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Jeff Gordon Leader Chat at Kansas

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed if non-Chase drivers should race Chase competitors differently, the top 35 rule, racing at Talladega with NASCAR's new generation race car, penalties assessed during the Chase, safety with the new generation race car, what it will take to win at Kansas Speedway and what a victory would do with other 1.5-mile tracks coming up in the Chase.

ON BEING POINT LEADER HEADING IN TO KANSAS WITH PREVIOUS SUCCESS HE HAS EXPERIENCED HERE: "It is hard to consider yourself the point's leader when there are so few points that separate you and fourth, fifth or sixth. It is so tight right now, other than maybe the two or three guys have had trouble, it is like we started at New Hampshire, it is pretty much even. We had a great run at New Hampshire, very excited about that, we had a great fight last week at Dover. It wasn't a great performance, but we survived, so that was important. Dover was one of those tracks that we were concerned about to begin with, performance wise and survival. I thought that getting through that race was really big for us. I like at the tracks on the schedule and this is certainly one that I really like and we run well at. I am excited about being here."

ON JACQUES VILLENEUVE MAKING HIS CUP DEBUT AT TALLADEGA NEXT WEEKEND: "I am a big fan of Jacques, but I think this is not the right decision. I didn't think it was the right decision with David Gilliland. Nothing against their talent, or anything else, I just look at that race in the Chase - Why? You want to run a race, go to Atlanta, go to one of the mile and a half tracks. I am very very surprised that was approved as his first Cup race. I don't agree with it, but I am not going to lose sleep over it either. Jacques did a nice job at the test, but you can't base anything on a test. I mean, that is just crazy. You have to have a race. I watched him in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from Las Vegas last week. Yes, he did a nice job, but he wasn't really in contention so wasn't really in the thick of things; he just didn't bounce off of anything which was very good. I think that you need to get some experience in something else before you go stick them in the Cup race at Talladega, especially when it is so crucial for the championship."

ON CHALLENGES OF GOING BETWEEN MONTE CARLO SS AND IMPALA SS IN THE CHASE: "The Impala SS is challenging enough in itself. We showed that the last couple of weeks. We had it working well in New Hampshire and not very well at Dover. To me there is just a big difference. If you look at the Roush cars performance from New Hampshire to Dover, they have really got their high bank program figured out for the new generation car. The Childress car, especially the NO. 07 and us, seem to have the flatter tracks figured out. That in its self is a challenge. You add on top of that going from the old car to the new car, it has been a challenge all year. It is going to be a huge challenge in the Chase for whoever is going to figure it out the best. That is why Dover was a track that we wanted to really get through because we knew that our banked track new car setup just isn't as good as say our Phoenix or Martinsville, those types of tracks.

ON CARL EDWARDS PENATLY FOLLOWING DOVER: "It is hard for me to say what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. All I know is that they have been harsh on things with the new car. It didn't surprise me and while, you can determine at what track being high is going to help and being low at another track is going to hurt you. There is a reason NASCAR has the height stick and why there is a green area. If you aren't in the green area, then, expect penalties to come. It doesn't matter if it happens to us or happens to anybody else. They have been pretty strong in that case. To me, while it may or may not have altered his performance or hurting or helping him on the track, it didn't meet their rules and that is why they are going to be harsh about it. $100,000 has been the standard and 100 points, their 25 points and $25,000 was sort of indicative of the fact that we are in the Chase. I kind of snicker a little bit when I hear how well positioned he is now because leading in to New Hampshire, it was Clint Bowyer WHO? Then after New Hampshire, it was WOW look at this guy, new superstar and he is the guy to beat for the championship. Then we go to Dover and the Roush cars run good and all of a sudden they are in position to be the teams to beat for the championship. It changes every week. Whoever comes out of the weekend with a strong run, that is up in the points, then that is going to be the story of the week. To me nobody is positioned above anybody else at this point, I think we have to run another three, four, five races before you are really going to find out who the team to beat is.

ON IF HE THOUGHT 25 POINTS WAS A CONSIDERATION GIVEN: "Yes, that is what I think. I don't anything from what NASCAR's decisions were. But, every other penalty with the new race car--now there were similar penalties to this with the old car that were 25 points, $25,000 or whatever it was--but there has not been one penalty that I have seen with the new car that is under 100 points and $100,000. To me, it doesn't matter what it is, it is $100,000 and 100 points. But, I think they took in to consideration the fact that they are in the Chase and that is why it is less."

ON IF TOP DRIVERS IN THE SPORT SHOULD BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD: "That should be your focal point as a team. I will be honest with you, right now, if we don't run as good as some other guys; it is because we are being conservative. We aren't pushing the limits because we know what the outcome can be. We are making sure we go through inspection, we meet all the cold templates and every other thing that they have on the new car. We are doing everything we can to make sure that is the case going in to the race and that is the case coming out of the race. We might falter too, but we are playing more on the conservative side, we might give up a few positions on the race track because of that, but we have been hit with it and we learned our lesson. So, we are playing it conservative, I would think that is going to be case with the No. 99 now."

FIRST-FYI BOTH THE NO. 5 AND NO 70 WERE FINED 25 POINTS AND $25,000 AFTER THE FIRST NEW HAMPSHIRE: "Oh, you are right. That was with the new generation car. You are right and thank you for pointing that out. So, I guess I am wrong, they are not all 100 points and $100,000, that is just me. (LAUGHS).

ON INCIDENT AT DOVER BETWEEN DENNY HAMLIN AND KYLE PETTY: "When you are mad, you are mad. You can throw all reason out the window. I think that Kyle probably felt like he was in a position to where that he was not as fast as some other guys out there. He was running his line. He wasn't necessarily in the guy's way. Maybe he just didn't move out of the way. But he was running his line and you just had to move around him. It seemed like he was being consistent with that with everybody all day long. For whatever reason, Denny got a little impatient there and it really cost him. Obviously Kyle didn't appreciate it. I didn't see anything wrong with it. The guy was upset and I am sure Denny was upset too. I think it is ok to show your emotions, you just have to know where the limit is. Obviously for Denny, that limit was the flipping of the shield. When he (Kyle) touched his shield, that kind of flipped the switch a little bit."

IS THERE A CAR THAT IS OUT OF CHASE YET? "You are never out of it until you start winding down the number of races you have left to make up those points. What Jimmie (Johnson) did last year was pretty extraordinary, but you have to take in to account what the other guys contributed to it. Not only did he come back and perform, but also those other guys had problems. More problems than they should have, including myself, we had three straight bad races as far as failures and crashes and blown engines and stuff like that. To me, we lost the championship as much as Jimmie went out there and won it. When that is the case when you are behind that much, you can't just do it based on just our performing them, they are going to have to run in to some situations like you did. I think everybody is probably going to have at least one bad race. I don't know if the winner very often is going to have more than one. Hey, every guy has to fight. They have to believe they are stil l in it. And they really are, until mathematically you are out. That is the only point that determines when you are no longer in it."

ON TALLADEGA TEST: "The Impala SS is going to change everything there. It is going to be spectacular, it really it. As a driver, even the old car with the old rules, were a little more spectacular than as a driver you want. But it puts on a heck of a show and I think you are going to see the same thing, but even more so. We had 20-car packs; it got pretty dicey at times. When you put 43 cars out there, it is really going to be something else. I think that this car, I don't think their intention was to design it for Talladega, it is just the way the body style is, the way you can run a bigger restrictor plate, the wing with the wicker - all of that is only going to enhance the entertainment at Talladega. I expect for it to be pretty wild, be pretty crazy and be a heck of a show for the fans. "

ON NUMBER OF CAUTIONS INCREASING AT TALLADEGA: "I am not sure, I haven't really thought about it. Competition has a lot to do with it. The competition is great, much tighter, so everybody is running in tighter packs because there is a much smaller difference in the speed of the cars. I think everybody is competitive. That is the thing that this new car brings to the table, it is going to tighten the cars up that much more. It is going to be pretty difficult to lose the draft. You might get shot back, but I don't know if you are ever going to truly ever lose the entire draft. It is hard to say. The tighter the packs, the easier it is to make mistakes. We all make mistakes. At Talladega you make a mistake, there is a 20-car pile up.

"I think that bump drafting has contributed to it a little bit more. When I first started in the Cup Series, you almost couldn't bump draft. The way the air worked on the cars, when you closed in on a car, it was almost like a bubble that formed in between the bumpers. You would have a lot of momentum coming on the guy in front of you and it seemed like you never really got through that. Course maybe it was because we used to lift at that point to and now we don't. Along the way you start to figure out how to break those bubbles and then we started figuring out how to make our bumpers stronger and more solid to be able to take those bumps. That is the one concern I have right now with this car, while the bumpers are big and they line up, they are soft. So, we were asking NASCAR to allow us to put in some extra bars there, because we were getting to the point where we were pushing in the bumpers creating a gap as you go in and pushed it and it got soft, you t urn the car really easy in front of you and get them squirrelly. So I am hoping that we can work around the front/rear bumpers a little bit before we go back there."

ON JEFF BURTON: "Jeff is respected in the garage area. I think he is a guy that is not afraid to share is opinion and he seems to be very level headed on his opinions. Most of the things that he brings up are legitimate, have some rationality behind it and I think that is good. It is good to have a guy like that speaking his mind and people want to listen. I feel like he has been in the garage area long enough to not be afraid to step up and say things. You need people like that, but they also have to be respected and have to have been around long enough to be able to step up and say that."

CONCERNING PENALTIES, SHOULD EVERY VIOLATION HAVE THE SAME PUNISHMENT? ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEATING AND UNINTENTIONAL VIOLATIONS: "Well, we could be here for hours in this discussion. My opinion is that in some ways by creating these templates that go over this car and all these different heights. Too high and too low. Every thing that NASCAR does to make the cars more equal and make the competition tighter, it also puts NASCAR into a tighter box to have cars not meeting those requirements when the race is over because you're in a much narrower window for everything to be right. If you talk to these crew chiefs, they'll tell you. It's almost nearly impossible to know exactly what a spring is going to do and be exact every single time and the shock, there are variances in there that we can't live up to. We're actually having to redo every side of the Car of Tomorrow every single race because just the flex of going through the race makes the sides buckle just enough where it won't meet their templates. And so while we're trying to save money and not have all these magician body men, we're having to redo t he sides every single race because their tolerances are so tight. To me, what's happening is the tighter the tolerances, the more the chances are of us not meeting those tolerances, especially after a race. But even before the race, going though inspection is going to be tougher. So yes, there has to be judgments on what's plainly deliberate and trying to figure that out, but at the same time, if you don't meet the inspection, there's got to be some kind of penalty. I have issues not making the five-minute clock for qualifying. To me, we've been seeing guys be 10 to 15-minutes, I think Kenseth changed gears somewhere, went into the garage area and changed rear-end gears, came back out and qualified at like Michigan. There was no penalty at all. He came out, made his two laps, and qualified. So to me, everybody needs to be held accountable. If they're going to make those rules, you have to be within them. If you don't meet them, then there's got to be a judgment as to why you didn't meet it. If they can determine that it's deliberate that you didn't meet it, and they've got to go through a lot of different things. There are all kinds of rumors going through the garage area right now that No. 99 (Edwards) lowered their car throughout the race and expected the shocks to hold them up. I don't believe all that stuff because it's just that these things happen all the time. I think NASCAR has to try to determine what those penalties should be. I don't think they should be the same all the time. But I think the reason they were so harsh on us was not that what we did was so severe in enhancing the performance of the car, it's that they said don't do this and we did it and they wanted to set a precedent for this car; send a message not only to us, but to everyone out there, as to what they mean on these tolerances. To me, it doesn't matter if you're high or low or what it is, I think there is going to be a penalty coming. I just wonder if NASCAR really wants that to happen. Do we want to get to Miami-Homestead and the winner of the championship comes through inspection and he's an eighth of an inch low and is that 25 points? What is that? Does that win the championship or not? It's great what they're trying to do with this car. It's safer. It's definitely more competitive than I've ever seen it among cars in the difference in the speeds. But that's also putting us all into a box that's going to make things very challenging and difficult for them to make those judgment calls."

THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR SINCE '83 THERE HAS NOT BEEN IROC. AS A RACER, FOR WHAT IT WAS INTENDED TO BE, HOW MUCH OF IROC DO YOU MISS? "After experiencing IROC, I wish more than anything I wish there was an IROC-type series but it needs to be recreated and rethought to be a little bit different. Really, in all honesty, it was a NASCAR IROC series. Yes, it was nice to have guys from other series' come in, but they were at our tracks in our types of cars and that's what I think made it so special when a guy like Al Unser Jr. won races. It meant that much more to them because they were out of their element. To me, to make a true IROC series, you've got to have an experience kind of like the Race of Championship they do overseas where you're in identical cars on dirt, on pavement, and you switch different cars. My vision version of it is a very expensive series and that's the problem. It got too expensive as it was. Jay Signore did a great job with it, but just couldn't get the support from the sponsors and manufacturers to really create what the IROC Series should truly be, which is to test drivers' skills in a ll different types of tracks and cars and really determine a real champion driver who is versatile."

NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST RACE WHERE WE SEE TALLADEGA SPEEDWAY (DALE EARNHARDT JR) FANS IN RED. HOW UNUSUALY IS THAT GOING TO BE TO GO TO TALLADEGA NEXT YEAR AND NOT SEE IT BE AWASH OF RED? "Well, Kasey Kahne has been battling that red thing with him for years. Everybody has been trying to figure out how many of them are Kasey Kahne fans. Now we don't have to figure that one out. Trust me, you're always going to know who are Earnhardt fans out there and who's not. It doesn't matter whether they are wearing red or not. They're vocal and they make their presence known and their avid. And you've got to love that. I think that will certainly be the same. For me, I still hope they're throwing things at me if we win races there. I'm not encouraging anything under green flag conditions (laughs)."

THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT ADDING A MASSIVE HOTEL & CASINO COMPLEX AT THIS TRACK. CAN YOU COMPARE THAT WITH THE WAY IT WAS WHEN THE TRACK FIRST OPENED? "I as saying that just on the way in last night. None of this was around here. To see it grow the way it has with all these businesses and restaurants and hotels, it's fantastic. I hope that you can use this as a model of what you can do with a NASCAR race track in your area and that it shows you can take a community and build around the excitement of this race track and create jobs and businesses. You look at the Seattle track and the reception they got there and how they were saying they didn't want it. If they came here and saw what has happened in this community and this area, I think they'd re-think that. It's pretty extraordinary what they've been able to pull off here. I think it would be a no-brainer to add something like a hotel & casino right here at this race track would be pretty awesome."

REGARDING JACQUES VILLENEUVE ENTERING THE TALLADEGA RACE, HAVE YOU TALKED TO ANY OTHER DRIVERS ABOUT THAT? "You know what? This one just got thrown to me 30 or 40 minutes before I came over here. I didn't even know anything about it until then. I'm fired up about it. I'm focused on a championship and the Chase here and I'm trying not to get too caught up in it. There's a lot I'd like to say about it and it has nothing to do with Jacques Villeneuve or Bill Davis. I think it's great what they're doing and I want to see him in the Cup Series. But not at Talladega. There is too much on the line. It's a track that is not for rookies. And I think no matter whether he's one of the most experienced race car drivers in the world, it's just not the place to start. There are so many other tracks to start at, why start there? It makes no sense to me other than the fact that NASCAR approved Gilliland last year under a similar situation and they kind of got themselves into a box with that one."

Tony Stewart Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Kansas

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Monte Carlo SS met with media to discuss practice, last year's Kansas race, and how drivers race the Chase contenders.

HOW WAS PRACTICE: "I'll take that. It was better than we were in practice. I got a little loose off of (turn) four and had to get out of the gas and back in it. We were better than what we showed (in practice). We're all right, I think. We'll be better tomorrow. I think we got a direction in practice on what we need to do and how we're going to get there. Hey, the money's paid on Sunday."

IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU WON THIS RACE LAST YEAR BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T IN THE CHASE THEN? "Absolutely; most definitely. We wouldn't have been able to take the gamble that we took last year if we were running for points. The risk versus reward wouldn't have been an equal value. In a situation like that where if it pays off; we gain six spots. If it doesn't pay off, we lose 35 spots. But for us it was about winning the races, not having to worry about the points. But right now, every point and every position counts."

NOW THAT YOU'RE IN THE CHASE, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU KEEP IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND THAT SOME OF THESE GUYS HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND YOU'RE IN REVERSE STRATEGY? "Well, at the end of each day, you've got to keep in mind who you're racing. There are 42 other guys on the race track but there are only 11 that matter as far as what goes on at the end of the year. Every position still matters, even if they're not a Chase contender.

"But it's a situation that you've got to think about. Everything that you do, you have to think about what the risk is and what the reward is if you make it or the penalty if you don't make it. So, you have to look at both sides of the coin."

ON PROTOCOL DURING THE RACE, ARE YOU KEEPING TRACK OF WHO IS BEHIND YOU AND WHETHER HE'S A CHASE CONTENDER? "I think we're seeing different ways from different competitors. There is nothing that says they have to do anything, but if that's what makes this level of the sport really neat and unique is that guys actually do pay attention. Guys understand what is at stake and they're still out there racing too. Nobody's asking them to not race. But at the same time they're racing but their giving the guys in the Chase some extra room to make sure that they don't ruin somebody's opportunity to have a shot."

DO YOU EXPECT THAT EXTRA ROOM? "No, you don't at all. Like I said, they've got a race to run too. And they still have point standings they're still running for. That's why I say it's unique. It's nice to be in a series that the guys take that upon themselves to do. It's not something that's expected."

HOW IS YOUR CAR TODAY? "We're all right. I think we'll be better tomorrow. I think we got a direction in practice of what we need to do and how we're going to get there. But we've still got some work to do."

Jimmie Johnson Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Kansas

Jimmie Johnson Nextel Leader Chat at Kansas Audio File

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed if non-Chase drivers should race Chase competitors differently, the top 35 rule, racing at Talladega with NASCAR's new generation race car, penalties assessed during the Chase, safety with the new generation race car, what it will take to win at Kansas Speedway and what a victory would do with other 1.5-mile tracks coming up in the Chase.

Select quotes from driver interview:

SHOULD NON-CHASE DRIVERS RACE CHASE DRIVERS DIFFERENTLY? "I don't think so. I think there's a level of respect just on the race track. In the Chase last year and the years past I've seen that respect there where you race people how they race you. It's not the non-Chase driver's responsibility to get out of the way, they have a job to do and you just hope that they race you clean and race you with respect. I personally have always seen great racing and respect going both directions. You do have flare ups from time to time but I think that's more between those two drivers than anything else."

IS THE TOP-35 RULE MAKING IT MORE AGGRESSIVE OUT THERE? "It's tough to say. I mean everybody at this point of the season has a lot going on - if it is trying to get into the top 25, if it's trying to work your way up to 13th now the way it works out and the prestige that comes with that. Everybody at this point in the season.it's been a long year for most and everybody wants to finish up strong and I just think you're seeing aggression come out."

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE AT TALLADEGA? ARE YOU HAVING A HARD TIME SEEING 30 CARS? "Yeah, seeing through the cars is one aspect of it. The wing, the rear glass angle, the way the sunlight hits the back window it's kind of reflecting some light towards us now and it's tough to see through the glass. The other part of it is the roof itself is much larger, the greenhouse is much larger and we didn't realize how that extra couple inches really made a difference in the draft following people to know where you're at. Right now you're driving blind out there and if it something happens in front of you there's no chance in missing it because all you see is the back window and the framework of the car in front of you. The race is going to be different, I really think so. The cars draft much differently and the opportunities that we look for as drivers, I don't think are going to be the same. I do think that the cars are very comfortable to drive. They do suck up but for whatever reason they don't pass all that well so I think you'll see a lot of opportunities to cre ate bump drafting and create potential wrecks that create problems. I'm just not sure we'll see a lot of passing taking place."

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WIN AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY? "We just need to finish. We have the speed. We've been very competitive here. We've led a lot of laps. Last year we had a fuel strategy thing come into play that kept us from winning but I think if we just come in and do our normal thing we'll do fine.

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Kansas

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Kansas Audio File

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed whether or not the non-Chase drivers need to race Chase drivers differently, if the top-35 rule is adding to on-track aggressiveness, whether Chase penalties should be less than regular-season penalties, what he would do if another driver reached in his car and smacked his helmet, if Kyle Petty went too far, if he's flying under the radar right now, if his position gives him respect, racing at Talladega with the new car, on bump drafting there, on Jacques Villeneuve attempting to qualify for Talladega, on trying to avoid the big wreck at Talladega, if someone can gain a commanding lead there, on what changes the car needs to make it better, what it's like racing at Kansas, how he evaluates himself two races into the Chase, what he thinks of the situation between Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin, advice for Hamlin and racing a Truck at Talladega and how it may help fo r the Cup race.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ROUSH RACING CLAIMS THAT THAT THEY SHOULD BE PENALIZED LESS THAN THEY WOULD BE IN THE REGULAR SEASON BECAUSE IT IS THE CHASE: "That's Roush Racing for you. It's pathetic. It's the same thing as any other time of the year. We got that penalty so they can suck it up and deal with your penalty."

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF A DRIVER REACHED INTO YOUR CAR AND SMACKED YOUR VISOR DOWN? "I wouldn't be too happy about it either. I think that Denny said what he felt like was right and that you want to be able to just talk to somebody and while somebody's inside their race car I don't think that's preferably the spot. It would rather be outside - behind the hauler or even inside the hauler - just go inside somebody's lounge and just sit down and talk to them about it. Or even in the NASCAR hauler but not like that."

BASED ON THE TALLADEGA TEST, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT NEXT WEEKEND? "I don't know. I hope it's going to be an exciting race. I think it will be. I hope that guys keep their heads on their shoulders and we don't wreck each other. You need the bump draft more now than you ever have and when you do bump somebody they get squirrely. That's not too promising right there, but we're just going to have to see. You can't have four guys deep bumping each other because somebody's going to come spitting out of the middle."

JACQUES VILLENEUVE WILL ATTEMPT TO QUALIFY FOR THE CUP RACE AT TALLADEGA - YOUR THOUGHTS? "He's doing what? Holy cow, that's not good. You've got to start somewhere but the Cup Series at Talladega definitely isn't the place to start. I think he ran his first Truck race and did alright, ran well, and I think running more Truck races through the rest of the year - which I'm sure they're planning on doing - is going to be good, but to get ready for next year. I guess Talladega is the first test to get ready for next year."

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Kansas

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Kansas Audio File

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniels Monte Carlo SS met with media to discuss racing at his hometown track, running Late Models at Lakeside, on Jeff Burton as a teammate, being from the Midwest, on racing at Talladega, the local growth around Kansas Speedway, and more.

ON RACING AT HIS HOMETOWN TRACK: "I'm looking forward to getting going and seeing what we've got with the Jack Daniels Chevrolet. It's so important to unload at these 1.5-mile race tracks. You're so limited on practice time that you've got to unload good. So I can't wait to get out there and see what we've got."

ARE YOU STILL PLANNING TO RACE TONIGHT AT LAKESIDE AND DOES RUNNING THOSE SHORT TRACK RACES HELP RELAX YOU FOR THE CUP RACES? "Yeah, it's a lot of work. More and more it seems like a lot more people are coming and it's important to see all those people and spend some time with them. It makes it tough. But it's so much fun to go back to your old stomping grounds and race. We've had some success. We were fast the other night. We didn't end up winning but they knew we were there. Tonight at Lakeside is going to be fun. I've never raced a Late Model back here. I brought my Late Model back from North Carolina and I'm looking forward to seeing what we've got."

ON JEFF BURTON AS A TEAMMATE AND FRIEND: "My opinion is he's such a good teammate. You couldn't ask for a better teammate. He's certainly proven himself on the race track with 18 Cup victories and who knows how many Busch races he's won. But aside from that, he's so smart on and off the race track. You know going to Jeff Burton with a question, you know you'll leave there with the right answers. So that's very important as a young driver to have that person you can go to as a teammate and know that you're always getting the right information to make yourself better. He really cares about people around him and making RCR as an organization, better."

TO SEE YOU AND CARL EDWARDS IN THE CHASE SAYS THE MIDWEST HAS SOME GREAT DRIVERS COMING OUT. HOW DID BEING FROM THE MIDWEST PREPARE YOU FOR CUP RACING? "I think the neatest thing about that is the fact that the first two races of the Chase have been won by the Midwestern boys and rolling into Kansas with both the first races won by us says a lot about our local community and who we grew up learning from."

AFTER TESTING AT TALLADEGA, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RACING WILL BE LIKE? ARE YOU SCARED TO GO BACK? "Make no mistake. Talladega has always been Talladega. Every time you go there you're concerned about getting out of there and it's always kind of been a survival fest. There always seems to be the 'big one' there. With this Car of Tomorrow and what we saw at the test, it's a little bit more (scary) than usual. You could push each other all the way around the track if you wanted to. Certainly you're going to have to back off in the corners in the tri-oval to keep them from going around. It's going to be wild. It's going to be the one that everybody is going to have their eye on and it's always been a track that will make or break you. And the one that can get out of there with a good finish is going to have a pretty good jump start on the rest of the Chase."

IS EVERYBODY THAT YOU KNOW HERE THIS WEEKEND? "It seems like it (laughs). But it's important. I grew up racing around here and to be able to see the people that I used to race against here supporting me; and about all my family is here and people from my hometown. There are just so many people coming from Emporia. That's important. It's so exciting to be able to race for those people and hopefully put on a good show for them."

DOES WINNING THE FIRST RACE OF THE CHASE BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE AND PUT YOU INTO THE CHASE WITH A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE BECAUSE OF THAT WIN? "Absolutely. We went into this thing with people asking do you really feel like you deserve to be in the Chase. My answer to that question was heck yeah. It wasn't like we were 12th going into the thing. We were ninth. We beat three teams out of the Chase and yet people were still saying that the 13th guy belonged in it. And I'm like, tell the 12th place guy that, I guess (laughs). He had a long ways to go to catch me. I felt like we deserved it and I feel like winning that first race of the Chase really proved not only to ourselves, but to everybody else that we belonged here. It's been such a confidence-booster and momentum builder going into the rest of the year. Last week at Dover, it very easily could have taken the wind out of our sails qualifying dead last. We went from the heroes to zeros just like that. We were able to bounce back from that and we had a car to win. We really did. We were less than half way through the race and we were passing for sixth from dead last . So it really says a lot about how strong our race team is and how we're learning. That's what championships is all about is being able to turn a bad day into a good one and we are on our way to doing that."

THERE IS A PICTURE IN TODAY'S KANSAS CITY STAR OF A CASINO AND RETAIL DISTRICT ABOVE ONE OF THE TURNS AT THE TRACK. SINCE YOU CREW UP IN THIS AREA, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? "It's so awesome to be able to come back here. And it's like every year we come back, I come here two or three times a year, but every time we come back something else is being built out here. I remember when it was just all houses and you didn't even notice turning off of I-70 onto I-435, and now - hell, if you don't notice this place now, you're blind.

"It's unbelievable how much growth as been out here and it's all because of the speedway, bottom line. Kansas Speedway has brought a lot to my career. When this speedway showed up, the local racing around the community really picked up in the attention and exposure - not only this track, but the local tracks really picked up."

HAVE YOU NOTICED A DIFFERENCE SINCE YOU'VE COME HOME IN THE WAY THAT YOU ARE PERCEIVED? ARE YOU STILL JUST CLINT, OR DO YOU SENSE THAT PEOPLE VIEW YOU DIFFERENTLY? "Yeah, and it's really been since this Chase. It's a big thing for myself and our race team. By making that Chase, you're in the spotlight. The exposure is on you. Certainly winning the first race of the Chase, there has been a lot of TV exposure and you do notice a big difference. Going to Heartland Park, it was the difference between last year and this year was probably a couple thousand more people, which for a local track like that is pretty big. But I still like to enjoy everything.

"I got my buddy a motor home for the infield and he never camped before. I've camped my whole life so I was over there getting him all set up and stuff. People are noticing, you know, over there and it makes it a little bit harder to kind of live a normal live and help the dumb buddy that don't know how to hook up his RV (laughs)."

HAVE YOU GOTTEN COMFORTABLE WITH THE BUMP-DRAFTING? AND DO YOU THINK WE'LL SEE MORE OF THAT AT TALLADEGA NEXT WEEK? "Are you from Talladega? (laughs) I don't think there is much of an an advantage to it anymore. If you hit them, they don't seem to go anywhere with these new cars. Again, the cars are going to be closer together. You're able to push each other all the way around the track and because of that, the least little slip-up and because everybody is a lot closer, it's going to be more catastrophic. That's going to be the main thing about Talladega. It's going to be more of what we already had."

WILL YOU BE DIRT RACING TONIGHT? WHAT IS YOUR SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEKEND? "Yeah, I'm taking Harv (Kevin Harvick) up to the dirt track. I'm nervous, but I'm excited about that. He's going to run my Modified and I'm going to run my Late Model. I've never ran a Late Model at Lakeside but it's a pretty big race over there. I'm not really worried about my Late Model thing; I'm really worried about Harvick (laughs)."

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

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

Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed his Chevy for this weekend, if he's surprised the favorites in the Chase are currently on top of the standings, if non-Chase drivers should race Chase drivers differently, the top 35 rule, what he expects from the Impala SS at Talladega, if he is aware of who is around him during a race and where they are within the point standings, how he deals with how quickly things can change during a race, how he broke his toe, if there's concern about having someone with little experience racing at Talladega and if drivers will hang back at Talladega to avoid the big one.

Select quotes from driver interview:

YOU WERE THIRD IN PRACTICE. HOW IS YOUR CHEVY FOR THIS WEEKEND? "I'm real happy with it. We started in qualifying trim, just trying to get a good qualifying spot. I think it's important here to start up front so we started in qualifying trim. The Bass Pro Chevy is good and I'm pretty happy with it."

HOW COGNIZANT ARE YOU OF THE OTHER CARS AROUND YOU AND WHO IS IN THE CHASE AND WHO ISN'T AND HOW DOES THAT PLAY INTO YOUR STRATEGY? "Well you always know who you're racing with whether they're in the Chase or not. It makes a little bit of a difference but not a huge one. We're out there to get every spot we can get, get the most points we can, try to win the race every week so it doesn't matter if we're racing Tony Stewart for the win or Dale Jr. for the win, we're going to race them probably the same."

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR TOE? "I broke my darn pinky toe yesterday. But it's all good, I'm fine. I'm good to go. It was my left (foot). It hurt a little to put my shoe on this morning but since I've been walking around and everything it feels pretty good.

"I kicked the ottoman in my living room, typical, just walking around and basically stubbed my toe and broke it. It is what it is."

Jeff Burton Driver Availability at Kansas

Jeff Burton Nextel Driver Availability at Kansas Audio File

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed on if Chase contenders and non-Chase contenders should race each other differently, on whether the top-35 rule promotes aggressiveness, on penalties in the Chase and if they should be minimized during that period, on racing at Talladega next weekend, on hanging back to avoid the big wreck at Talladega, if someone would be able to have a commanding lead at Talladega and if the new cars should have more adjustability.

Select quotes from driver interview:

SHOULD CHASE DRIVERS AND NON-CHASE DRIVERS RACE EACH OTHER DIFFERENTLY? "No, I don't. I think the race track belongs to everybody. I think respect between drivers is important. I don't believe that a non-Chase driver shouldn't do anything that he wouldn't otherwise do for a guy that's in the Chase. I think we ought to race each other the right way every week and circumstances shouldn't change the way you race people. So having said all that, I believe that it's everybody's racetrack. It's everybody's right to have a chance to win and finish as high as they can. People that aren't in the Chase shouldn't have to race other people any differently."

IS THE TOP-35 RULE PROMOTING AGGRESSIVENESS? "The top-35 rule has its plusses and they far outweigh the minuses. As with everything, it's not all positive. I do believe that it is more competitive racing for 35th, 36th and 37th in points than it would be without the top-35 rule but that doesn't make it wrong. I don't think we can blame the points on people wrecking other people or those kinds of things. The drivers are to blame for that. Certainly the circumstances impact the drivers' response and reaction to whatever is going on but at the end of the day, the ultimate responsibility lands on our shoulders."

WHAT WILL WE SEE AT TALLADEGA NEXT WEEK? "We're going to see races that look very similar to the races we've seen at Talladega. I think we're going to see big packs of cars. The only thing that's going to separate the cars in my opinion is pit stops. If you have a bad pit stop you could get separated. The interesting thing about the Car of Tomorrow at Talladega, and I know this contradicts itself, but it's easier to lose the draft and at the same it's easier to catch the draft. It's much more situational. But I believe that if you got far enough behind, I don't know that you'll catch the draft. Even if they are three-wide, two-wide, there's a point of no return where you won't catch it anymore. We still don't understand exactly what that point is. I also saw the possibility where people got lined up, say the top 10 got lined up, and 12 on back was double-file. Maybe the top 10 will pull away. Those are the things that are hard to tell what's going to happen, but I anticipate for the majority of the race, really big packs."

Kevin Harvick Driver Availability at Kansas

Kevin Harvick Nextel Driver Availability at Kansas Audio File

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media and discussed the amount of work they're still doing on the Monte Carlo SS, the team's performance in the Chase, his outlook based on where the team sits in the standings, if Jimmie Johnson's performance in the Chase is the model for the Chase contenders towards the bottom of the standings, going to Talladega with the Impala SS, Chicago's event changing to a night race, racing in Kansas, if non-Chase drivers should race Chase drivers differently and if the top 35 rule has made racing more competitive.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE BEEN STRUGGLING IN THE CHASE OR HAS IT JUST BEEN BAD LUCK? "We've just had terrible luck and at this point you just kind of take the good with the bad and you just smile about it. There's really not anything you can do about it. We've had top five cars both weeks in the Chase. I mean we've had three flat tires in two weeks so it's not something that we can really control and sometimes you have those things happen and unfortunately they're happening to us. The main thing that we can control is the performance of the car and I think we've done a good job with that and the performance has stepped up in the first two races so I don't know what else you can ask for other than to do that and you can't control circumstances."

WHAT'S YOUR OUTLOOK BASED ON WHERE YOU ARE IN THE STANDINGS? ARE YOU STILL IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT? "Oh yeah, we're further ahead than where (Jimmie) Johnson was last year. We're only two weeks into the 10 week journey here. It doesn't seem like anybody has really kind of stepped up and really had two good weeks so far. Everybody's kind of had trouble and we've had trouble both weeks so that makes us on the bad end of the trouble stick. You go out and you race as hard as you can and if we can keep the performance level at what it's been the last two weeks we'll get back in it but if have the circumstances go like they have the last two weeks we're in trouble."

ON GOING TO TALLADEGA WITH THE IMPALA SS: "It's kind of like Talladega always is, you never really know what's going to happen when you get there and it kind of holds the keys to a lot of answers, I guess you can say with the new car and just the way Talladega is with getting caught up in stuff or not getting caught up in stuff. It's still just typically Talladega and the cars are very comfortable to drive. At no worse it'll be just as exciting as it always has been but it'll probably be more exciting just because the cars are so comfortable to drive."

Denny Hamlin Driver Availability at Kansas

Denny Hamlin Nextel Driver Availability at Kansas Audio File

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed if he had talked to Kyle Petty and the incident from the previous weekend, his position in the standings, if he blamed his performance at Dover on being sick, being involved in an incident with someone like Petty, if what Petty did was right or wrong, what he needs to do to mature as a driver, if he thinks he needs a Chase run like Jimmie Johnson had last year to be a championship contender, when he will talk to Petty, why he thinks Petty did what he did, on how fans perceive him and how he thinks he should be, balance between cautiousness and aggressiveness, on the top-35 rule, strategy for Talladega, the drafting test there, how to race the new car at Talladega, racing Chase drivers and non-Chase drivers and whether getting out of his car to face Kyle Petty was a good idea.

Select quotes from driver interview:

HAVE YOU TALKED TO KYLE PETTY YET? "No, I haven't talked to Kyle yet but we're here with a new weekend and I feel refreshed and ready to go."

HAVE YOU PUT THE INCIDENT WITH PETTY BEHIND YOU? "Definitely. Kyle is someone who I really respect a lot, regardless of any on-track incident or anything like that. I definitely stand for everything that he stands for and a lot of (what we raise with) the 'Wear Your Heart on Your Helmet' campaign that we do with FedEx goes to Victory Junction Gang Camp at the end of the year. So we're all about Kyle and we know that he's fighting to stay in the top 35 as well as we're fighting for that championship. Really, we've got two races within one."

IS IT TOUGH TO BE INVOLVED IN AN INCIDENT WITH SOMEONE LIKE PETTY? "Yeah, definitely. No matter what you do, Kyle is going to be right and a lot of what he did was right. It's tough. You never want to be involved in an incident, especially with Kyle because he's respected a lot like Mark Martin is in the garage. So really I've just got to learn to grow up as far as that's concerned."

WHAT DO YOU THINK HE DID WAS RIGHT? "I just like his intensity. Even though he's not battling for a top-20 spot in points, he's not out there just collecting a paycheck. He's out there to race and he gets frustrated just like anyone else. I personally know that he got loose in front of me; I was right on him when I hit him. So there's really not a whole lot I could have done. There was a closing rate that was big. But I probably shouldn't have went after him. I should have just let it go as soon as he chose to hit my helmet. I should have just let it go and not gotten out of the car. It would have been no big issue, really."

Mark Martin Driver Availability at Kansas

Mark Martin Nextel Driver Availability at Kansas Audio File

Mark Martin, No. 01 U.S. Army Monte Carlo SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed practice at Kansas, if it surprises him that they are not running well, if this is the same car they ran at Indianapolis, whether or not he likes Kansas, on having Loudon off, on his mindset driving part-time, if he regrets running part time and Carl Edwards' win.

Select quotes from driver interview:

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE CAR? "We just can't get through turn three and four at all, not even at all. I don't look for it to be any better qualifying. Maybe we'll figure something out tomorrow but we have not made a lap through there yet that was anything near the ballpark of where we need it to be. I'm trying to help them dissect it. It's so troublesome down there I can't get it all figured out at once."

DOES THAT SURPRISE YOU? YOU USED TO BE GOOD AT TRACKS LIKE THIS: "We certainly didn't expect this. We expected to run well; this car's been good for us and this just doesn't make any sense. We've had speed everywhere at tracks like this and we just don't have it today.

"It's the same car I had at Indy and a couple other times. It's run well for us; I don't know. we are on an island by ourselves. We can't look at what our teammates have. It would be awesome if we could just put in what one of them have but we're totally different - daylight and dark. That makes it tough."