MARK MARTIN, NO. 01 U.S. ARMY MONTE CARLO SS

MARK MARTIN TALKS ABOUT RUNNING A PART-TIME SCHEDULE, THE LAS VEGAS TRACK SURFACE AND MORE:

ARE YOU HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR CAREER MOVE? "Absolutely not. I am so happy. I'm in a great place in my life; with my family, my career and everything else and I haven't had a change in heart and don't expect to. I'm pretty committed. I made a commitment to myself. I probably shouldn't need to go through this again but when I first got started with Jack Roush in 1988, if I recall correctly there was 31 races. The schedule has expanded to 38 and after doing that for 20 years, I'm ready for a break this year. That's not to say if 29 or 30 or 31 was the number; I could probably deal with that. I chased that Cup for nearly 20 years and at this point in time I've put chasing that thing behind me.

"I'm very comfortable with what I've got going on and I appreciate. I especially appreciate about October, at Talladega when we had that press conference I was pretty sure that none of you guys were ever going to talk to me again. I guess things are working out okay so I guess we're all good."

WILL THIS ALLOW YOU TO SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME WITH YOUR SON'S RACING? "You know, it's not about racing. Matt's been racing without me and there were times when that was agonizing for me but there's also times that are agonizing for me when he is going to a paintball tournament or anything else. It's more about claiming a portion of my life that I haven't been able to have since I was 15. I made a commitment to go racing and I haven't done much else outside of that along the way. I will get to go racing with Matt some and Ricky Carmichael, which is also exciting for me and part of my role with Ginn Racing. But it's not about his racing, because I don't know that we know if that's what he's going to do with his life. But I do think it's important for me to spend more time around him and around my wife; just a little bit more. It doesn't have to be 24-7 and I need to give some more there. I am very interested in spending a little extra time with the fans who have helped me build this career. That's become more important to me and do a few extra things, maybe for my sponsors and the people who support the sport so much and maybe take my focus off the scoring each and every point that I possible can and agonizing over if this part breaks or if this guy wrecks in front of me and I can't miss him or whatever.

"If you're not chasing for the points and that happens you can shake that off and go home. For me, when I had those kinds of things happen for the last 19 years, I went home and laid in bed all night awake going over it in my head. So you know what, my plan - going back to Monte's question - one of the things that I was going to say was I'm going to sit back this year and watch Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards get as many grey hairs as I have. Because they've got their work cut out for them and even thought they expanded the Chase it's still a competitive field and there's a lot of things that happen on the race track that you can't control."

SPEAKING OF RICKY CARMICHAEL, HOW IS HE COMING ALONG? "Well, first of all, I want to speak on Regan (Smith). I am very, very excited about working with Regan and I think he's going to do a fabulous job; I think he's going to surprise some people and he's a really fine young man. Ricky has only tested once so far and in our late-model and he's tested in the Ginn late-model one time so far, but he was in the shop yesterday fitting his seat. His first race will be March 24th in one of my late-models and what we're going to do is graduate him through our program as quick as we can to the ARCA, Truck and Busch programs.

"You have to understand; this is going to take a little more time than someone with a race car background. He's incredibly talented, has a work ethic that's second to none, great attitude, humble young man. Fun to work with. He's gone fast in the car already, right away. I think it's going to be fun this first race. He's going to get to race against Matt. That's why I have such a hard time saying never say never, I think you all have asked me if I want to be a car owner, I've said 'no, never.' I guess I meant Nextel Cup. Surely I won't lose my mind and do that. I am going to be running a two-car team this year with Ricky Carmichael, Matt Bowers and Matt Martin running late-models in Florida."

I GUESS HAVING THE PROBLEM OF BEING ASKED TO RACE MORE IF YOU'RE DOING WELL IS A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE. "It is. It's great that we've done so well. I was serious when I said I didn't know if we were going to be able to get any coverage or not with this limited schedule idea that we threw at you guys in October.

"It didn't seem like it was met with the warmest welcome. I'm very proud of this U.S. Army team and Ryan Pemberton and Jay Frye and the commitment that Bobby Ginn has made to this team and all the people who work there. Because they have done really well in the past and maybe not gotten noticed quite as much for it but certainly they have gotten the attention they deserve these last couple of weeks. I'm proud for them and proud to be a part of their organization."

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE RENOVATED LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY? "The garage is beautiful. Really, really neat. The race track is going to be a challenge and the greatest thing that we can hope for is the brutal summers in Las Vegas will weather this asphalt really quickly and take some of this edge off it. It's a real challenge for the teams and Goodyear to handle the speed that it's producing and the loads that it's putting on the tires. It's going to make things difficult for the teams this weekend."

DID YOU WATCH THE BUSCH RACE AND IF SO, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MONTOYA'S FIRST NASCAR WIN? "Did I watch it, absolutely. I practiced for my Bristol weekend this Sunday. I sure did. We had a big barbeque, big cookout, the friends all together and watched it on TV. I knew that Juan Montoya was one of the greatest drivers in the world but boy, did he show everybody on Sunday. In reference to the end of the race and the incident that he and (Scott) Pruett had, it was an unfortunate incident. It was not something that needed to take place for him to win the race. It certainly doesn't discredit the win, by any means. He certainly put on a driving clinic for everyone out there and that was awesome. I think in retrospect, Juan, with five laps to go, had him covered pretty good and got himself in a situation where he couldn't get out of. When Scott went wide to turn into the corner which is how you do, instead of protecting the line, because Juan was so far back, I know that Scott didn't think Juan would get down there inside of him. And Juan didn't thing that Scott wouldn't know he was coming. But he certainly could have made that pass clean next time by and I bet he will next time. It was one of those racing situations and I think the thing that was most important in that for Juan was that it didn't need to take place for him to get the win. He put a whuppin on him."

CAN YOU DETAIL ON THE TRACK WHERE YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED BUMPS? "It's real bumpy in turn one. Real bumpy. I don't know that I've ever seen a new paved race track be that wavy and with the speeds that we are running and the setups that we run, it poses a challenge to us."

HOW IS IT WAVY? "Well, it's wavy on the bottom and I'm scared to go up top but when I accidentally stumbled up there it seemed to be wavy for me there too. I certainly don't know. You'll need to check with Kasey Kahne and Michael Waltrip; they'll be riding up there as soon as the track opens and I'm sure they can tell you. But I'm not going up there unless I stumble."

IS THE REST OF THE TRACK PRETTY SMOOTH? "Yes, the rest of it's okay. I think most of the troubles are with the entry of turn one and around turn two."

IS THERE ANY WAY YOU WOULD CONSIDER RUNNING RACES THAT YOU WERE PLANNING TO SKIP? "The things that came up before was I was working with a group that might put pressure on me to do things that I might not want to do. I'm not working with a group that is going to do that. I had help in my indecision, number one. Number two, I could run the first 23 but the only problem is I don't want to run Bristol or Martinsville or Talladega or Loudon or the two road courses. That being said, that leaves 28 races and I'm at 23. Would I add to 28, yeah, but what purpose would that serve? Same is what purpose would it serve if I ran the first 23 and took the rest of the year off. I could do that but at 23 that's as far as I might want to go or 28 or whatever. So I don't see any real purpose in that. Because I don't want to run for the championship. I don't want to race for points. In 2007, I'm taking a break. I'll know more about what I want to do after Bristol. If I feel after Bristol how I feel after Mexico last week then I don't know.

"But if I feel sick that I missed the race or if I feel sick during the race that I wish I was there, which I doubt very seriously, then my life might change. I might change my mind. But right now, I've really spilled it. I've named exactly the races that I don't want to do. When I laid out my schedule, I left out some gravy races; some that I would like to do, off the schedule so that Regan could do some in hopes of preparing him for a full-time ride in Cup in 2008. Some races like. the California race I would love to do; I don't particularly like the time that they start that race - five o'clock or whatever it is on Sunday.

"There are a few other races, the Poconos and stuff like that I'd like to do but I just did that because I've come up with a limited number. I was asked by the ESPN guys earlier this week 'is there anything that anyone can do to get you to run a full schedule' and it's like, I don't want to. I don't know what to say. That's where I am on that right now and I don't expect that to change. We've had a little bit of fun going along here but I just don't see that changing. If we can win this race and we could win next week both, I think it would be the coolest thing to continue on with my plan. It think it would be cool. I don't expect to win both but I certainly would like to win one.

SINCE THE TRACK IS ROUGH, IS IT REALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO QUALIFY UP FRONT TODAY TO GET AHEAD OF WHATEVER MAY HAPPEN IN THE FIRST FEW LAPS? "It is pretty important but it doesn't mean everything. Some of the guys that won't qualify well will certainly not get caught in wrecks and will be able to pull some kind of out of the box pit strategy and get up front. But that's part of the whole frustration of this situation with the tire, with the track, with the fuel cell is that you're going to have that. You'll have people that will do gas only that aren't the best cars and are going to get up in the front. The cars that are really good are going to have to try and fight their way through those guys that are going to try not to give room on the race track. It gets kind of wild out there.

We have the same type of situation at Charlotte, at Lowe's and everybody will make the best of it. The ideal situation would be to qualify up front and never get behind very many cars but that certainly won't happen. Hopefully with these fuel cells, and NASCAR's made a tremendous effort to help us with the situation, and Goodyear has done far beyond. I think the only thing that they could have done is just make stainless steel tires. Tires out of stainless. Besides that I don't know what else they could do to help us. They've done everything that they could do."

IS IT THE LOAD? "I think it's a load. I think in the old days it was heat, a temperature issue. I think it's just the incredible load. the load that's produced by the weight of the car and the amount of the banking and the amount of grip that you can get puts enormous load on the tires, much more so than if you had less grip. I couldn't get over it. They told me the minimum recommended air pressure - and I was laughing - was qualifying air pressure. What are we going to do for qualifying? It's incredible. 62 pounds of air. We used to run 42, 38 pounds of air on the old race track in the old days, in '98. We probably ran 37 or 38 pounds of air in the right-front tire here. Now we've got 62. And it still has enormous grip so it's incredible the amount of load that's being produced there."

DO YOU HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS WHEN YOU RACE AGAINST THE NO. 6 CAR? "Well, I haven't yet, but Jeff Burton told me to expect to. No. You know, from behind the wheel, I almost don't know the difference because the view is all the same. And the guys with the U.S. Army team have really given me great cars this year, certainly cars that were comparable to the No. 6 car really in its best days. But where David Reagan and the No. 6 car is concerned, I certainly feel that I'm a piece of that car and that car's a piece of me. I couldn't be more proud of David Reagan as a person and as a driver representing the No. 6 car and he will do that well. I think a lot about Jack Roush. I woke up at three o'clock this morning because that's what time I was supposed to get up on the east coast and I laid there and thought of a lot of things. Jack Roush was one of those that I thought about. About his airplane and his flying and stuff. We're still very close but we've kind of moved on to another chapter."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO

JIMMIE JOHNSON TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT THE LAS VEGAS TRACK CONDITIONS, RACE STRATEGY, AND JOINING TEAM CADILLAC FOR AN UPCOMING SCCA RACE:

ON THE NEW LAS VEGAS SURFACE: "I think the track is in good shape. It's not the smoothest re-surface job that we've been on, but I think it will help us find an outside lane to make for better racing. I've found that the middle of the track was working really well for myself at the end of the test. As the races wear on, we'll need to get a lane higher up the race track and get up near the wall. I think it's really going to put on a good show and they've made a lot of good changes to this race track."

IS THE TRACK BUMPY? "In Turn 1 there are some bumps that upset the car and you really have to be handling right to get through them to run the bottom. Aside from that, the track is relatively smooth. It's just getting into Turn 1 where there are some bumps that make the car upset."

AFTER WINNING AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, WERE YOU HOPING THEY WOULD LEAVE THE TRACK LIKE IT WAS? "Yeah, I think so. The success we've had here with the old configuration has been pretty strong and hard to argue with. But I'm excited for a new challenge. The No. 48 team does a great job of adapting to new challenges and this is one of those."

ON A RACE THAT WILL HAVE SO MANY PIT STOPS WITH SO MANY DECISIONS TO MAKE, HOW WELL EQUIPPED IS THE NO. 48 TEAM TO HANDLE THAT? "We're definitely well-equipped. Hendrick Motorsports does a great job of training our pit crew guys. We're always solid on pit road and I wouldn't expect anything else out of my crew. They work very hard and I'm very proud of their efforts. It's going to be challenging. There are going to be a lot of stops. I think it's tough with this type of tire on this track. We're going to be in a (decision making) position of taking no tires or two tires and that's hard. That's frustrating. You can have the best car and not make the right decision and lose the race."

DOES THIS TRACK REMIND YOU OF ANY OTHER TRACK? "The transitions into the corners are still the same transitions. Getting into Turn 3 takes a similar approach. And into Turn 1 is a similar approach. But now instead of having to run the bottom before and there was no room to move up, now if you miss the bottom where your car isn't handling down there, you have another lane to help out in the center. Hopefully we can get an outside lane going. But the track doesn't relate to anything else we go to. It still has its unique Las Vegas feel."

ON THE CAR OF TOMORROW TESTING IN BRISTOL AND THIS RACE IN VEGAS, WILL IT BE A RELIEF TO GO TO ATLANTA WHERE THINGS ARE STILL FAMILIAR? "Yeah, but at the same time Atlanta is such a challenging track, I don't think many guys are comfortable getting into that race track. Personally, that's one of the best tracks we run on. The old asphalt is abrasive. We race from the top to the bottom and it's rougher than pretty much any track we go to. I hope they leave that place alone and never touch it and never think about resurfacing it. I think it puts on a great show."

CAN YOU THREE-PEAT THIS WEEKEND? "I hope so. We've got a great race team and I certainly hope we can put ourselves in a position to three-peat."

ON JUAN PABLO MONTOYA'S WIN OF THE BUSCH RACE IN MEXICO CITY: "I still haven't seen the tape. I heard about what took place."

YOU WENT THROUGH A SIMILAR SITUATION LAST YEAR WHEN BRIAN VICKERS TOOK YOU OUT. IS THAT AN UNWRITTEN RULE THAT YOU JUST DON'T DO THAT TO YOUR TEAMMATES? "It happens. The think you've got to ask yourself is if it was intentional. With Brian, as mad as I was and with the bad timing of when it took place, I knew it wasn't intentional. So it helped me get over it. It doesn't mean that I got over instantly, but it helped me get over it. That's what Juan Pablo and Scott Pruett have to ask themselves. If it wasn't intentional, they can go on from there."

TWO RACES INTO THE SEASON, ARE YOU IN GOOD SHAPE? "I think we're in good shape. At Daytona, we weren't even close to where we thought we would be. So that was disappointing. But our performance in Fontana was really strong and I am excited for all the intermediate tracks coming up. The COT test went really well. All things considered, we're off to a good start."

DOES ANYBODY REALLY STAND OUT AS BEING AHEAD OF THE GAME? "At Bristol, it's hard to tell because a tenth of a second makes you look like a hero at that track. It's really hard to tell. But I thought the Gibbs cars and Evernham cars looked strong and I thought our No. 48 car was really strong. It's hard to tell. But that car is so different than what we're used to running. With the transition we have getting into the corners there, it's tough to get the car to turn. I would predict the same problem at Dover because you slam into the race track so hard on the corner entry."

SO IF YOU'RE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH YOUR COT, IS THERE GOING TO BE STUFF THAT YOU CAN'T DO NOW? THINGS THAT JUST AREN'T GOING TO HELP? "We've very limited on some things because of the splitter. The splitter has to be at the right angle and the right height on the race track. If you put more right rear spring in the car, now you've lifted the splitter up off the ground, so we don't have that tool like we've always had. At the front of the car, we don't want to drag the splitter on the ground because you'll wear it off and then you're downforce is all gone. So there are a few things that have really boxed us in. That's not to say we're not going to find ways to make the car turn in other areas. I think that's why the big teams are excited about the Car of Tomorrow -- to try something and find something that hopefully somebody else doesn't know about or find it before they find it."

IS IT TOO EARLY TO WORRY ABOUT POINTS? "No, I think two or three races in is a good time. After the fifth race, the top 35 are safe in the show. I know there are some top teams right now that have had two bad races and are in a bad position getting started right now. We had a bad first race and rebounded last month in California and got back up in the points. So there is certainly some concern and the guys need to be worried about it."

IN TERMS OF MAKING THE CHASE? "I think it's more about the top 35. There is no doubt the Chase is going to be on everybody's mind. There were just a few points that separated guys. Every time you're on the track and can make points, it counts."

HOW MUCH OF WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED ABOUT THE VEGAS TRACK TRANSLATES TO THE NEW SURFACE? DO YOU HAVE TO START WITH A NEW NOTEBOOK? "It's a lot different - the surface, the tires, the fuel cell. But the basic characteristics are still there. But it is a lot different. As far as the set-up, all the teams are there. It's really about working with the tire data and understanding this new tire. The first one who gets that is going to have an advantage."

ON THE LAS VEGAS ODDS FOR THE RACE? "I heard I'm not a good bet. A friend of mine told me I'm not a good bet."

ON JOINING TEAM CADILLAC FOR FOURTH ROUND OF SCCA SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE GT AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY "I just want to be better in road course racing. I've driven for GM for my entire career in Chevrolets and a couple of times in Pontiacs and to have this chance to race the Cadillac is something I'm excited to do and thankful that GM is letting me play around in another brand inside the family. The Cadillac is very similar to what a Cup car feels like in the weight of a Cup car, so I'm hopeful I can learn some tricks and get some more seat time on road courses that will help me in the Cup Series."

DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY WITH ANDY PRILGRIM AND HOW HE WORKED WITH DALE EARNHARDT SR. ON ROAD COURSES? "Yeah, I did. I tested the car at Sebring. And I guess Andy Pilgrim and Dale Jr. had been emailing the night before and Andy told Junior I was going to be down there. I had a great time and Andy couldn't have been more help. He really helped me get up to speed and get used to a track I'd never seen before. And Sebring is really a tough course. When I left there at the end of the day, I was where I needed to be."

DID YOU THINK, 'HERE'S ANOTHER CAR WITH A SPLITTER AND A WING ON THE BACK'? "I really didn't think about it all that much. I was more road course-focused. The adjustments we made on the car never dealt with the splitter or the wing. It was mainly shock stuff. And I think that's going to apply even with our racing because you know where the splitter needs to be and that's as low as possible and then you want maximum rear grip so you tilt the wing up as much as the sanctioning body will give you. So, it was interesting to be out there and see how close the CTS-V was to a Cup car. It's very similar. And then I got to drive 13 laps in the Corvette, and that was a whole different world."

MARK MARTIN SAID TURN 1 IS WAVY AND HE'S A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT IT. WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON THAT? "I think the inside groove certainly has some waves in the track, like swells in the track. For our cars it's probably a good thing because as soon as we couldn't get the car to work through the bumps and drive around on the bottom between (Turns) 1 and 2, we strarted moving up the track. So I think we'll see the lane continue to widen out and hopefully two and three-wide racing. I'm not worried about it. I like it. It's a challenge. If you can get your car to work on the bottom, there's one lane. And if it doesn't work, with the progressive banking we have here now, move up the track and find a land that works for you. I think that's what we need to focus on for good racing is making these tracks where we can run two and three wide."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS

KEVIN HARVICK TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT THE NEW TRACK SURFACE, WINNING THE DAYTONA 500, AND THE IMPALA SS CAR OF TOMORROW:

ON THE NEW LAS VEGAS TRACK SURFACE: "We have a new race track and then we have a different tire than what everybody tested on, and we have a different pit road than what we're used to. If we have to do a green flag pit stop, it'll be good to get that out of the way. We practiced that at the test, but you never can simulate race conditions like you can during the race."

IS THE NEW TRACK BETTER THAN IT USED TO BE? "I don't think so. I think the old race track had a little bit of character. The asphalt was worn out and you could move around the race track. What they've done with the infield is great for the fans.

But I think it's hard to tell how it's going to race until you get out there and race. It's just one of those 1.5-mile tracks now."

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT JEAN PABLO MONTOYA BY WATCHING HIM AT THE MEXICO CITY RACE LAST WEEK? "I learned he's a good road racer. I think everybody knew that coming in. He's good at what he does. The oval track is what you have to figure out. But he's obviously a really good road racer and they're on top of the road race stuff."

WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON WHAT HAPPENED WITH MONTOYA AND PRUETT? "I didn't see it. I read about it, but I didn't see it so I really don't have an opinion."

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF YOUR FAST START THIS YEAR? "We obviously ended the ('06) year really well and everything was on our side. We felt like we've made some improvements on the current car and everything there. I think we have a good package for that car and just carried some of that momentum over and things have gone good for all three teams.

"When you have all three teams running good, that makes things a lot better because you have more draw from it. You can take the package that you thought was pretty good and everybody tries something a little bit different. And a lot of times you find a little something that makes it better - no matter how good you think it is."

HAS THE THRILL OF WINNING THE DAYTONA 500 WORN OFF? "It really hasn't worn off because I really way underestimated the magnitude of the Daytona 500 and everything with the fans and the general population - the casual race fans I guess you would call them - it's just not like anything else."

HOW SO? "It's just one of those things. When you win a race everybody says hey, good job. But everybody, no matter where you go, knows that you won the Daytona 500. When you win a normal race, not everybody knows that. And everybody knows you won the Daytona 500 because it's just way bigger.

"I thought the Brickyard was a big deal. But it's not even in the same ballpark."

DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE THE SAME CAR AT TALLADEGA? "No, it wasn't the fastest car in the world. We were going to build another car for Talladega anyway. Now when we go back to Daytona, we might miss it."

HOW DISAPPOINTING WERE YOU WITH HOW FONTANA PLAYED OUT? "I as a little disappointed, but I wasn't devastated by any means. To go there and run like we did at what we feel is one of our worst race tracks, it's very encouraging for everybody. And I think the benefits way outweighed the negatives. It was a good weekend for us. You can't control those dumb-luck circumstances. So it's just one of those deals."

WHEN WE THINK YOU SHOULD BE KICKING AND SCREAMING AND THROWING THINGS, YOU ARE CALM: "Those are the things that you can't control and there's no reason to get wound up about the ones you can't control. There's so many of those that you can really pay attention to and try to understand and try to make better. The things you can't control, you just don't need to worry about and you just have to try to roll with it."

ON CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY: "Well, I like the track but it's just one of those places where we have struggled the past three or four years and it's been hit or miss. And on the days that we have been good, it just seems like we can't the results."

HOW IMPORTANT IS QUALIFYING HERE? DO YOU NEED TO START UP FRONT? "Oh, you want to be up in front. I think there's probably going to be some stuff tore up and some things that happen that normally don't happen. If you get behind everybody, you're probably going to be behind all day."

ON MOVING FORWARD FROM THE COT TEST AT BRISTOL: "It's going to be a lot different. The cars fall off at about 35 or 40 laps pretty heavily. That's a lot different than what we usually race there and the fall off is a lot more and the cars are a little bit slower than what we're used to racing there. So I don't think it's going to be one of those deals where you can just stay out on the race track and use your tire strategy. When a caution comes out, everybody is going to come down and get four tires."

NASCAR SAYS THE COT IS GOING TO IMPROVE THE COMPETITION. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? "I don't have those answers. Until we see race conditions and get everybody out there and really understand where things are. I just don't even have an opinion on that because it's just hard to know when you actually have to pass somebody for real and not just somebody letting you go by."

IS THIS A CHALLENGING TIME WITH THE COT AT BRITOL IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND THEN THIS NEW TRACK SURFACE AT LAS VEGAS? "Here, we have a notebook started. The tire is a little bit different than what we've had. There are a lot of unknowns the next three weeks but you just have to approach them with an open mind and not get yourself in a box. You have to be really open-minded to think outside the box if you get in trouble and things aren't going good."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH CLINT BOWYER, NO. 07 JACK DANIELS MONTE CARLO SS

CLINT BOWYER TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT TEAM IMPROVEMENTS, THE NEW TRACK SURFACE AT LAS VEGAS, AND MORE:

HAS ANYTHING CHANGED FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR? "I don't think so. Most of those guys have been doing this for a long time and it's no surprise to them winning, either one of them. So I think, especially Harvick, you know, a speedway race, he'd never won a plate race, and he shows up and wins both of them. When you're on a roll, you're on a roll and he's definitely on a roll."

HOW CLOSE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO A WIN THIS WEEKEND? "We're getting better and better, you know. I'm real excited about this season. I told the guys during the off-season that last year was a learning year and we learned and now it's time to get down to business and get our first win. We'll be in that shape. That's what we're working hard for. Chevrolet's been doing a good job, bringing me a good car and hopefully I can keep doing my job and my part of it - keeping it up front on the track."

HOW DIFFERENT IS YOUR STRATEGY WITH THE NEW FUEL CELLS, ETC. THIS WEEKEND COMPARED TO ATLANTA? "Well, there's going to be a lot more. a couple more things to go wrong. Pit stops - anytime you'll be making a lot more pit stops you're leaving the door open for mistakes and problems. You just need to make sure everybody's focused and concentrating on that."

PIT ROAD USED TO BE DIFFICULT TO ENTER. WITH THE CHANGES DO YOU THINK IT MAY NOW BE EASIER? "As far as the track, here it seems like it really sneaks up and it's there before you know it. That's going to be important. Especially green-flag pit stops. You can gain or lose two or three seconds in and out of the pits let alone from the good or bad pit stops. So the pits are going to be important and the green-flag runs are definitely going to be important."

WHAT DID YOU LEARN WHEN YOU GOT THE CAR YOU WRECKED AT BRISTOL BACK IN THE SHOP? "Well, we learned that it didn't hurt it as near as bad as we thought it did. We learned a lot while we were down there. It's amazing just how far the cars were off when we first got there to where they were when we left. I think we won't be disappointed."

DID IT ALMOST HELP TO WRECK IT IN A WAY? DID YOU GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT? "Well, you never want to wreck a race car by no means but I definitely think if you're going to then you've got to learn something from it."

DOES TURN ONE HERE BOTHER YOU? "Yeah. It seems like it keeps getting bumpier and bumpier and it upsets the car. It seems like you're fighting the car to make it do something it doesn't want to do down there. Turn 1 is definitely the key to this track right now and the cars that have it figured out will be the ones that prevail."

WAS IT SURPRISING TO YOU THAT A NEWLY-PAVED TRACK COULD BE THAT BUMPY? "It really was, but I tell you, it started at the test. The second, third day of the Cup test and then when we came back for the Busch test it was a lot bumpier. So by this time, by race weekend here you knew what to expect. But you've got to deal with it and you've got to make the best of it."

ARE THESE CARS GOING TOO FAST? "Well, they're not going nearly as fast as they were at the test. You know, the heat has got them slowing down a little bit but I don't know if that's worse because we're slipping and sliding around; a lot less control now."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COMING TO VEGAS AGAIN? "Well I wish we could just set a date without racing. We just all had to come out here and have fun, party and have a good time."

YOU COULD PUT UP WITH ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE WRONG WITH THE TRACK? "This city has always been a blast for me to come to my whole life. My parents brought all three of us here when we were kids. A lot of memories and a lot of fun to be had here in Las Vegas and I enjoy coming here whether racing or not. It's a lot less fun when you're here racing; you're here for business and you've got to take care of that first."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 NICORETTE/DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS

JEFF GORDON TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT THE NEW LAS VEGAS TRACK SURFACE, TIRES, THE IMPALA SS CAR OF TOMORROW AND MORE

ON NEW SURFACE OF LVMS: "The new surface is pretty nice, yes it has a few bumps in it going in to one which are going to be a challenge, but all-in-all, I am really happy with the surface. Obviously none of us are going to be happy with the grip level out there right now because Goodyear had to change a tire up to keep from blowing tires. It has been a real challenge to slow us down over a second from where we were here at testing. It has been one of those things where everybody is pretty frustrated with trying to get some grip and get some comfort back in the car."

ON NEW TIRE COMPOUND: "Obviously you don't want to see failures in the tires and problems, so in that sense we are better with this tire. But at the same time, you don't want to see Goodyear have to build a harder tire like this. You don't want to see NASCAR make us go to smaller fuel cells. I think we always lean toward the conservative side and again, we have gone way to far. The tire is a little too hard on the left side, I think the fuel cell being smaller isn't necessary, but I guess, better to be safe than sorry. Once you get a few laps on the tire, its not so bad when you get some heat in them. We should see a pretty decent race. It is really about holding on until you get some heat in the tires."

ON ADVANTAGE HIS TEAM MIGHT HAVE WITH MORE PIT STOPS: "I think our team is really solid right now. I am really happy with the performance and the pit crew, the calls that Steve Latarte is making in the pits. This will certainly come down to a lot of strategy, because you might not need to take tires because as hard as these tires are, I don't think we are going to wear them out."

ON MORE PIT STOPS PRESENTING MORE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A MISTAKE IN THE PITS: "That is true, but it is the same for all of us. I know we try to pride ourselves on not making mistakes and I do hope that falls more in to our hands with the caliber of team that we have."

ON RACE BEING SIMILAR TO CHARLOTTE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO: "Yes, I think so. The only thing is that this track has variable banking so I think we will definitely have a couple of grooves but it is going to be tough to pass because the tire is so, so hard. This isn't something that any of us want. Some way we have to figure out as a collective group because we are all trying to build our cars to go faster. You have a track that wanted to change up its banking and its surface and that is great but, they have created so much grip that now the tire can't handle it. So Goodyear it has to go in and change the tire, then NASCAR has to make a move on the fuel cell and all that. It is not what any of us want, we all want a track that wears out and is old and doesn't have a lot of grip so Goodyear can build the right tire and we can go out there and race. It is something you wish you could get around but it is nobody's fault, we are all in this together. You kind of a wish there was another way around it, but it just doesn't seem like there is right now.

ON VARIABLE BANKING BEING ALOT LIKE HOMESTEAD: "Yes very much so and I love it, I think it is great. I look at Homestead now that has had its surface for a few years, it is worn out and the way it has aged, it is great. We have a lot of different grooves there to race on, kind of the way this track was. But any time you put a new surface on, it is going to take time. It is going to be a pain for all of us and you hope it doesn't affect the racing too much and there in no guarantee it is going to affect the racing in any way. It iust affecting the drivers and the teams and how they get the grip into the car to make the drivers happy."

ON HOW HARD IT WILL BE FOR JUNIOR TO REBOUND FROM START TO SEASON: "It all depends on the kind of team that you have and the driver. Those guys are capable of rebounding and getting back in to it. If it continues much longer, confidence starts deteriorating. Those guys were running were good at California so I think that is what is holding their heads up high and getting them through the weekend. If they can come out of here solid, then I don't think it is an issue. If they have problems here, then it is only going to make it that much tougher next weekend. "

ON MONTOYA'S BUSCH RACE IN MEXICO: "I didn't see it. We were on vacation! I heard about it and that is about it. I can't comment on it because I didn't see it. Did he take out a teammate or did a teammate not give him enough room? I can't comment because I didn't see it. Obviously you don't want to make contact with your teammate no matter which side of it you are on. If anything, I just think it shows that Juan knew he was on a road course, knew he had to be aggressive and knew how bad he wanted that win. There is no doubt about it that he will be someone we have to worry about at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. I think there are going to be some ovals that he is going to be tough on as well. I don't think there is any doubt that if Ganassi gives him a good race car, on a road course he is going to be a threat to win. I think it will be fun and exciting but I don't want anymore challenges, I have enough of them out there now as it is (Laughs). I don't feel like we have it all wrapped up by any means trust me. Stewart has been so strong there. I didn't think we had the fasted car last year when we won but we made some good moves and had a fast car at the right time to get track position.

"I think he is an aggressive driver and that is what makes him fast. The thing about the ovals if you have to know when to be aggressive and when not to be. It is just something that is going to take time, but as he gets more confidence and more laps you'll see that same driving style he has on the road course on the ovals."

ON WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS IF THAT SITUATION OCCURED: "We would definitely have a sit down talk and I am sure Rick (Hendrick) would get involved and we would do whatever it takes to make sure things like that didn't happen again. I am sure we would try to find out who was at fault as well. There are times when you have to give way and there are other times when you should not be so aggressive and poke your nose in there! You have got to be able to work together as teammates, that is the only way you can grow as a team. I think it is probably hard for Juan to look at Scott (Pruett) as a teammate when they are just running together in the Busch Series in a few road races."

ON BEING PREPARED FOR BRISTOL RACE WITH CAR OF TOMORROW: "I can't say we were too great at Bristol. The only thing we had coming out of there was Jimmie felt good about it so we can look at their notes and see what they are doing and maybe make some gains. You know I love Bristol, it is one of my favorite race tracks. We are going to get it but that car has definitely presented some new challenges that we have to work around."

ON DIFFICULTING GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN CURRENT CAR AND NEW IMPALA SS: "It is more challenging for the team in preparation and building cars. For the driver, in one lap you know what you have and then you just work around it. It is just another race car. What makes a race car go fast is getting it balanced correctly, getting it comfortable and find turning on all those things. It is just different tools we have with the COT that we have with this current car, which is what makes it so challenging. We just don't have as much to work with to get the car to do what you want it to do."

ON ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "I love Atlanta. It is one of my very favorite tracks we go to right now. I love the surface there, everything about it. It has multiple grooves and we have run really good there the last couple of races. I am looking forward to going back there. That is one of the things about coming here with the new surface and all the challenges, the new tire, the smaller fuel cell. Then you get to go back to Atlanta where we get to go back to the way you wish we could be every weekend where you have a worn out surface. You have a tire that wears out bur doesn't seem to blow out, You have long runs, the regular fuel cell in the current car, everything I love about this sport is what is going to happen next weekend at Atlanta."

ON NEW FAN AREA AT LVMS: "Anything you can do to get the fans more interaction get them more involved, let them see more of the action is good. It is always that fine line between entertaining and racing and we always seem to push the limits but over time, you get used to it. I will admit that it is challenging for the team to have that many hands and faces glued to the glass watching every moment, At the same time, this is a sport of accessibility and based on their commitment and their involvement is something we all have to understand and really balance out. You want to entertain the fans but you always want to concentrate and focus on your job."