KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

ON GOALS FOR SUNDAY’S RACE “It has been a great season for Penske and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge. It’s tough that I only get to see you guys this Friday Morning. If we were doing better we would of been down here earlier to talk to you. To have a good season, to lead laps and get bonus points, as many as Championship point leader Jimmie Johnson, and to have two wins we can consider this a successful season. But when you compare it to the likes of Jimmie and Jeff it actually is nothing to open your left eye for when the alarm clock goes off. It has been a really incredible season to watch the 48 and the 24.

“For us with the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge we felt like we had a great season [in] my second year with Penske Racing. We’re really looking for a lot more next year. You can really look at the bonus points as a good indication that the car is running strong; we’re leading laps at a lot of different race tracks. We led [the] most laps five different times. We got the same amount of bonus points as the guy that has 10 wins. What that means to me is that we have to step it up in the final 25 laps like the 48 car does and see if we can’t get into victory lane more often. I use to say Matt Kenseth was the “silver fox”, the David Pearson of the current but it looks like Jimmie Johnson has taken the role of showing up when it counts to take that checkered flag. All-in-all we’re impressed with his stats but we’re also happy with what we’ve accomplished this season. We’re only 47 points out of sixth place and I think it just turns into bragging rights once you get down to this point of the year. It will be nice to get into the top 10 for our sponsors.”

THOUGHTS ON THIS BEING THE FINAL RACE WITH THE CURRENT CAR “This race in my mind holds quite a bit of value just because it is the final race for this old style car. This is a car that has been used for many years it has been praised because of its comparison to this new car that we’re going to. Yet, the way that it drives, the way that it feels it will be missed. It is sad to see it go. It will be a farewell to a car that led us through many years of NASCAR racing. This is the same car that we used to win with at Michigan. We appropriately named it “Roger”. It we have a chance to go to victory lane on Sunday hopefully we will be able to retire this car with two race wins and the name “Roger” on it. “ ON THE CONSISTENCY OF CHEVY “I don’t think it has as much to do with the auto manufacture as you might think. It is a strong indication that Chevy is a competitive team and they have the most chances at winning each race weekend. They have the most cars out there. They have the most shot at winning each weekend. Hendrick Motorsports have been unstoppable this year. They hit on the key element of what it takes to make the COT go around the race track. I think it has a lot to do with the front end geometry of these cars. I said, ‘the team that figured it out, would be able to run away with it’. Sure enough that is what happened.”

WHAT IS YOUR FEELING ON THE CHASE IN ITS FOURTH YEAR, DO YOU THINK IT HAS LIVED UP TO EXPECATIONS? “Absolutely. I think it has exceeded expectations in many areas. This year has to be some what of an exemption just because a guy doesn’t usually win 10 races in a season. But you can’t fault the Chase for this format. No matter what program you would have dialed in for points, Jimmie Johnson would have been a runaway with it. To have it only 86 points I think that is a blessing. I’m just happy that the Chase has worked out to everybody’s expectations. The way you have to race competitive just to get in the Chase and then to perform during the 10 race stretch. It compares this sport to other sports that you have to be on your game during the playoffs if you want to win Championships.”

“If you are in contention and if you come down to the final race within 100 points your mindset seems to wander and it seems different. You’ve raced all season long and put yourself in position to win a Championship and there seems to be those nasty, little gremlins that pop up. Whether it’s sounds or smells or whether you’re just looking at something the wrong way. Things pop into your head and you have to be able to withstand those demons and put your best foot forward and to think positive things and to have a positive day at the end. In retrospect, 2004 was the year I was prepared to win and I was prepared to lose at the same time. You just hope that you come out on the positive end of things when they do go wrong.”

WHAT IS YOUR ENDURING MEMORY FROM 2007? “I was asked that last week. This season has been a great season for me with Penske Racing. Fitting in with this group and bringing them to victory lane. Racing into the Chase. We had a successful summer run to get us into the race for the Chase. That is what this season will mean. It is a cornerstone to where we made a good turn, everything is positive about my decision to go to this race team and their decision to pick me up as the driver. It is almost like, it’s OK for Kurt to drive the Miller Lite Dodge and everybody’s feeling that. Whether it’s internally or my race fans, we’re very happy about what 2008 is going to bring.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WIN THE RACE HERE AND HAVE TO SHARE THE SPOTLIGHT WITH THE CHAMPION? “I told Jimmie Johnson, make it simple. Please, don’t allow anyone else to win, just win the race and that way you get both stages because they can’t build a big enough stage for [him] in New York for what you’ve done this year. We’ll see what happens with Jimmie this weekend. I’ve see Greg Biffle do it three years now. The way it worked out for us in 2002, you’re just on a high all off season. You won the last race. Most of the time when you win a race there is going to be someone that bumps you off the next week. When you win the last race of the season you carry that for a few extra weeks and you get to brag that you were the last winner in the Nextel Cup Series. When you win the last race of the season at Homestead you get a couple months.”

HOW DO YOU LOOK AT CHASE CHAMPIONS COMPARED TO PAST CHAMPIONS? “It is an interesting topic. I think this competition level that we have currently is the fiercest amongst all eras. This generation of Champions and drivers has raised the bar. It has turned it into a young man’s game. This one can be looked at as one of the toughest groups and one of the toughest eras to win a Championship but yet it was no easy picnic a few decades ago. Each generation has its own champions, its own cars and its own place in history.”

ON TRENDS IN THE SPORT “I’ve seen trends in the sport. The years that I’ve been here there has been soft tires, then hard tires. A new change in the car and how people and teams have to drive and build these cars. Sometimes those big changes help other teams then they hurt other teams. NASCAR always keeps it interesting. You never know what rule changes they are going to come up with. There have been all types of complaints about the COT and they have been reluctant to change anything. I think they know they want to change some things but they space it out at appropriate times just to keep the crew chiefs and the teams guessing and maybe change the goats at the top of the hill. It’s a king of the hill deal where right now Hendrick has been on top and maybe the next change NASCAR throws our way will take away some of their advantage and allow some of the other teams to keep up.”

PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 10 Valvoline/Standley Tools Dodge Charger)

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AFTER YOUR RACE AT PHOENIX LAST WEEKEND? “I’m pretty happy. For me what I want is to run with the guys a little bit more, but I just wanted to finish that race. We took the last pit stall and we kept going back to the back of the field, and had a hard time passing the rest of the field. I’m pretty happy. I didn’t think that I was going to finish the race, so for me it was a good weekend all in all. Qualifying the car was really good and everything was good. I was really happy just to do that race is so much experience. It was pretty good. It’s going to take some time to where we can win races. Overall I’m really happy.”

WHAT ABOUT THE 1.5 MILE OVALS. YOU HAVE A LOT OF THOSE COMING UP NEXT YEAR? “I like those. I like those tracks. We’ve tested on a few of those and it has gone pretty well. Hopefully we can bring it over here. On the long runs, one was 25 laps, and we only lost like a tenth and a half from the first to the 25th lap, which is important. That is where I was losing a lot of time before, so it seemed like it was working out. Hopefully we qualify today. We want to race.”

YOU HAVE TO QUALIFY ON SPEED. “Yeah, exactly, and if we do this time we are not going back every time the yellow comes out. So we can race and see what happens.”

THIS IS THE LAST RACE IN A NON-CAR OF TOMORROW RACE. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TAKE FROM THIS RACE THAT WILL HELP YOU FOR NEXT SEASON? “I think the most important thing was to qualify the car last week at Phoenix. The Car of Tomorrow is the car that we will get next year, and we kind of proved that I can do it, so I was really happy with that. This week I went testing in this car and kind of pushed it as hard as I could, because if I crashed it the car is never going to be used again anyway. This weekend I want to race some more and for sure I want to qualify for the race. The racing experience is so important. If we qualify both cars that will be good. It is more the laps that I need over the kind of car that I’m driving.“

WHAT DO YOU DO TO PREPARE FOR DAYTONA? YOU’VE TESTED ON A 1.5 MILE, BUT DAYTONA IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. “We are going to test Daytona 14 or 15 or something general like that. We have a lot of testing in Vegas and California and places like that. We are going to be testing a lot. We’re going to be testing almost every week so it’s going to be a busy winter for us.”

DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PLANE OR DO THEY FLY YOU. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE LOGISTICS? “I’m going to go on vacation for a week after leaving here. Then I am going to stick with the week for the month of December and then I am going to go on vacation with my family for 10 days at the end of the month. Then I am going to come back and stick with these guys pretty much all the time.”

WHAT IS YOU IMPRESSION OF GEORGE GILLETT? “I like him. He is a great guy. He is very emotional and he likes to win and when he loses he gets mad for a minute and then he is okay after that. You can really see through him. What it is is exactly what it is. He is an honest guy and he is a great guy - same with Ray Evernham. He has been great to work for. Everything that he said was going to happen happened and everything he said would happen not did not happen. So far I am really happy.”

SOME PEOPLE COME IN WITH A LOT OF ENTHUSIAM UNTIL THINGS DON’T GO THEIR WAY. WHAT COMMITMENT DO YOU HAVE? ARE YOU GOING TO RUN THE WHOLE YEAR OR TWO YEARS OR WHATEVER? “I cannot say what agreements we have, but it comes down to sponsorship and everything that happens and stuff like that. For me it’s very straight forward and they want me to do the full season next year. That is what the plan is, but we’ll see what happens.”

FOR EVERYONE ELSE THE SEASON IS ENDING. IN A LOT OF WAYS YOUR SEASON IS JUST BEGINNING. WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE LIKE TO HAVE AN INTENSE TESTING SCHEDULE BEFORE RUNNING A FULL SCHEDULE NEXT YEAR? “I like it. That’s what I wanted. I’m really fortunate to come to a team that is just going to put me in a car. That’s what I wanted and that’s what they’re going to do. It’s what I need there is no other way about it. Otherwise I won’t be able to race with these guys next year. That’s what we are prepared for and I think that’s what we’ll do.”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/Lifetime Powertrain Warranty Dodge Charger)

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO THE FINAL RACE? “I think for this weekend we’ll be fine. Everybody is happy to get the year done with and finish on a strong note. It’d be a good way to kind of go into the winter with a real strong run, so I think it’ll be just fine to have a good weekend and really do our best and then take some time off. As far as next year goes, that’s up the guys. It’s up to the guys building the cars, engineers and the people at Gillett Evernham. If they want to get things turned around and figure it out it’s up to them.”

RAY EVERNHAM SAID THAT HE WAS TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH. ARE YOU GOING TO LEAVE IT TO HIM TO HANDLE OR DO YOU WANT TO HAVE INPUT AS WELL? “They have their ideas, and there are lots of ways that you can look at it. You can come up with your own ideas. You can look at what Hendrick Motorsports does. Things that you’ve done in the past that worked. There’s a lot of ways to do it. If it was up to me I think I’d look a little bit at Hendrick.”

WHAT IS HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DOING THAT NO ONE ELSE IS? “They have good teams, good drivers, good crews, engineers, people, lots of people, lots of sponsors. They’ve been around a long time and they run their teams really well. They run the whole company really well. It all starts at Rick Hendrick. They are a first-class operation. There is no one better in this sport.”

WHO DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGER TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS FOR NEXT YEAR? “Hopefully the No. 9. That’s all that I could hope for. The No. 9 and No. 19, but you know we really have to step it up if we want to be that team.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO YOUR FINAL RACE WITH DODGE AS YOUR PRIMARY SPONSOR BEFORE MOVING TO BUDWEISER FULL TIME NEXT SEASON? “My biggest thing is to just finish strong. Finish good with Dodge and all of the sponsors on the car right now. We are keeping some of them for next year. Dodge and the Dodge Dealers will still be on it, but Bud is going to be the main sponsor so it’s going to be a little bit different. I just want to finish strong for Gillett Evernham and for this team, have a good off-season and then also for Dodge and the sponsors. They put a lot into it for us to perform for them and hopefully we can do that this weekend.”

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON THE 2007 SEASON FIVE YEARS FROM NOW HOW WILL IT BE REMEMBERED? “Just that we were slow. I mean nothing else. We didn’t really crash too much or do too many things that weren’t smart. At the end of the day we were just slow.”

WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK HEADING TOWARDS THE FIRST FULL SEASON WITH THE COT? “Over the last couple months we’ve definitely gotten a lot better from where we were. We got a lot better there. It took us a while this year to figure it out and now going to year two I think we’ll be a lot better. Hopefully we’ll just keep figuring it out. We’re a long way from being where we need to be.”

IS THE BEST PART ABOUT THE SEASON IS THAT IT IS FINISHING RIGHT NOW FOR YOU? “It is for me. I think it is for everybody. As of right now if we keep going this way we won’t get a whole lot better. We need to re-focus and change some things around. Change personnel, teams, people, come up with new ideas on how to make the cars right and kind of start over for next year. That’s a good thing. We need to do that.”

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN DO TO SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS EACH WEEK? “I like racing. I like driving other cars, whether its Cup cars or Busch cars or sprint cars and all that, and then staying in good shape. Just thinking about it and being really focused. It’s doing the same thing that I’ve always done. I’m a better driver this year than I was last year and we performed much worse. I’m just going to keep doing the same things that I’ve been doing and try to give the best input I can give and hopefully the guys can come up with a way to make our cars go faster.”

DO YOU GUYS HAVE AN OFF-SEASON? “Yeah we do. Not a lot of one, but we get some time off. We get enough time to enjoy ourselves and be prepared before we get started again next year.”

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)

On the importance of a strong run "Your team can leave on a high note for the whole winter before you get back to Daytona if you just have a good strong run. We need that. We’ve struggled this season. We haven’t run like we wanted to. We built a brand new car and a new style engine just for this one race. My guys have put a ton of effort into this racetrack and this race for us. It’s not like we just took whatever car we had left for the last race. My guys put a lot of time and effort into it and we’re going to make the best of it.”

ARE YOU GOING TO BUY ANY OF THE LEFT OVER CHARGERS? “That’s a good idea! I know Ray will have few laying around now. I wouldn’t mind trying to get one from him, just to have. 10 years from now a lot of kids and young fans will probably not remember what these things look like. They’ll probably look ancient to them. It would be cool to have one. I want to work with him on that.”

WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR 2008? “The same outlook we had for this year; try to do the best we can, try and make the Chase and go from there. We are going to work hard this winter. We have a lot of work to do. My team and Kasey’s team both. Patrick and his team have a real steep hill to climb, trying to make races. We have a lot of work to do at Gillett Evernham Motorsports. We have a new owner that has come in and we’re changing the way we do things here and there. We are probably going to be one of the busiest teams in the off season as far as restructuring, redoing. We have a new team director [Rodney Childers]. We have learned a little bit about each other the past three races. It’s very important to line up for all of them because you can’t afford to give away the first four or five races of next season learning how things are going to work. We have to play some catch-up on the COT car so it is busy off season.

“We have to figure out these COT cars. We have just fallen behind on that a little bit. With the COT car the driver is really taken out of the equation. You can’t manhandle the thing. What you go is what you got. That’s why the drivers don’t like them very much. They drive you instead of you driving them. So we just have to get our stuff a little better and that is going to take a lot of testing, a lot of time on the track this winter. Once we get that figured out I think we’ll have a better idea. I can talk to you more after California and Vegas after the test we are going to have, if we’re close and one top of it or if we still have ground to make up.”