JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT IMPALA SS TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT BECOMING A FATHER, WHAT TO EXPECT OF THE NEW CAR AT INFINEON, JUAN PABLO MONTOYA AND OTHER SUBJECTS:

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A FATHER? "It's absolutely incredible. I expected it to change my life but I never had any clue how it was going to. But it has. It's just different. Things are different now, in a great way, though. It was just probably the best thing of my life."

DID EVERYTHING GO AS EXPECTED? "Well, the baby was in breech so we've known for the last couple weeks that there is a possibility that we might have to do a C-section and that's what ended up happening. Believe it or not, we were waiting all the way up until this week to see if she would turn. She didn't turn so the doctors said they wanted to do it early rather than later which worked out for my schedule. But the morning that she was going in her water broke. So she was going to have it that day whether it be emergency C-section or a C-section. It all worked out. She's doing great. Ella is beautiful and amazing. I look forward to bringing her to the track."

DESCRIBE THE FIRST TIME YOU GOT TO HOLD HER: "I think the thing I remember, even before that, is the first time she cried. You go through so many different emotions - you're excited, you're scared, nervous. Once she's there and you hear her cry and take that first breath then you're just overwhelmed with emotion and it was just an incredible feeling."

HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT? "Well, I was supportive as I can be. I tell you, I just have a whole new appreciation for parents in general, especially the mother. To go through those nine months, to go through what they go through, to the delivery process whether it's a C-section or natural, and then to have to be responsible for feeding that baby every couple of hours or however long it is, it's just incredible. So all the parents out there, God bless them and I'm proud to be one. It's a tough job but a fun one."

CAN YOU STILL WIN HERE STARTING FROM THE BACK? "I tell you, it's going to be tough. We're really put into a bind here and we're going to do our best, that's all I can say. You know we're going to do all we can to make the car as fast as it can be and to try to come up through that field the best way, smoothest way possible while trying to stay out of trouble and trying to play the right pit strategy. Try to do everything in our power to get the best finish out here we can. I'll be honest, right now, it's a little hard for us to be realistic about a win. It's more about being realistic about trying to get a top 10 and we'll just see how we get through tomorrow and how that race unfolds before we know if we can do anything else."

THOUGHTS ON FANS BEING DISSAPOINTED SEEING YOU AND JOHNSON PARKED FOR THE DAY? "It's disappointing to all those involved, especially from the race team to our sponsors and fans. To me, we're paying a big penalty by not being out there on the track today, not being able to qualify and I support my team. I support what they do week in and week out to give me the best cars and I'm going to continue to support them."

HOW TOUGH WAS IT FOR YOU TO LEAVE YOUR NEW BABY TO COME HERE? "It was tough. I was holding her and she was sleeping in my arms right before I left the hospital and I did not want to leave. I did not want to leave and that's why I'm excited about being here because I want to go out there and race and get this race over as fast as I can. I want it to be a win, get it done faster than anybody else and then go and get back to my little girl and Ingrid. It's been an amazing experience."

HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO CALL HOME OVER THE WEEKEND? "Several. Several a day. I already called her this morning when I woke up just to see how the evening went. Every time you just hear a little noise in the background - you hear her making noises - it's just a great feeling. You can't describe it."

ARE YOU PUTTING A PICTURE IN YOUR CAR? "All my pictures are in a camera that I've got to figure out how to get them on paper. Right now it's in my phone so every time I open my phone it puts a smile on my face. With everything that's happened here today, as devastating as it is, for me, nothing is going to bring me down today. It's just not possible. The important things in life are at the top of my mind right now."

HAVE YOU CHANGED ANY DIAPERS? "I changed like the first four or five diapers."

DID YOU GET TO CUT THE CORD? "Are you with the media? (laughs)."

HOW WAS CHANGING DIAPERS? "I just love being involved and being a part of it. I'm jealous when there's something Ingrid can do that I can't do. It's been a very cool experience and I want to be a part of everything I possibly can and I did not mind changing those diapers one bit. I took pleasure in it."

ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER BABY? "Let's do one day at a time. I slept about two hours the first night and from what Ingrid told me this morning there was less sleep last night. So that's going to be a huge adjustment and it's going to be a lot of work and if it wasn't the greatest experience on earth, then you wouldn't go through that."

WHO DOES SHE RESEMBLE MORE? "That's a good question because I think she looks like Ingrid but Ingrid says she looks like me. I don't know. It's too early to tell. She's got a lot of hair, though. A lot of dark hair."

WHAT DO YOU THINK JUAN PABLO MONTOYA'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH THE STOCK CARS WILL BE HERE? "I don't know if he's ever raced at this track before so if he has, then that's good, at least he has laps at this track. If not it's going to be getting used to a new track and a new car. I think the laps he's gotten in the car gives him a better idea of what this car is capable of doing, the testing that they've done. But his road-course skills are definitely going to be key and I think are going to pay off for him. I think we've already seen him run some good lap times. I think we'll continue to see that as the weekend goes on. I think even he'll admit, it comes down to the team and that as good as he is, he's got to have all the right parts and pieces to go along with it. It's going to be very fun and interesting to watch and I hope that sometime throughout the day on Sunday we get a change to race with him."

DO YOU THINK HE'LL HAVE A CHALLENGE WITH 42 OTHER CARS? THAT'S A LOT FOR A ROAD COURSE. "Not if he starts up front (laughs). Road racing in general is just different. It all depends on how you qualify. I think the biggest challenge and difference for him, if you come from Formula One, is there's not a lot of overtaking and passing in Formula One. Where here, there's a lot of it. If you've got those skills that he has and a car capable of moving to the front, that will be the biggest thing, is just maneuvering through traffic. A car that doesn't have the grip, doesn't brake as good and slips and slides around all day long, especially as hot as it's going to be on Sunday."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS SUNDAY? "I felt really good about it before this morning but where we're going to be starting it's going to be a real challenge. I love the road course. I love it here and we're going to get out there. the most disappointing thing for me today was that I didn't get a chance to get out there and shift gears and turn left and right and do all the fun things that come along with road-course races."

DOES THIS FEEL LIKE COMING BACK HOME FOR YOU? "This is probably more home in a way because I have a lot of family here and friends that I grew up with from elementary school. I didn't race here, most of my friends that I have around here - I had friends that I went to school with and I've had friends that I went to the race track with. So to me I think this is truly more my memories of growing up are here. My memories of racing and getting to that next level are in Indiana. So it's just different. It's hard to really describe how the differences are but I think because I get to see my cousins and my dad and a lot of different friends, I don't have family in Indiana."

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TIME IN A CAR? "I remember bits and pieces of it. I'll certainly never forget that day when Steve brought home the two quarter midgets - one for me, one for my sister - and said, 'we've got a surprise, look out the window'. And I looked out the window and saw this car. I didn't know what it was. And I was excited and I have memories of going out to the fairgrounds and spin around in circles. He tried to make a track but I don't think I ever went around a track until we went to the actual race track."

DID YOU KNOW IMMEDIATELY THAT THIS WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO? "It was fun and exciting but I didn't know that was what I wanted to do until I saw the checkered flag wave for the first time and I was crossing first. That's when I was hooked."

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR REGIMEN ON RACE DAY? "Yes. Certainly since Ingrid hasn't been traveling to the race track, (calling her) has become part of my regimen especially now that Ella is here. But I wake up, I usually do some type of fruit shake that has some different protein powders and things in it. I start hydrating myself and then have breakfast, lunch, I go to the drivers meeting, I do hospitality for the sponsors - DuPont and Pepsi or Georgia Pacific, something like that. Come and have lunch, then the team meeting. Go to the drivers meeting, then get out for driver introductions and then get in the car and start racing."

WHAT WILL YOU SAY TO YOUR WIFE IF SHE CALLS BEFORE THE RACE? "That would be awesome. It's going to be a tall pass this weekend but that's a whole new experience and it's going to be amazing and I look forward to that. Just when I call Ingrid and I can hear her in the background is already a cool experience so I really hope that there's a day that I can still be competitive and Ella can be old enough to be able to experience what it's like to be here at the race track and see me go to victory lane. To experience that as a family would be amazing."

ON HAVING DALE EARNHARDT, JR. AS A TEAMMATE NEXT YEAR: "It's a little early. We've still got to get through a long season here but I'm excited. I think it's going to be great for the teams, great for everybody. He's just a great asset. a great driver and I don't even know if we've seen his full potential yet. Hopefully we can give him the equipment that Jimmie and I and Casey have, to be able to go out there and showcase what he's capable of doing. The marketing speaks for himself. Dale and I have always gotten along real well, not to mention me and his dad. But we've always been rivals on the track and our fans have been for the most part. I don't think any of that is really going to change."

HOW WOULD YOU BASE MONTOYA'S CHANCES HERE BASED ON HIS TALENT? "If you base it on his talent then he's got it in the bag. That's the thing about NASCAR racing, that it goes so much further than that. You've got to have talent and you've got to have the right people in place around you. You've got to have the right equipment and you've got to do it all right throughout the weekend. He's got to qualify good and have good pit stops and he's got to run good in the race and stay out of trouble. He's an aggressive driver and I think that's going to help him in some ways and hurt him in others. I think that if he can hone that in and use that at the right time but not make mistakes, I think he'll definitely be one of the guys to beat on Sunday."

WILL THE FACT THAT THIS IS A ROAD COURSE HELP HIM HERE? "I think that this is a difficult car to drive and I think that some of it is going to depend on the development end that they've done with their team with this car. If they've got it figured out as good as some other teams. If I had to guess, I would think that the Gibbs cars are going to be the ones to beat. Their development with this car has shown already. I think Tony (Stewart) is a great road racer. So I think that they're going to be tough to beat. It's hard to say. I don't think it gives him an advantage or disadvantage in any way. He brings an advantage with his skills and then the teams have to do their part."

HOW WILL THE NEW CAR HANDLE DIFFERENTLY HERE? "You can't brake as deep in the corners so you can't be as aggressive. The car doesn't stick to the race track as good, especially when you are trying to turn it left and right. A lot of times at this track you throw the car around. This car has a higher center of gravity - it doesn't like that to happen so I think that's going to bring a lot of challenges for a lot of cars. And it might make for a better race. That's what I'm hoping. Hopefully we'll see a better race out of it because of that, where we see more passing. I hope that we don't see one team just dominating. Being a road course it's going to be very interesting to see. Every time we go to a different track like Darlington and Bristol you learn something new with this car."

HAS MONTOYA BEEN SLOWER THAN YOU'VE EXPECTED? "I'm a tough critic and I'm a big fan of Juan's. I've seen what he's been capable of doing and I knew that his talent was going to be really good for NASCAR and that he would be successful. But I know how difficult these cars are, especially if you haven't grown up racing oval tracks. I think that there have been times like Atlanta where he's impressed me a lot. There's other times when he's done what I've expected where it was very challenging. There's times when it could be very frustrating and I think it's only going to earn himself more respect as well as having respect for the other competitors and fans as well. You've got to go through those tough times and I've seen him go through some tough times. He's probably the fastest learner of anybody I've ever seen. He adapts so quick that there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to have a lot of success here."

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES HERE? "The cars are more equal so I think the speed differences might not be as extreme as in past years. This is a difficult track to come from behind because there's only two passing zones on the entire track. There's three ways to pass here. Coming into this last turn, 11, I think it is. The top of the hill which is I think seven, and when a guy goes off the track (laughs). Those are the ways you make passes. So it's going to be very difficult to come through the field that far. I think because of braking zones it's become longer now. I think it might make it easier in some ways to make some passes. It's really going to be more in the drivers hands of controlling the braking and I think in that sense, it might bring a little more passing into it. But it might not, too. I don't know."

WILL YOU HAVE TO RELEARN SOME PARTS OF THE TRACK TO GET ALL SET UP AGAIN? "It's going to be very difficult to use the curves the way we did in the past. The tolerances on the ride height of this car are just so much different. You've got that splitter in the front now. I think in order to keep this car flat, because it has such a high center of gravity, the roll centers and everything, you're got to drive it and set it up different mainly. I think it's going to be an evolution. As the weekend goes on we'll learn more and be able to push the limits a little bit more but I think for now, starting out, probably most guys are going to stay away from the curves as much as possible."

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME ELLA SOPHIA AND DO YOU THINK SHE WILL GROW UP TO BE A RACER? "I never say never but anything is possible. Ella Sophia, obviously you talk with your wife about names. Even before she got pregnant we were interested in starting a family and you hear a name, you see a name and you talk about it. We both liked the name Isabella but we didn't feel like Isabella went with Gordon. So Ella sort of came from that and I'm not sure where the Sophia came from other than Ingrid and me are big fans of Sophia Lauren and so it felt like Sophia went well with Ella. None of those names go great with Gordon but we were stuck with that one (laughs). I think it's a beautiful name. I'm very happy with that and as far as her being a race car driver, I'll be surprised if she is but who knows. She's going to be around race tracks and she might like it. I think she's going to be around a lot of other things as well and hopefully we can present as many opportunities fo r her to pick and choose to find something that she's passionate about, the way I found racing and the way Ingrid found modeling."

DOES THINKING ABOUT THIS ALLEVIATE YOUR STRESS REGARDING YOUR PENALTIES? "Yes, absolutely. I'm in a different boat than my teammates and our crew chiefs and the guys on this team and Rick Hendrick and all these guys that are racking their brains trying to get through this thing. I'm on cloud nine. I'm mad about it and especially when Sunday starts and we're at the back of the field. I'm going to look at what a tall task we have ahead of us, but nothing's going to bring me down from being on this high that I'm on just with life in general. It's amazing."

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Impala SS Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX GROUND IMPALA SS

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NASCAR'S CRACKDOWN ON RULES IN GENERAL? "Yeah, it's well-received from us and probably from everyone who has to race against the organization every weekend. We're unlucky that we're part of a team that would never have to worry about anything like that. We do things a little differently. It's unfortunate for them.

"It's just part of the rules set forth for this car of tomorrow that there would be no changes to it. And I think if there are changes, then they've got to crack down. In my opinion, they can't be heavy enough."

I GET THE SENSE THAT YOU'RE NOT SURPRISED AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "Anytime you win races that often, you're definitely pushing things. It doesn't mean that they are wrong every week, by any means. It's just that you always try to find an advantage and every now and then it comes back to bite you."

WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING OUT OF THE NEW CAR ON THE ROAD COURSES? "It's tough to know until we get in race conditions. But I think it's going to be very similar to the current car that we ran last year. At our test at VIR I didn't notice that big of a difference. The times were a little bit slower."

DO YOU THINK IT'S GOING TO BE HARDER TO PASS HERE? "No, I don't think it'll be much harder to pass. I think your good handling cars will definitely be pretty good and I think our team is going to be pretty good and a couple of other ones will be tough. But I don't think the aero is going to play that big of a role to where it will be that hard to pass."

ON GOING TO LOUDON "It's definitely a little bit different than any other track we go to because it almost seems like it's banked in the other direction on the bottom. But you can go way up high or run on the bottom. It's been a great race track for me. For the car of tomorrow, all these teams are really getting it figured out a little bit more so the racing is going to be definitely better."

HOW HAS THIS TRACK BEEN FOR YOU? "It's been very good to me. The one time I ran here I finished 12th. But we ran better than that. We had a flat tire a little bit past halfway and we had to play catch-up. For the most part, I like coming here. This is a very technical race track where you've got to be very smooth and very easy on the car or your can find yourself in trouble."

YOU RAN WELL IN MEXICO. HOW MUCH OF THAT CAN YOU TRANSFER TO THIS RACE TRACK? "I think quite a bit. I learned last year more at this race track than I had going to Mexico before here. A lot of it just comes from not overdriving the corners here. At Mexico, you can be a lot more aggressive so you've got to keep that in the back of your mind. If you haven't been here, like Juan Pablo Montoya, you've got to be careful. On top of that, it's a lot more technical track when it comes to road courses. The competition level is going to be a lot higher. He's been to a lot of road courses in his career so he'll definitely get it figured out and be a contender. I'm anxious to see how good he does."

HOW DIFFERENT IS THE NEW CAR GOING TO BE? "There is going to be a little bit of a learning curve you'll see on Friday and Saturday. But I think by race day we'll have it figured out."

ON THE NO. 24 AND 48 CARS NOT PASSING INSPECTION "I think those guys can figure it out. But it doesn't matter how much practice they have, the Hendrick cars can figure it out. But I'm really happy to see NASCAR cracking down when guys are trying to mess with the rules and the cars a little bit. That part of it is exciting from out part that they are sticking by their guns and cracking down and I think it will make the overall competition better."

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Impala SS Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 AT&T IMPALA SS TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT OF THE NEW CAR AT INFINEON AND HOW SHORT COURSE RACING IMPACTS NASCAR:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THE NEW CAR WILL PERFORM ON A ROAD COURSE? "I think it's going to be okay. It's going to be a challenge. The cars aren't the best driving cars in the world. The grip level isn't the best on them. But they're the same for everybody. But I honestly think it's going to be fine."

DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE HARDER TO PASS? "I don't know that it's going to be any harder to pass. It's always been really hard to pass. I don't know why this would be harder, nor will it make it easier. I don't think t its that big of a difference." DOES SHORT TRACK RACING EXPERIENCE HELP WITH ROAD COURSE RACING? "I think that short track racing forces you to be in racing action all the time. Not only do you have to focus on getting around the race track but you also have to focus on racing around other cars all the time and that influences how you drive and it has an impact on the way you think. Your experience level goes up on short tracks because you are put in more situations. I think that's the best place to learn. Whether it's dirt or asphalt or whatever doesn't matter. Somewhere where there is a lot of action and a lot of stuff going on forces you to learn quickly.

"It's kind of like when you talk about the good old days, you always forget about all the struggles. I wouldn't trade what I'm doing now to go back to run short track on Saturday nights. As much as I enjoy short tracks, to me, this is the pinnacle sport. I definitely had a lot of fun. When I get done doing this, I tell you I'm going to go run Late Models because it's fun. It me, I wouldn't trade that for this by any means."

WHAT DOES SHORT TRACK RACING DO FOR NASCAR? "It's the heart and soul of it. Short track racing is the little league baseball. A lot of people learn their skills on short tracks. In my opinion, it's the heartbeat of it."

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Impala SS Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL IMPALA SS

ON THE NO. 24 & No. 48 NOT PASSING NASCAR INSPECTION AND BEING PENALIZED "I don't know a lot about it. Obviously they did something that NASCAR thought was pretty intentional, but with the whole CoT thing, I think it's just a matter of NASCAR wanting to keep everybody in a box and there are just certain things you don't mess with. I don't know the whole ins and outs of the whole situation, but it sounds pretty severe. I think it's pretty clear. I don't think there is any in between or any give and take here or there. It's pretty cut and dried. Three or four of those messages and everybody will get the point."

CAN JEFF GORDON WIN FROM STARTING AT THE BACK OF THE FIELD? "I think Jeff Gordon can probably win from anywhere here. He's overcome a lot of things here. He's one of the best road racers in the series. He's still got a good chance."

DID THE NO. 24 AND NO. 48 TEAMS PUSH THE ENVELOPE TOO FAR? "Oh, you've got to push things and you have to try to gain advantages here and there if you can. So I think it's just one of those deals where everyone is pushing hard and sometimes you push it too far."

ON GOING TO LOUDON "We like going there. It's a lot of fun for me. I like the flat track stuff. Our stuff always seems to run very well there. So we're looking forward to going up there."

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OF THE NEW CAR ON THIS ROAD COURSE? "I think we're all a little bit anxious just to get out there and see where these set-ups and things are that we need to have going forward to get our cars handling like they need to and just knowing how hard you can drive these cars and things you can and can't do compared to what we had before. We all tested and have different theories on tires and we're all anxious to see where all those different manufacturers fall compared to what race with."

IT'S HARD TO PASS ON A ROAD COURSE, BUT DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE HARDER TO PASS AT INFINEON WITH THE NEW CARS? "I think the pace is going to be slower. They're going to lack forward bite. It's going to be interesting to see."

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Impala SS Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Impala SS spoke to the media at Infineon Raceway about his racing at Infineon, his move to Hendrick Motorsports and other subjects:

ON PRACTICE: "I am real loose turning to the right; we have got to figure out what is going on there. We think we might have some ideas. we still have got a little bit of practice tomorrow to figure it out. We had a really good test, at VIR I was real happy with the car but we were running the Hoosier tires there and they have got a lot more grip and they feel a whole lot better. So we got out here on our Goodyears and they are a harder tire and they are going to last longer for you. You have kind of got to give up some of that early comfort for the first part of the run. The car will relax; a lot of forward bite."

DOES THE CAR KIND OF LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD WITH SOME OF THESE ROAD-COURSE SPECIALISTS? "Absolutely not."

THEY STILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE? "Sure, because they have done it all of their lives (laughs)."

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO JEFF (GORDON'S) AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON'S) CARS FAILING THE INSPECTION THIS MORNING? "NASCAR is really, it seems to me that, last probably four or so months, NASCAR has decided that their policies on infractions has not been stern enough to get the results that they have been looking for so they are starting to put some heavy duty fines and suspensions and penalties on these guys. We have been through it here with our team. I don't really know what they did over there, something about the fenders being too wide or something. Obviously, NASCAR wasn't happy with it."

IS IT THE SAME PENALTY THAT YOU GUYS GOT? "They didn't do the same thing. I don't know, who is to say? I don't know, it don't really matter to me who gets penalized and who don't."

I KNOW IT HAS ONLY BEEN ABOUT A WEEK SINCE YOU MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT. WHAT HAS THE FAN REACTION BEEN TO YOU PERSONALLY ABOUT MAKING THE JUMP TO HENDRICK? "It has been good. I have been pretty surprised. My fans are real supportive, they always have been. They have been really supportive and making us feel good about our decision. Trying to lay the results down and make them happy so they can enjoy it."

YOU SEEMED PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT SONY ELECTRONICS WHEN YOU MADE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT YESTERDAY. "Yeah, I really like pairing with a company like Sony because I enjoy that kind of stuff and I get into those kind of things. You know, being able to check out some of the things that they have got. It will be a lot of fun for me. It is a company that, the more I work with, the more I will know about, the more I will be able to speak intelligently about and maybe I will be able to make some sense when it comes to trying to sell product, but it makes it easy when you get with somebody that you have an interest in. Makes it real easy."

DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE COMMENT ABOUT BUDWEISER TODAY? "Oh no, I have been working today. Been out here at the race track, so you know, what would I know about that right now? "

DO YOU THINK WITH THE COT CARS IT WILL BE HARDER TO PASS ON ROAD COURSES? "It is pretty hard. just wait for people to mess up and try not to do the same, you know. I haven't really had a whole lot of success trying to anticipate a pass. I normally end up making a mistake then. My daddy always told me, 'you just stay on the asphalt -try not to make a mistake and just stay on the asphalt. Everybody else is going to make mistakes and you will get into the top ten'."

YOU HAVE HAD SOME SUCCESS LIKE (MARK) MARTIN IS GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW WITH A HOT STREAK. HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN IT AFTER THREE OR FOUR WEEKS AND NOT LOOSE IT? WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO TO KIND OF MAINTAIN THAT STRENGTH INSTEAD OF FALLING BACK DOWN? "He might have, when you come to Sonoma or somewhere where you struggle, he might just have to write one off. I don't think that they are going to have to worry about loosing their momentum. Once you hit that corner or turn that corner, you normally stay there because you expect that much more out of yourself and you are able, for the most part, to deliver on that. I think that the team that you see them as today, is what you will see more often out of them."

WHAT DO YOU SEE DIFFERENT OUT OF THEM? "Hard to believe, but confidence probably."

CAN YOU TELL US HOW IT IS GOING TO FEEL LIKE TO TURN RIGHT? "It is fun if you try to enjoy it."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE BIG DAY? HOW YOU PREPARE MENTALLY, WHAT FANS DON'T SEE IN YOUR PREPARATION FOR THE BIG RACE? "There ain't much that they don't see. Here, I don't have a bus so we all hang in the trailer here and just kind of shoot the crap. (Mark) Martin is just a couple trailers down, so I go down there and shoot the crap with him for a little bit. If I get bored, I will try and find something to eat, maybe. When it is time, you just put you suit on and go, there really isn't much to it."

WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH THE CAR OF TOMORROW RACES THIS YEAR. I KNOW YOU HAVE SAID THAT IT HAS BEEN REALLY FRUSTRATING FOR YOU. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS, THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT IT, THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT, AND THINGS THAT NEED TO BE WORKED ON FOR NEXT YEAR? "Well, I don't really know what NASCAR might change to help the car. We struggle getting the car to turn in the middle at the ovals. That is just a matter of time before we figure out what we need to do there. But otherwise, it is not too bad. Some places, it has been even easier to drive. Here, it is a little more difficult to drive, but you have got to anticipate that it is a road course and when it comes to road courses, we only run two a year and we don't have that much data and knowledge, so you are going to struggle a little bit. It just depends, if you show up, sometimes you are good and sometimes you are not. The COT is becoming less of a factor. It is more just about what k ind of luck you have got."

YOUR PLANNED MOVE TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, IS THAT AND ALL THE MEDIA ATTENTION THAT YOU ARE GETTING WITH IT, IS THAT MORE OF A DISTRACTION TO YOU NOW? "Well, the plan to go is not really a distraction. The media attention is not really a distraction, not too bad. You just try to, you know, sometimes you have good days and sometimes you have bad days, just because and when you're at the race track and you have to talk to media and you are having a bad day, you just kind of gotta suck it up and try to act right and act like you have got some sense. This is hard and hot and frustrating today in trying to get what I want out of that car over there. I could just go over and beat it up with a sledge hammer. I get so frustrated with it. You kind of got to wipe that off and try to remember who you are and how you are supposed to conduct yourself. When I talk to you guys, I don't carry that frustration over here. That is the biggest mistake that I have made in the past and you will see guys make today. When we are having a good day, heck, I could talk to guys all day (laughs). You know what I mean?"

YOU TALKED EARLIER ABOUT THE WHOLE SITUATION YOU GUYS ARE IN WITH TONY (EURY, JR.) BEING GONE FOR TEN RACES AND WITH WHAT JEFF (GORDON) AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON) MIGHT BE FACING. IS NASCAR GETTING EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION NOW WITH THE PENALTIES? "Sure. They got mine. I will tell you that. No offense to Tony Gibson, he has done more than what was expected or asked of him, but I sure as hell miss Tony Jr. I was just used to working with him. I need him. They got my damn attention. When that happened in Darlington, I was like awe shucks, you know. Next time it happens, I might be a little harder on Tony Jr. (laughs)."

HAVE YOU MADE ANY PROGRESS ON GETTING IN OVER TO HENDRICK YET? "I think so, you know, that is between Kelley and DEI and Rick. To be honest with you guys, a lot of times, 99% of these questions that you ask me, I am not even in the discussions, with everything that I have got going on. I have got a lot of trust in my sister. I probably should be a little more involved, but I can't. I don't have the time. They tell me what the possibilities are and I get to pick between those. If there is one, there is one. As far as answering your question, I think that they are moving forward with that. I just, Rick has got a great group of guys over there. Whatever happens, happens. I will be happier and thrilled to death, no matter who I am working with. I enjoy working with my cousin. That is the way that I would love it to stay the rest of my life. If I could have it that way, it would be a perfect world."

HOW OFTEN DO YOUR FANS BRING UP YOUR DAD'S NAME? DO THEY BRING HIM UP A LOT? "Yeah, they do and it's fine. They are just dealing with maybe something that they have went through or that they have related to or they were just huge fans. It doesn't bother me the least bit. If anything it is a great feeling to hear his name out of somebody else's mouth. To hear people, after six and a half years, to still have that sort of feelings about him and have that sort of admiration for him, it is a good thing."

DO YOU STILL FEEL THAT HE IS HERE IN NASCAR? "Yeah, I feel it. I feel his presence every day. In this garage, you know, he is still around, or whatever, whatever he brought to the table, it is still around."

YOU MADE THE COMMENT YESTERDAY THAT HE WAS WRONG ABOUT THE INTERNET. HOW DID YOU END UP BEING MORE OF A COMPUTER GUY THAN HIM? WHAT DID HE NOT LIKE ABOUT COMPUTERS? "He didn't like anything about them. He thought it was evil. Hell, he's old, stuck in his ways. He just, you know, just like any other father, doesn't want his kids fooling around with the computer all night long. It has caused me to be late for work and he just looked at it as a toy. It was useless to him, it didn't accomplish anything. I knew that we needed to understand that because it is a huge part of what we are today. So, I am kind of glad, you know, because I am ahead of a lot of my friends. I am the guy that they come and ask for help. I have got guys that I know, that kick butt at doing computers and stuff, that I go to when I need help, but it is kind of cool when your friends call and ask you for help."

SINCE YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT WITH HENDRICK YOU HAVE LOOKED ESPECIALLY HAPPY. CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE WHAT YOUR EMOTIONS HAVE BEEN? "Well, we have got a lot of year left. We have got a lot of season left this year. As excited, I am really excited and anticipating what is going to happen to me in the next five years. I have got to kind of contain that because I got to concentrate on my red car. I want to run good in it. It means something personally to me to continue to run good the rest of this year and being able to lay down some good finishes that I could brag about. Those are the emotions that I deal with at the race track. You look around and you see the Hendrick bunch and your mind wonders what it is going to be like working with those guys, knowing those guys, getting to know those guys. You sort of got a job to do and one that I want to do really good, so I can't really think about that as much as I would probably like to, as far as what the future holds and what the fut ure is going to be like. But I am looking forward to it. When I go home and I am not at the race track, I am really, really in a good mood. It is just a good feeling knowing that there is a lot of great things around the corner, not only for me, but for my company as well, my employees. I want to do things to get his guys excited and happy that I am a partner and asset to their company."

WHAT KIND OF CHANCE DO YOU GIVE JEFF (GORDON) NOW THAT HE IS STARTING IN THE BACK? "If anybody can accomplish that, he can. Hopefully, he won't have the win. Hopefully I will get the win. I want the win. But he can get it done. He is amazing when it comes to the road courses, his track record here. The thing about this is, the new fuel cell.everybody says that it takes away the strategy that the old fuel cells provided, but it brings in a new strategy. Guys will figure out something that this fuel cell allows them to do when it comes to pit strategy. And you could be in the lead through pit strategy or in the top five and give him that shot at getting the win through pit strategy. I don't think that you are going to have to watch him pass every car, one at a time. I think Steve (Letarte) will definitely come up with something. He always does. But, hopefully I am the smartest and my team and I get it done."

ON SEASON EIGHT IS WRAPPING UP FOR DMP RIGHT NOW, DERRICK WOOD IN THE LEAD. SRN TV IS GOING OFF THE AIR. YOUR THOUGHTS FOR ALL THAT? "Well, things change. Things come and go. We have got a lot of new and exciting things for next season, with ownership and such. I am looking forward to that and bringing in a new element. You know, it's not really a new element, you have seen guys do it before, but I am looking forward to that element being a part of our league. You have seen it have success before and we owe credit to all of the leagues that have done it in the past. The broadcasts have been a huge part of promoting our league. We want to thank SRN for everything that they have done over the years."

MEDIA CHAT WITH RON FELLOWS, NO. 96 DLP HGTV IMPALA SS

RON FELLOWS, NO. 96 DLP HGTV IMPALA SS:

ON HIS FIRST LAPS IN AN IMPALA SS: "Well, they do roll around a little bit more. Essentially it does give you a feel that we have a heavier car than we had before. But it's not that bad. You get in and try to find out what it likes and doesn't like to get it to do the things you need it to do for you. That is what we are chasing right now, is trying to get it to get turn it a little bit better in the center and be able to put the power down coming off. But you chase that no matter what you are driving when you come to Infineon Raceway."

ON LIKING THE CAR: "I like it, I think it is fine, I don't have any problem with it at all. If I was in these things week in and week out, I would probably have a little bit more to compare to, but you know, I drove the C6R Corvette last weekend in Le Mans and that is way different. So what I have to do to drive the DLP Impala is slow things down for me and not be so aggressive, it just doesn't have the same kind of grip. Tremendous power. We are just kind of get together as a team, getting the communication thing down so we make decent progress in an hour and half session with all these cars so hopefully we can go get a solid lap for qualifying."

ON IF EVERYONE BEING IN THE IDENTICAL CAR SO TO SPEAK ELIMINATING ADVANTAGE AS A "ROAD RACE SPECIALIST": "Not to talk myself out of a job or anything but none of us has won. I mean, I won in Busch and Truck, but I have not won in Cup yet as a fly-in, fly-out guy. We have been close and had some solid opportunities and I consider this one to be one as well. I still think the advantage goes to the regulars. They have a better feel for these cars, they are in them week-in and week-out. The difference with me is I am a little more comfortable with turning left and right. "

ON ANY SUGGESTED CHANGES TO THE CAR HE MADE TO TEAM AFTER THE TEST: "We had a couple of different combinations to try in terms of the setup. The difficulty is when you go and test, you don't have the right tire. We quickly were struggling for grip and didn't necessarily have that same problem at the VIR (Virginia International Raceway) test. In a matter of two or three changes, we had a much better handling Impala. Their experience with the Goodyear, is solid for me. I can tell them what I need the car to do and they make the changes and we have made solid progress."

ON BEING HAPPY WITH LESS RACES ON SCHEDULE: "Well, I guess I would be a little more disappointed about not doing all the racing in the Corvette if we had some competition for those sprint races here in North America but we don't. The timing seemed right for me to step back a little bit. But I will tell you this, I had a great time at Le Mans, it was the biggest GT1 field they have ever had, we had 15 cars to race. We came up just a little short, but it is what it is. Hopefully between now and the middle of August, we will have a little more time to devote to the DLP Impala team."

ON WHICH TAKES MORE PATIENCE, INFINEON IN CUP OR LE MANS: "There is nothing patient about this deal. Between having to get out there and make quick decisions. Even in a 90-minute practice, you get what, maybe four opportunities to change the car. There is a lot of traffic, it certainly is high pressure."

ON HIS UNIQUE NICHE IN RACING: "I guess for me the opportunity to get to do some road races, is an opportunity that started 10 years ago when they started the Truck Series and we won a couple. Then a few Busch races and it kind of carried forward from there. My day job is racing the Corvette in long distance races, it is road racing. The road goes left; the road goes right. We race at a variety of different race tracks. I am pretty comfortable here at Infineon Raceway, we have raced here in the past with ALMS and Trans Am Series. That is essentially it. I do have experience, I am not a necessarily a rookie in NASCAR. I am pretty comfortable jumping in these cars and discerning quickly what I need the car to do for me with this style of racing. That comes with age."

ON CHANGING MINDSET TO RACE CUP CAR AT INFINEON: "Yes, it is different and the value is, I have done this before. Literally as soon as I got on the plane Monday morning coming home from France, I started laps in my head at Infineon in one of these cars. Try to slow down a little bit. With the Corvette, it is 1,000 lbs lighter, probably twice the downforce and has two or three inches more tire. So you can be way more aggressive stopping and cornering because they have carbon fiber brakes the use in Formula One. It is a real Thoroughbred race car and starts life as a sports car. What I have to do here is be smooth and remember things I have learned in the past that makes these things go quick.

"I just come in here comfortable and race my own race. I think we have been able to race our own race in the past. I think most of these guys know me well enough from the past that I am relatively predicable and not going to do anything silly. I don't think we have a target on our back. We are going to do the best job we can and get a solid finish on Sunday. That is why we are here. The draw for me is that Nextel Cup racing is super competitive. There are 10 or 15 guys I wouldn't hesitate to take these guys in my Corvette as teammates in long distance races. These guys are the best, pros, the thrill for me is trying to take them on."