious, smart. I would say the same thing if I were him. As an outsider watching, there isn't anything going to go wrong for him, you know what I mean. If it was going to, it would have already. They have been awesome, they have been able to do some incredible things this month. I would be shocked if anything changed. Unless that horseshoe falls out of his butt somewhere this weekend, I think he will be ok."

ON RELATIONSHIP WITH CREW CHIEF KEVIN "BONO" MANION: "When I got home, my girlfriend ask me if me and Bono were fighting and I asked her what the hell she was talking about. She read here or there we were fighting. That is news to me. I read some stuff that I was extremely critical of his decision to stay when it was partly my decision. I don't quite get that one.

"It is all good. We made the decision that we thought was right at the time. I have no problems with it. Bono was upset with himself; he is hard on himself obviously. He wants to win just as bad as we all do. I was fine with it. I thought more people were going to stay out too. He can't get beat up too much over that. "I was never really upset about that to begin with. I was a little frustrated because I thought we had a shot to win. It seems like no matter what we do, whether it is four times, two tires, no tires, it seems like everybody does the opposite. So we don't seem to be able to make the proper decisions. One of these days, things are going to turn, some of the decisions we make are going to turn out to be the right ones."

ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR.'S LAST RACE WITH DEI: "I think he is excited about what he is going to do next year, he is going to miss these guys. He has been with most of these guys since he won he won his first Busch championship, a lot of those guys are still the same. I am sure it is going to be a lot different for him going over there next year, he is still going to be right here. It isn't that far away. If we wants to come say hit, he can come say hi. He is still going to be friends with all those guys and I don't think that is going to change that much. "

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Homestead Audio File

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Monte Carlo SS met with media to discuss the last race in the Monte Carlo SS, the 2007 season, his bad luck in the Chase, this year's Chase compared to last year's, on Hendrick's success, on Jimmie Johnson being conservative and not lose the championship but still try to win, preparing for the switch to Toyota, if he would buy back any of his old race cars and more.

Select quotes from driver interview:

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOU LAST RACE IN A CHEVY? "I'm excited. I'm really more happy that the season to be over than I am anything. But we've had a good relationship with Chevrolet over these last few years and it's got its ups and downs. I mean GM has really helped this race team get a lot of wins and championships. We're excited to have that partnership work as long as it did."

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK, WHAT STANDS OUT ABOUT YOUR SEASON? "We had an up and down season. It seemed like the first three-quarters was all good and then the last 10 was just a struggle. You try your best to peak at the right time, but really, our performance stayed pretty much level for the full season. The luck at the end changed."

THIS IS THE LAST RACE FOR THE OLD BODY STYLE. ARE YOU READY FOR A CHANGE OR ARE YOU GOING TO SHED A TEAR WHEN YOU GET RID OF THIS CAR ON SUNDAY? "Somewhat, because these cars are a little bit more maneuverable than what the car of tomorrow is. But hopefully we're going to make changes with that car in the future. Hopefully NASCAR is open to that. If we are, then it'll get to where this one is now, eventually."

IS THAT CAR AS BIG OF AN UNKNOWN GOING INTO NEXT YEAR AS IT WAS GOING INTO THIS YEAR? "Somewhat; especially on the bigger tracks. But to me, everyone is pretty much happier with it on the bigger tracks than they are on the short tracks. Aero is such a big deal with those things when you go to a flatter race track it's just tough to pass. When we went somewhere like Dover, it was definitely a lot better. So, really, I think everyone is probably more excited about it going to a bigger track because you can definitely move around there and not have to run right behind the other guy."

THIS YEAR, THE BREAKS JUST HAVEN'T GONE YOUR WAY. "You really can't predict this kind of stuff happening because we've had such a wide range of things happen to us through this whole Chase. Really last year, it seemed like we were kind of taking our lumps from what we didn't have last year. Through the season and through the whole Chase we never had a whole lot of back luck. It's all just compounding here in the last ten."

HOW DIFFERENT IS IT COMING TO HOMESTEAD THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR WHEN YOU MATHEMATICALLY HAD A SHOT AT THE TITLE? "It's a lot different for sure; not having to come for media day and all that stuff. It's a lot different, especially in the position we're in now when we know we can't go any further back in the points. It's kind of a carefree attitude I guess you could say."

DO YOU APPRECIATE LAST YEAR MORE NOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS YEAR? "Definitely. It definitely makes you appreciate it more. Last year, when it happened, I kind of thought this year would be just a breeze to do the same thing. On track performance, yeah, we could do the same thing. I never imagined having the trouble that we've had so many weeks in a row. I know every now and then you're going to have a stretch of two or three weeks, but eight or nine straight weeks of something bad happening is pretty amazing."

Mark Martin Driver Availability Chat at Homestead

Mark Martin Driver Availability Chat at Homestead Audio File

Mark Martin, No. 01 U.S. Army Monte Carlo SS met with media to discuss the 2007 season in review, racing in the final Busch Series event, coming up two feet shy of winning the Daytona 500, his part-time racing schedule, Robbie Reiser being promoted to GM of Roush-Fenway Racing, the success of Hendrick Motorsports, and on Jeff Gordon's position of running second at the finish, and on the challenges of the car of tomorrow in '08.

Select quotes from driver interview:

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST PART OF THIS SEASON FOR YOU? "The whole year. It's been the time of my life; the happiest I've ever been in my life. It came up 2.5-feet short of winning the Daytona 500, which is really what I wanted to do in 2007. The opportunity to work with the U.S. Army has been a real honor. And my time working with this team, Brian Pemberton and all these guys; it's been unbelievable driving these Chevrolets and making that change has just been awesome. And then winding up being a part of Dale Earnhardt Inc., I can't tell you what that means to me and what I'm willing to do to try to be a part of DEI and make this company proud.

"There are all kinds of things. And there's also the chance to drive for Rick Hendrick in the Busch Series. It's just been a dream year."

TOMORROW NIGHT IS THE LAST BUSCH SERIES RACE. HOW IMPORTANT HAS IT BEEN FOR YOU TO BE A PART OF THAT? "The Busch Series has been my career. I mean I would have struggled at times in Cup racing if it wasn't for the success I was having in the Busch Series. It's meant an awful lot to me. It's been really good to me. My challenge now is to win that for Ricky in Rick's number 5 car."

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT THIS YEAR? 'This has been the greatest year of my life. I'm going to remember this as being happier than I've ever been. We've had great racing, having a shot at the Daytona 500, having a great run at the Brickyard, driving for a wonderful team, and the whole thing."

ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU DIDN'T WIN THE DAYTONA 500? "Yes."

DO YOU MISS RACING FULL TIME? "No. Believe me, I've had opportunities to change that. I've stuck to my guns 100 percent. I can't think of any scenario that would bring me back full time. I love what I'm doing in working with the Army and Dale Earnhardt Inc. and with great young drivers, and teaching. I really feel like I've got the best gig in NASCAR."

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ROUSH-FENWAY RACING PROMOTING ROBBIE REISER TO GENERAL MANAGER? "Finally (smiles). That's what I think."

WHY WOULD HE BE GOOD AT THAT ROLE? "I've been trying to get Jack (Roush) to do that for the last three years; more probably. I'm not counting this year. I've tried to get Jack to do that for the past couple of years anyway. I think Robbie is the man 100 percent. That company will greatly benefit from the changes that are being made there. I never thought I would see the day that some of the changes that are taking place now, after being there 19 years, I thought some of those changes would never happen. But I think it's great."

WHY WOULD ROBBIE DO SUCH A GOOD JOB? "Because he's a racer. And I think a racer like Robbie will do well in a general manager role; especially when he has his fingers in the competition side of it. I think Robbie's role will be a lot more competition than your average general manager, where it's more of the business. That's the way it's structured at Roush Racing. I just see him being sort of, a little bit competition director as well as general manager. I see it more like that. In my eyes, that's what I vision there."

HE'S MORE SEAT OF THE PANTS GUY THAN HE IS ENGINEERING, RIGHT? "He's more get out of the way and do it like this. Stop holding us back. He's that kind of guy. There have been a lot of holdbacks there for years. I'm a racer. Don't get in my way. Get out of the way and let me race. That's how Robbie Reiser is. He don't even ask. He just does it. He was the only guy there; that's probably what took him so long to get that job. He was the guy who always did what he needed to do. And if he thought if he asked a question and the answer would be no, then he wouldn't ask the question. I like that. I'm a huge fan of Robbie Reiser's."