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

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT DALE EARNHARDT JR JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, HIS IMPENDING FATHERHOOD, AND ROAD COURSE RACING AT SONOMA

ON DALE EARNHARDT JR JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "I'm excited. I hate that we haven't been able to say anything or to talk about it. I tried not to get too involved with it because we're obviously focused here to drive this DuPont Chevrolet and win this championship this year. But just knowing behind the scenes, things that have been going on, it's been very exciting and I'm happy for Junior and for Hendrick Motorsports. I think he's a great talent and he obviously brings a lot to the table besides just his talent and I think it's a great opportunity for him as well. I'm looking forward to having him as a teammate. It doesn't mean that I expect people to not continue to boo me in full force, but I think it's going to be pretty cool to see him out there in the type of equipment I think we're capable of giving him."

WHEN RICK HENDRICK SPOKE TO YOU ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY OF HAVING JUNIOR JOIN THE ORGANIZATION, HOW DID THAT CONVERSATION GO? "I think it was an opportunity of a lifetime that's only going to come around once however many years in this sport and how could you not consider it? I think the toughest part through it all was Rick trying to put his hands around it because it's been a real challenge. It's like on one side it's something very exciting and a great opportunity. He's had a great relationship with Junior and his family for a number of years. And Ricky's involvement and his relationship with Junior goes way back, so there's some history there. But trying to figure out what to do because you've got existing sponsors and drivers and everything else. From the beginning, actually Rick thought it would be great, but it's just not going to be possible. And then along the way, things transpired that made it a potential possibility and as time went by, made it a reality."

SOME PEOPLE SAY THIS IS THE DREAM TEAM. DO YOU VIEW IT THAT WAY? "Oh, well I felt that way before Junior was coming. I feel like we have a great organization. I will put this on the record: I'm pretty sure this will be the last person he ever drives for, because I know what kind of person Rick Hendrick is and what kind of organization we have and once you come here, you don't want to go anywhere else. It's just that good of an organization and that good of people. I think that he's making a great move and I think he's going to be extremely happy with it. He's not making this just for financial reasons. He's making for this for how to be treated and how to be competitive and for his future and I think its' a great move."

WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT IT ALL WORKED OUT? "Yes and no. I think that where there's a will, there's a way. There were a lot of different scenarios that were being played out where maybe he did something else for a year or two you know before he could come there. I didn't think that was going to be something that Junior was going to be interested in. And we have a great driver line-up with Kyle (Busch) who is extremely talented. And I think we pretty much knew that me and Jimmie (Johnson) weren't going anywhere and Casey (Mears) is new to the team and we need to give him a shot. I know it was a very difficult thing to make those decisions. But the way I heard it played out was fairly mutual. And I think that really, this is going to be best for Hendrick and for Kyle. I think that Kyle is a tremendous talent but the chemistry never seemed to be there at Hendrick and he's just had to fight through some things. I'm excited to see how he pulls himself together through the rest of this year because I think he's got a lot to offer to teams out there. I think he's actually going to find out that when he makes this move and goes forward that he's actually happier with himself and is more comfortable with wherever he goes."

WILL TONY EURY JR COME OVER TO BE DALE JR'S CREW CHIEF OR WILL IT BE ALAN GUSTAFSON OR WHO? "That's not anything that we're really ready to discuss. I'm going to give Rick my best advice that I possibly can from the 15 years that I've been there. He and that team are going to make that decision. The goal is to get the best people and the best team in place to support Junior and give him what he needs. That's the bottom line."

HOW WILL DALE JR'S PERSONALITY FIT WITH THE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS GROUP? "I love the differences in personalities on a race team. You don't expect everyone to be the same but I think it's all about how you communicate. I'm just thinking of it from a teammate standpoint. I look at Casey and Jimmie and myself and I think about Junior in the future and I think as long as he's committed, which I think he is or he wouldn't have made this bold of a move, that we're going to be able to communicate and get along well. Every driver has a different style and a different personality and you've got to mesh those together and we've done an excellent job with it over the years. But I really think he's going to fit in well."

HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO JUNIOR AND IF SO, WHAT DID YOU SAY? "I spoke to him before the final decisions were made and just told him that we'd love to have him and how our organization works and that I think that could be a very good move for him. And he seemed to be pretty excited. He was like a nervous little kid. It was really strange to see him in that situation because you know, here you've got all these teams and sponsors and everything else wanted him to sign with them and it seemed like he was the one that was kind of shy and stand-offish about the whole thing. That's why he's going to fit in so well because he's very humble and appreciative and excited. He's not this guy who's got this big ego and that just feels like he's going to come in and take over the place. He wants to come in and fit. So I was kind of feeling where he was coming from and I think he wanted to see how I felt about being teammates and I was supportive of it from the beginning."

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME DALE JR HAS BEEN OUTSIDE OF A FAMILY ORGANIZATION. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR HIM AS HIS OWN MAN TO GO OUT THERE AND WORK FOR SOMEBODY ELSE? "Well, I think he said it in the press conference that's he's kind of had it easy. He's been able to kind of come and go and do what he pleases there at DEI. And to an extent, we want him to be comfortable with being at Hendrick, but at the same time there are certain stipulations and guidelines that we all live under - whether it be team meetings and just being professional and I think that he wants to be here and he's going to do a great job."

SO WILL YOU GET INVITATIONS TO CLUB E JR NOW? "I've been to Club E before. I've only gotten maybe one invite. I went up and did his radio show last year. I love to see how he lives. Because I think the perception from the outside that a lot people have about all of us is one that comes from behind the camera that you don't really get to see and touch and feel. And when you go there and you experience it, it's really cool to see a guy in his position that seems to have the world in the palm of his hand who is just very down to earth and humble and who is just a good guy who enjoys life. I think that most of us have that in us when you go to our homes and see us in our own comfortable atmosphere."

DURING THE PRESS CONFERENCE, DALE JUNIOR SEEMED TO BE KEEPING THAT MINI RIVALRY GOING BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU "Yeah, I'm confused why people think that's going to stop because we're teammates. You know, Jimmie Johnson and I are very competitive with one another but we're good friends. We have a lot of respect for one another. We showed at Martinsville and at other times this year and several years that we know what kind of equipment we have and that gathering information and sharing information is to benefit all of us. But when it comes down to the race and who is going to win, we want it really, really bad. And we're willing to trade a little paint for that. Nothing's going to change with Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming to our organization either. The bottom line is that it's going to come down to this: The fans right now can speculate and say what they want and say oh, we're not going to pull for him now because he's at Hendrick or we'll still be committed to him; or say I hope Jeff Gordon doesn't think he's going to gain us as fans. The bottom line is this: When he goes out there and he starts being competitive week in and week out on a consistent basis and battling for championships and hopefully one day wins the championship for Hendrick Motorsports, all the fans are going to be following him and they're still going to be booing me (laughs)."

WHEN BRIAN VICKERS WAS GOING TO LEAVE HMS, HE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN TEAM MEETINGS. WITH KYLE BUSCH MOVING ON, AT WHAT POINT WOULD YOU PREFER HE NOT BE INVOLVED IN YOUR TEAM MEETINGS? "I think it just all depends on how you handle things. Brian had a computer that he had stuff loaded into. I think that you've got to be careful in letting too much out. If we come across something new that we're going to be taking to the next season, then that might be a decision that's made. It's all about how Kyle wants to handle things. I think he's done a great job in handling things. If he continues to handle himself the way he is today, then we're going to do our best to continue to give him the opportunity to win races and championships and try to get the same information we've been getting out of him to help ourselves as well. There may be a point somewhere further on down the road where we do have to, at certain times, pull him aside from some of our meetings. But that's a standard deal. That's going to happen. It did happen with Brian and it could happen with Kyle. We'll just have to wait and see."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT YOUR SEASON HAS BEEN? "It's just been an incredible year. We have such a great team and we're having a lot of fun. We're going to the race track and we're competitive and all the guys are together. The chemistry is there and it's obvious. We're having a blast. I look forward to going to every race track - especially this one (MIS). It's one of my favorites. I hope we can keep it going this weekend."

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAND? "You know, I've got like poison oak or ivy or something so I'm just trying to keep it covered up so it doesn't spread."

HAVE YOU AND INGRID BEEN TO THE DOCTOR? DO YOU HAVE A BETTER FEEL FOR HOW NEXT WEEK IS GOING TO PLAY OUT? "Yeah, it seems like at this stage it's a day to day thing. Next Tuesday we've got some tests and different meetings going on, so we're kind of waiting in the wings to see what's going to happen - whether we want to induce (labor) or whether we want to wait it out. So we'll all know a lot more next week."

DO YOU HAVE TO PAINT NURSERIES LIKE THE REST OF US POOR SLOBS? AND DO YOU HAVE A SPONSORSHIP FOR A GO-KART FOR THAT KID? "I do have to get comfortable with pink (laughter). I've had to succumb to lots of pink being around. But I haven't had to do any painting myself, fortunately. But we are definitely in full nursery mode. What I have had to do is assemble a lot of things that I never thought I'd be assembling like -- whether it's a stroller or whether it's a crib or I don't know what they call them - those bouncy things. I'm reading directions left and right. No go-karts. We've got a little car, but not a go-kart."

BUT YOU ARE READING DIRECTIONS? YOU'RE NOT LIKE THE REST OF US WHO FIGURED WE COULD DO IT OURSELVES? "I didn't say I started reading the directions. I normally start putting it together and then figure out what I did wrong by going back and reading the directions. I'm just like all the other guys."

WHAT ABOUT PICTURES? EVERYBODY IS GOING TO WANT TO SEE A PICTURE OF THIS BABY. IS IT GOING TO BE RELEASED TO ONE PUBLICATION? "Probably not immediately. But http://www.jeffgordon.com is going to lead the way on the announcement on pictures and things like that. But you know we want to enjoy this moment as much as we can and we're not focused on what kind of media blitz it's going to be. We're more focused on just enjoying being parents. So let's get to that point. But I can guarantee you the first stuff will come out on http://www.jeffgordon.com . We've been telling the fans that. As soon as it happens - within probably the next hour or two after that, the first people to know will be on the website."

HOW MUCH TIME WILL YOU TAKE OFF? "It depends on when the baby is born. If the baby is born on a Wednesday, then it'll be a day and a half. If the baby is born on a Friday or a Saturday, then that could change things."

WHAT ABOUT IF IT HAPPENS ON LAP 40? "Lap 40? I'm going to see her when I get home. There's not a lot I can do about that. Let's hope that doesn't happen."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT RACING THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR AT SONOMA? "I'm looking forward to it. We tested up at VIR and I feel like we've got a good race car and I'm excited about it."

IS MONTOYA A THREAT? "Absolutely. I think he is. I think the Penske cars are going to be tough because they really got their road course program down last year and the Gibbs cars will be tough. I think you're really going to have to look at Montoya as being a factor."

HOW BIG A STEP IS IT FROM WINNING A BUSCH ROAD COURSE RACE IN MEXICO TO CONTENDING AT A CUP RACE AT INFINEON? IS THAT A BIG LEAP? "Oh, I don't think there is any comparison. It was pretty obvious that they had the cars to beat in Mexico because he and Scott Pruitt were very strong. Beating Scott Pruitt is not an easy thing. He's tough. But the competition is just so much tougher in the Cup series. That's going to be the biggest change. And with the car of tomorrow, everybody is pretty equal."

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WINE IN THE NAPA VALLEY? "Ah, you know what? Because of all the baby stuff that's going on, my schedule is going to be around what's happening with the baby. I've really tried to take a lot of things off the schedule. I have one DuPont appearance that is at a vineyard and I hope I get a chance to go by Jeff Gordon Cellars. We'll see. I try to get there as often as I can when I'm out there, but with everything going on with the baby, it's hard to say.

"I like wine and I grew up in that area. A good friend of mine, Ron Miller, is just a wine connoisseur and he and I talked years ago about possibly doing a wine one day. It finally came about where we had enough research and felt like you know, let's do a small quantity and high quality and we were able to pull it off. It's been fun. I really look forward to some day being more involved and being able to do more with it. It's been a blast. I don't have enough time to really get into the really fine details of it. But when you get to see that bottle and you open it up and you taste it and you like what you taste, that's something I'm really proud of."

DO YOU THINK RICK HENDRICK WILL GET YOU GUYS TOGETHER FOR A COOKOUT OR SOMETHING? "I want to go fishing. These days it seems like the best way to get all of us together and do something that Rick loves to do and get away. And he's been really stressed out through all this. It has not been an easy task to pull this off. I think the best thing for us to do is to get away and go do a little fishing trip."

AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE, RICK HENDRICK TALKED ABOUT BEING UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE "Well, yeah. This is one of the biggest things I've seen come along in this sport in the 15 years I've been a part of it. And to see a guy who has been the most popular guy, decide to become a free agent; and what was up for grabs as far as his opportunities and to be able to pull that off - whoever pulled that off is going to feel extreme pressure. And as good as our organization is, I think you still feel pressure. The good thing is that pressure is a part of what we do. It's there every weekend. Junior is going to have pressure. The team is going to have pressure and the team is going to have pressure. I think Rick feels that pressure even with our team and Jimmie's team to try to defend a championship and to continue to put winning cars out there. This just took it to another level because of the attention it was getting."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT RACING ON FATHER'S DAY? "Father's Day this year has a whole new meaning to it. Just knowing how close we are and how excited I am about being a father. I have a greater appreciation for mothers and fathers and what it takes to get to this point. I can't imagine what it's going to be like next year when I actually am a father."

THERE WERE RUMORS ABOUT YOU AND A PLANE CRASH LAST WEEK. WAS THERE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR PLANE? "I started getting lit up on my phone. And I didn't know what was going on. So I called my office and talked to my dad and he told me what had happened. It was a sensor that malfunctioned. It's actually happened before so it didn't surprise me - not on this plane, but on other planes I've had. This is a fairly new plane that I have, but it's happened on other planes. The thing is, if my tail number was not 24JG, you guys would never have thought twice about it. But the fact that it's 24JG gets people's attention. The other thing is that my plane is in a management system. So other people fly in my plane. So it's not just exclusive to me. But the fact that that happened, was unfortunate because it got a lot of people scared and nervous. The good thing is that people who are close to me know I wasn't flying that day. So they knew it wasn't me. They didn't know if the plane was flying, they just knew I wasn't on it and they were comforted to know that nothing happened to the plane or to anybody else - especially me."

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Monte Carlo SS Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Monte Carlo SS, spoke with the media at Michigan International Speedway about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. joining Hendrick Motorsports, racing at MIS, racing at Infineon Raceway and other subjects:

ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "It's a great move for him, for Junior to go to that team (Hendrick Motorsports), obviously. I think his mind was pretty much made up before he even left DEI, where he wanted to go. If you want to win now, obviously that's a great position to put yourself in."

WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR COMPETITION IN THE SPORT? "I don't know. It's definitely a tough team regardless. I wouldn't put Kyle (Busch) below any of those guys as far as driving talent is concerned. You're kind of getting rid of one and getting another so it could go either way."

WHAT COULD IT DO FOR KYLE, KNOWING THAT HE'S LEAVING? "As far as the talent aspect, he could be one of the more sought-after drivers in this garage area. For him to be looking for a ride, it's not going to take long. You're going to have just as many owners interested in Kyle as they were in Junior."

ON WHAT FATHER'S DAY MEANS TO YOU: "We always have a lot of great memories but the non-racing part of it is always going to the car shows in their old hot rod. All I would ask them to do is let me polish his chrome bumpers and things like that. That was really the first thing that he really involved me in and working on his show car. That kind of got us really close at the beginning."

YOU GUYS HAVE A COUPLE RACES NOW WITH A RECONFIGURED PIT CREW. HAS THAT HELPED? "Yeah. Things have gelled with the pit crew. They're getting better every week. The biggest thing is we're not making big mistakes right now. That's the important thing. We can beat most of the guys on the race track, we just need some help on pit road. If we can maintain and if we lose a spot or two here or there, that's not so bad. It's when you lose the 15 or 20 at the end that will bite you. For the most part we're still searching around trying to find that perfect chemistry but things are heading towards that direction."

HOW TOUGH IS IT TO BE PATIENT KNOWING THAT SOONER OR LATER YOU'LL END UP IN VICTORY LANE? "It's just going to make us appreciate it more when we finally get there. Even though we had our first and second wins at Pocono last year, the second one we expected to win. We were expected to win a lot this year through the races that we've had and we haven't got it. When you fall short like that, as many times as we have, it's definitely going to make us appreciate being in Victory Lane and just drive us to work harder to get there. I think we have all the things to do it, obviously every single week. We just are not getting those breaks that we need to finish the deal off. All that could change. You never know from week to week when luck is going to turn your way. Hopefully it's waiting to shine on us for the last 10."

HOW HAVE YOU AVIODED THE SOPHOMORE SLUMP? "It's tough to say. I knew going into this year that I was going to be a lot better race car driver than what I was last year. And Carl (Edwards), I can guarantee you, they talk about his was not so great the next year. His talent didn't get any worse. I guarantee he's probably better the second year than he was the first, it's just that momentum swinging and what team is running well. Roush didn't run well that year, Gibbs is running very well this year and I'm a part of the team. I think it has more of affect on whether your team stays up on the competition or not to be whether you're successful your second year."

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WOULD BE BETTER THIS YEAR THAN LAST? "I knew at a lot of race tracks that I did not have the experience to go fast. Didn't know what it took to make my car good until the race started. Half, three-quarters of the way through the race is when I realized 'oh, I got the hang of it now'. So when I go back to those race tracks, I can figure it out and practice. So it gives us even more time to work on our race car and fine-tune it. The more information you can give, the better off you're going to be. For the most part, that's why we're better. I'm able to give better information."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ROAD COURSES? "I've got a lot of confidence on road courses, especially since we tested at V.I.R. about a week or so ago and we were very good up there. Tony was really good. Gibbs as a whole is riding high right now. Even though we haven't run races we've led a lot of laps. That goes a long way as far as the teams are concerned. To know that you're competitive, the more we go to the road courses, they've always been good on road courses in the past and Tony's just a machine when it comes to road-course races. Obviously I've learned a lot from him and I know we've got great equipment on our side."

IN REGARDS TO TRUEX, JR. AND MEARS, DOES THE PRESSURE GET LIGHTER OR MORE INTENSE AFTER YOUR FIRST WIN? "I think that those guys are just going to keep performing better. Obviously the pressure's off them to win their first race and now you see with Truex and Mears, the same way, the momentum those guys are carrying for the next three to four weeks. This is about the time that we really started going on a run last year and it was right after the first Pocono win. I think the confidence level is definitely there for those guys and it's obviously showing up now."

WHICH IS THE FAVORITE FEDEX COMMERCIAL YOU'VE DONE? "The lawnmower one last year was the funnest to make, as far as this year the one with the retirement home was my favorite."

IS JUAN PABLO MONTOYA A THREAT NEXT WEEK? "I definitely think so. He was really smooth at Mexico. He had a really, really good car at Mexico so that kind of makes up for a little bit but these Cup guys are a lot different than the Busch guys on the road courses. I think he's got a good a chance as any, to say the favorite would be stretching it. Guys like Gordon and Stewart and those guys have just proved how well they are at road courses. I think with the new car, it will also rely a lot on how good his race car is. Ganassi, it's tough to say how their road-course package is going to end up. They could be at the top of the list or the middle. If that's the case, he's going to have a hard time trying to make up for what his car doesn't have."

HOW BIG A LEAP IS IT FROM MEXICO TO A CUP ROAD RACE? "It's big, especially Sonoma. Because Sonoma is way more technical than Mexico City or Watkins Glen. It's slower speeds so you've got to be very line-sensitive. I found that after I went there the first time, I struggled until halfway through the race just trying to figure out where I needed to be on the race track, just flat-out overdriving it. I was driving it like I would Watkins Glen or any other road course and realized that I just needed to slow down a little bit. I think that's one thing he's going to have to probably learn."

HOW HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS? "It's changed a little bit. The biggest thing is my confidence level has definitely changed. Last year I was going to these race tracks not knowing what to expect or what I needed to do and this year I've got a lot more confidence and that's what really showing up on the race track. When you go somewhere you've been before you're going to be more confident, you're going to be faster. That's probably the biggest change. Lifestyle-wise it's really no different."

CAN YOU GO TO THE MOVIES OR A RESTAURANT AND NOT GET MOBBED? "That part of it's changed a little bit from the first year until now. But it was expected. I knew it when I signed up for this job and this is what a lot of young guys out there racing go-karts right now would be hoping for, is to have the attention and have fans want their autograph. It's nothing that you can really complain about. You've got one of the very few jobs in the world that most of us would love to do and would do it for free."

WHEN DID YOU FIND OUT THAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. WAS NOT GOING TO JOE GIBBS RACING? "I knew probably a week ago that just through talking to some guys and their last conversation with that whole camp, it sounded like they already had their mind made up before the whole deal even started. I think going to other teams was really just a motion they went through, kind of a protocol thing."

SO AS RECENTLY AS A WEEK AGO THEY WERE STILL TALKING TO YOUR TEAM? "Well, the people that represent Gibbs and just talking through them, they kind of were a little discouraged after their last conversation and basically said their chances were very slim."

WHAT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN LIKE TO HAVE HIM AS A TEAMMATE? "It would have been good for the whole team, it would have been good for all three of us. I think that we're still building on that team today. J. J. (Yeley) is really stepping up over the last few weeks and he's in the top 20 in points now. He's continued to be a better driver than he has been in the past. So obviously he's stepping up and eventually, hopefully we have that powerhouse team that everyone looks at."

DID THE KID IN THE VIDEO GAME COMMERCIAL GET YOUR AUTOGRAPH? "Yeah, it was exciting to see the race last week and to see the last two commercials unveiled for the year. It was exciting to see all of those finally come out and I think they turned out great."

WAS THERE ANY DISAPPOINTMENT THAT THE DEAL WITH DALE JR. DIDN'T WORK OUT? "A little bit disappointed, yeah. In the same aspect I think you end up putting yourself on the box when that happens, then you're kind of. I can't talk about that too much. For the most part it could be better in the long haul for our team to stay the way it is because Gibbs kind of flies under the radar. Hendrick right now is going to have all the stars and they've got probably three of the big four drivers in their stable. Whether that's good for one race team or not, I'm not too sure."

WAS THERE TRUTH TO THE RUMORS THAT GIBBS WILL ADD A FOURTH CAR NEXT YEAR? "I think if they were going to do that, the motions would already have to be in place. I think if you are going to add an additional car, two months past mid-season, it's really going to be a stretch to try to get all your cars done and get all prepared for that new guy. So I think for the most part we're going to keep our three-car team for next year."

ARE YOU ANXIOUS TO SEE HOW MONTOYA WILL PERFORM AT SONOMA? "I don't know. I'm sure we're going to be on our own agenda and not (be) really too concerned with it. But it will be interesting to see how he does and I know my experience on that race track last year, I wrecked a car in practice. I realized very quick that that is a very, very tough race track. Even though a road course is a road course, it's one of the more technical ones out there. So I think it's going to reward a smooth driver rather than a fast, aggressive one. I think he's been fast and aggressive this year so I think he's probably going to have to turn that down at Sonoma."

LOOKING AT YOUR PERSONALITY, THIS SEEMS LIKE A GREAT TEAM FOR YOU: "Yeah, I'm kind of the guy in between. I'm not as outspoken as Tony might be or I'm not as soft-spoken as J.J. may be. I think we have a good team right now and even looking to the future, I know J.J.'s talents continue to get higher and our team as a whole hasn't even hit it's peak yet. And we're already competitive. So I think here in the future, we're going to be really tough to beat."

WHAT'S THE STRANGEST THING SOMEONE HAS ASKED YOU TO SIGN? "I think their shoe was probably the most strange thing, right off their foot. You would think that would eventually wear off but I don't know, some people like it."

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA FOR HIS WEEKLY TOP-12 HAULER CHAT AND DISCUSSED THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND FATHER'S DAY:

ON HAVING DALE EARNHARDT, JR. AS A HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAMMATE: "There is still a long time to go before we are able to work together, but, I am excited about the opportunity. I think it is great for Hendrick Motorsports and great for myself. We have a long time before we actually get to work together and get in to the grind of the season and things that you face as teammates, working together and developing cars and stuff. Right now I know it is probably a big burden off of Mr. Hendrick's chest, off of Junior's chest and we will just see how the next few months unfold."

ON ROOM FOR ANOTHER TEAMMATE TO WIN AT THE REGULARITY THAT HE AND JEFF GORDON HAVE BEEN WINNING: "I think so. If you look at Hendrick Motorsports and the victories that come of Hendrick and the fact that we have had multiple cars in the Chase and multiple drivers fighting for the championship, I think if there is a team that can pull it off, it is Hendrick Motorsports."

ON BEING SURPRISED THAT SITUATION WITH JUNIOR JOINING HMS WORKED OUT: "Yes, I really was surprised. With driver contracts and sponsorship contracts in place, I just really didn't think it was possible. We all knew that every team would try and make it happen. There was a lot of give and take going on behind closed doors to get this to take place at Hendrick Motorsports and that's happened and we're looking forward to the future."

DID YOU HAVE ANY INPUT ON THIS DECISION? "No, it was amazing to me how quiet things worked throughout the whole process. Obviously it's a sensitive topic and a lot of attention has been on it. Now looking back I see where some questions came from and what they were adding up to but I wasn't involved in the development of the situation and what took place."

DID YOU SEE ANY PICTURES OF THE FOUR OF YOU AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS 'DREAM TEAM'? "No, I haven't seen the shot. On paper we've always had an amazing team and I think that Junior coming on brings in a whole different situation. It's a situation that we're all excited for and welcome and the bottom line is we still have to go racing. We've got to build the best race cars we can every week, we've got to do a good job of building the team around Junior while maintaining what we have with the other great teams and trying to continue to develop them. It will be fun to talk about it for a while - and I know Junior is too, but after speaking to him, he's ready to get to the off-season and start developing the product and developing the cars and the relationships and the team that he needs around him. So we'll just have to work hard until then and it will be a busy off-season."

WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATIONS HAVE YOU HAD WITH HIM? "Just called him and said 'hey, teammate, congrats'. I could hear in his voice how happy he is and excited. He's like a little kid right now. I'm happy for him that he's made a great decision and I obviously support his decision to come to Hendrick Motorsports. It's a fantastic company, great owner, great team and it's all in front of him. The world's in his hands and he can certainly take advantage of it at our company."

WHEN RICK HENDRICK CAME TO YOU GUYS WITH THIS NEWS, HOW DID YOU REACT? "I can't say I was deeply involved with conversations about it. Now looking back I could see where different questions he asked, the thought process he was going through. He was gauging my interest and concerns, if I had any. All I can really say is that I was asked about it and there's a lot that happened behind closed doors because of how sensitive this topic is and how much interest has been. So I just really wasn't there for all of it and I don't have a comment."

WHEN DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT IT? "I first heard about it through text and emails. The day before I was running crazy, like there's no way. It was just a long process developing, I guess, and I was as shocked as everyone else."

WHY DO YOU THINK KYLE BUSCH WAS THE ONE THAT WAS EXPENDABLE? "I really don't know, to be honest with you. I think that over the last year or so there have been initiatives and conflicts that have popped up. I think that Kyle has had some opportunities. I think that he'd been in a long negotiation for a renewal that hasn't seemed like there's been a lot of interest. It just kind of steered things in that direction. And again, I haven't been in direct conversation with Kyle and I haven't spoken to Rick on his mindset on it all but we're shocked to see that Junior was coming and we're shocked to see. I didn't know - obviously if he came somebody had to go. And I didn't know what that situation meant. I've developed a good friendship with Kyle and I certainly wish him the best. I also have a great friendship with Casey (Mears) and if he did come, I didn't know who was going to leave. I was really nervous about that whole situation and I don't think it's made anyone comfortable. I know it's been real hard on Rick but he's got to take care of business."

IS KYLE A GOOD TEAMMATE? "He is. I think he's still learning that role as a young guy but the thing with Kyle - and it's something we do good at Hendrick, we understand each other's driving styles - when Kyle's fast, I know what to look for and have been able to apply that. And he's done the same by learning me. I really think that he's going to be somebody that we're going to have to race week in and week out, wherever he goes. He's going to be somebody hard to beat."

WHAT IMPACT DID YOUR DAD HAVE ON YOUR CAREER? "My dad had a large part to do with my career. And we started all the years racing at the local motorcross tracks around my hometown and nationwide, for that matter. A lot of dedication from my mom and dad both and I'd certainly love to win on Father's Day."

WHAT WOULD MAKE THAT SPECIAL? "I think it's that your father watches - all of our parents watch - and they're proud of what we all do and that we've all been able to make it so far in our sport. I'm sure they sit at home with a huge smile on their face and if I'm lucky enough to get to victory lane to do that on Monday and dedicate it to my father would be special."

HOW LONG DO YOU EXPECT THE DALE EARNHARDT, JR. STORY TO BE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION? "Forever (laughs). That's not going anywhere anytime soon. The next talk will be the sponsor and then I'm sure it's going to be testing and then the '08 season so the buzz will not go away, I'm sure."

ON AMOUNT TIME YOU HAVE TO TALK TO OTHER DRIVERS INCLUDING JUNIOR DURING A SEASON? "I don't know. There's always conversation, there's always something. I think we're doing a really good job of trying to stay focused on performance and focused on the competition side of things. I don't see that changing. I just think it will be something that surrounds the team and we've already had a lot of notoriety and a lot of things going on for championships and race wins. Jeff (Gordon) breaking streaks, that it shouldn't be anything different for us."

WHAT DO YOU THINK JUNIOR WILL BRING TO THE TEAM? "I think maybe at Talladega, after the race is over, our race cars won't get beat up now with all the beer cans flying over the fence. I haven't been in a situation like this with Junior. I've known him for a lot of years, have been friends, but until we have that chance to work together and drive race cars and share sensations of what we're feeling, work with the engineers, I don't know. I'm not sure what to expect. There's obviously a lot that he brings in from a fan base side and sponsorship side and a lot of that comes in and helps Hendrick Motorsports. But the things that I'm really concerned with are how are we going to be his teammates, what type of style does he have that I can work from. Those are the things that I think Jeff, Casey and even Kyle have learned about one another and if Kyle's going fast I know what to look for in my style and the things I need to change. If Jeff is, if Casey is too. I look forward to those challenges and figuring each other out so we can make our team better."

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GRASP THAT? "I think it depends on how different the style is. With Jeff and I, our styles were close enough that it didn't take me long to figure that out. Kyle, using him as an example, the guy doesn't use a lot of brake. You almost look at his brake trace in testing, leave pit road and never touch the brake pedal until he comes back onto pit road. And that is something that is so hard for me to not do. That's been a tough struggle for me but as I've learned it, it applied to certain tracks more."

HAVE YOU CALLED JUNIOR AND CONGRATULATED HIM? "I certainly did. I had a great conversation with him and he sounded like a kid in a candy store. He truly sounded happy and I'm excited for him."

WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM? "I just congratulated him, I said 'congrats, welcome to the team, teammate'. You could hear him giggling and he was excited and I really think the focus for him is to be in the Chase and try to win the championship this year for DEI. Once we get into next season there's a lot to learn and a whole new company for him to learn but I think it's a real exciting opportunity."

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS COMMENTS SAYING THAT HE WAS PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CAREER? "I got a good kick out of that. I've known him for a lot of years. It goes all the way back to the mid '90s or late '90s when I went to the Daytona 500 with Ron Hornaday and his son Ronnie and Dale and myself. (We were) all in a condo together and I remember us all sitting around about our dreams of all wanting to be race car drivers and when I came into the Busch Series he was a big help to me when I was driving that Kingsford car. I was lost. I didn't know what to do, where to be, especially at the Gateway track because it's such a weird-shaped track. I've gone to him on advice on buying my first motor home. I didn't know what that meant and a driver and expenses for it so we've definitely been close for a lot of years and look forward to it."

DO YOU THINK RICKY HENDRICK HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT TO SEE THIS? "Ricky had a great eye for talent and for kind of a direction that his father didn't look at inside the company. I think Ricky was growing into that position. Ricky would see things and drivers brought to the table. I know that he'd been talking about Junior for a long time. They had a great friendship. Ricky could go to his dad and say things that no one else could and put it in a way that no one else could. Ricky was really developing into that role at Hendrick and with his untimely death, we never got to see what that would turn into. Ricky had a great eye for talent."

DO YOU THINK HE WOULD THINK THAT THIS WAS COOL? "I'm sure he would think that it was cool, knowing Ricky. And one big get-together on the lake to celebrate it."

YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR FATHER AND RACING? "My parents in general made a lot of sacrifices to get me to the race track week in and week out and race dirt bikes. My dad would take me practicing and take me all around the country racing and riding. His vacations were planned around the motorcross schedule so that we could go race in Oklahoma and Tennessee. So my family just dedicated everything to getting me in position to go racing. I can't thank them enough for that and my dad was a huge, huge part of that."

ON MIS AND THE RACE AHEAD: "I'm excited. This is always a competitive track. We usually run well here. I don't think we have the finishes that we would like but we're usually up front and fighting for wins so I'm excited."

THE LAST CHEVY WIN HERE WAS IN 2001 - WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? "It's really the last third of the race, everything goes haywire. I remember Jeff leading and dominating last time we were here. I've led and I've run out of gas leading. We'll have a great middle segment of the race and then the wheels fall off and a Roush car or a Ford wins. So we look forward to breaking that streak and hopefully it doesn't happen again."

Behind the Hauler Chat, No. 31 AT&T Monte Carlo SS

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 AT&T MONTE CARLO SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TODAY. HE DISCUSSED DALE EARNHARDT'S DECISION TO JOIN HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, IF THAT AFFECTS RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING'S PLANS TO HAVE A FOURTH TEAM, THE ROLE HIS FATHER PLAYED IN HIS CAREER, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ROAD COURSES ON THE NEXTEL CUP SCHEDULE AND OTHER TOPICS.

ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR. GOING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND THE RICH GETTING RICHER: "Well Hendrick obviously as a driver is a place that certainly you would want to look at going. Junior did what I think most drivers in the garage would have done. Rick Hendrick runs a great program. They got great people over there, had a lot of success. From the outside looking in I think he made a good decision."

DOES THAT AFFECT YOU WITH PLANS TO HAVE A FOURTH TEAM? "Doesn't affect us in the least. Obviously there's several drivers that Richard has expressed a lot of interest in. Junior was one of them. He wasn't the only one. There were several drivers that Richard has a tremendous amount of interest in so it doesn't affect RCR's position on whether they'll be a fourth team or not."

ON THE TEST NEXT WEEK AND THE IMPALA SS GOING TO SONOMA NEXT WEEK AND HOW THE SPLITTER WILL BE A BIG THING THERE. HOW WILL THE NEW CAR REACT ON A ROAD COURSE VERSUS THE OTHER CAR: "I think the splitter is not a big of an issue as we believed it would be in January. The splitter has proven to be an extremely durable piece of material. I don't think the splitter is going to be that big of an issue. I could be proven wrong but being that the curves of VIR were pretty aggressive, some of them are anyway, and I don't think it's going to be that big of an issue. Certainly it's potentially an issue but I don't think the splitter is going to be that big of an issue in and of itself. The car is certainly as everywhere else we take it, it's a lower grip car it doesn't make as much grip as the cars are running today and certainly on a road course that makes a big difference. They're heavier, the CG (center of gravity) is higher, there are a lot of things that work against the car driving well and that will show up on a road course."

IS KYLE BUSCH ONE OF THE DRIVERS THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN? "Richard is the one to talk to about that. Richard's the guy to talk to about that."

WHEN A DRIVER IS RELEASED AND KNOW THEY WON'T BE WITH THE TEAM NEXT YEAR WHAT DO THEY RACE FOR? "A lot of times things happen in the office that have nothing to do with what goes on at the shop. In Kyle and Rick's case they came to the determination that maybe it was in both of their best interests to do something different. That doesn't change the fact that Kyle is still here to race to win. That doesn't change the fact that Kyle is still here to race to win. That doesn't change the fact that that team is still here to race to win. It becomes complicated, there's not question about it but I don't think the crew chief and the crew members of that team, they still have the same dedication and desire to win the race. They're not here just for Kyle Busch. They're here for themselves to and Kyle's not here just for himself. It works both ways. Kyle is in a difficult position but at the end of the day running well and performing is what it's all about and there's a lot of racing left. We're not even half way through the year yet. There's a lot of racing left and you can't lose focus on the fact that there's only one chance to win this race ever and that's today, Sunday rather. If you don't have that intensity when you come to the race track you won't be successful and I don't think that Kyle or anyone on that team will lose that."

WITH THE MONEY THAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. CAN BRING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS IS THERE A CONCERN THAT THE BALANCE OF POWER IS GETTING OUT OF WHACK? "I'm pretty sure that Hendrick Motorsports has pretty good funding anyway. Certainly Junior can demand a tremendous amount for sponsorship and his fan following is really big and certainly that adds to the resources and revenue opportunities that Hendrick has. We have to counter that, not necessarily just because of the Junior factor but we were already talking about a fourth team and one of the reasons is because of the resources that are available to Hendrick and available to Roush that aren't available to the teams that don't have that many teams. So we have to be efficient with the money that we as well as they do. We have to spend the money in the right places. We have to have a great game plan about how we're going to spend money and more money doesn't fix any of that. If run properly, (it) can give you an advantage or help you catch up in some areas but it has to be run properly. It has to be the right program. It has to have a plan behind it. If not then you have chaos."

ON THIS THOUGHTS ON THE IMPALA SS AND HIS INTRODUCTION TO IT: "I'm O.K. with it. I've never been one that had a major problem with the Car of Tomorrow. It's certainly a different feeling car. It's different than what we have today no question about it but when we go to Car of Tomorrow races I'm not thinking hey, we've got a Car of Tomorrow race. I'm thinking about we're racing at Sears Point or we're racing in New Hampshire. I don't have in my mind about the Car of Tomorrow. I know that sounds silly but it's our job to do it better than our competition."

ARE THERE PARTS OF THE NEW RACE CAR YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE: "Certainly there's parts that I like more than others. I really like the flexibility that the car gives with the space for the drivers, the safety of the car. I certainly like those things. I wish the car were lighter. I wish we could have built a car that.I wish the Car of Tomorrow had more of tomorrow's technology in it than yesterday's technology from a performance standpoint. But none the less, I'm of the opinion that we would have been better off building a car that weighed 2,800 pounds than building a car that weighed 3,600 pounds. I think we would have been better off doing that but the other side of it is that would have pretty much wiped the slate clean for sure with a lot of new different technology but again, I think that's probably the direction it should have gone it but that's not to say that this can't be a successful platform. If I was building a Cup car, the Cup cars we run today, I wouldn't build it like they're built either. I'd build them where they were lighter and they had more composite materials rather than steel and I'd do thing differently but this formula has proven to be successful and I think will continue to be successful in the future."

ON HOW HIS FATHER INFLUENCED HIM: "When I think of my father, obviously his commitment to his children is what has enabled Ward and I and our middle brother Brian to do what we do in our lives. He got us moving in the right direction and taught us to deal with things when they're not going well and taught us the importance of focus and the importance of intensity. With his help and us learning our lessons, we've been able to be fairly successful at the venues that we've chosen. I think of his commitment that he gave to us when he could have been moving on with his friends, many times he was with us at a go-kart track or with us playing basketball or spending time with his kids and that shouldn't be taken lightly."

IS THERE A SPECIAL FEELING FOR THE DRIVERS THAT RACE ON FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND? "Honestly one of the things that his sport forces you to do is to kind of shut all those things out. You can't celebrate birthdays, you can't celebrate Father's Days and Mother's Days like you would normally because we're here racing and all of the things that go into that. Unfortunately it takes away that opportunity to celebrate things in many cases but that's what we do. It's part of the sport, it's part of being committed something but there are days that are more special without a doubt."

IS THERE DISAPPOINTMENT AT RCR OVER JUNIOR'S DECISION? "I'd prefer you talk to Richard about that."

JIMMIE JOHNSON SAID HE WAS SURPRISED IT ALL WORKED OUT THAT THERE WAS A SPOT AVAILABLE FOR JUNIOR TO GO THERE. WERE YOU AT ALL SURPRISED THAT IT WORKED OUT FOR HIM TO JOIN HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "Well I don't know, from the outside looking in, no I wasn't surprised but I don't have all the information in front of me that would make me surprised or not surprised. I'm dealing with a third of the facts, maybe even not that many of them. From the outside looking in, I know that Rick's been extremely committed to Kyle and the development of Kyle and believed that Kyle could take him where he wanted to go and that seemed to be an unwavering commitment so I don't know what went on to spread them apart but the biggest surprise to me based on my conversations with people at Hendrick Motorsports (is) that Rick's been very committed to Kyle and myself biggest surprise that there is room based on that but other than the business side of it, it's kind of a no brainer. We spoke about it before, the revenue that Junior can bring and those kind of things are certainly benefits to Hendrick Motorsports as it would be to any team but there's a bit of upheaval going on now too that will have to be weighed out."

ON RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING POSSIBLY ADDING A FOURTH TEAM AND IF KYLE BUSCH WOULD FIT IN THERE: "Certainly Kyle's talent level is very high and that's for Richard to do the full assessment. Kyle is an exceptionally talented young man that has proven he can get it done and that's for Richard to do. I'm not going to comment other than to say that, that's Richard's deal."

IS IT GOOD FOR THE SPORT TO HAVE A SUPER TEAM? "It's our intention to be the super team. I don't look at Hendrick Motorsports any differently today than I did yesterday. It's our intention to be the team that looks at everybody and says 'Wow, how do we get to there?' I don't believe we can't get there from here."

DO YOU ENJOY ROAD COURSE RACING? "I love the road course racing. I think it's a blast. My record at Sears Point hasn't been very good. I'm confident in how we've run there. I feel really good about how we've run there but we don't have a lot of finishes to show for it and a lot of that falls on my shoulders. The two road course races are I think are going to be very important to the Chase. Those are the kind of race tracks that have huge potential pit falls for teams. You can easily finish 43rd there. You can easily have a problem, get off course, break something, it's very easy to happen so it's a place where you can lose a lot of ground. On the other hand, it's a place you can make up a lot of ground. If you can run in the front and have a chance to win, I think it's a place you can really make up a lot ground in the points."

IS IT IMPORTANT FOR NASCAR TO KEEP THE TWO ROAD COURSE RACES BECAUSE IT SHOW THE WHOLE PORTFOLIO? "I like the road courses. I think it's fun because it breaks up the year for us a little bit, it's gives us something different to do, gives us something that's a huge challenge and different than what we normally do but that's up to the fans to decide not me. It's all about fan response and do the fans enjoy. If the fans enjoy it we ought to be there. If they don't then we shouldn't."

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ROAD COURSES FROM A DRIVER'S PERSPECTIVE? "Everything. Watkins Glen is like a superspeedway of road courses. It has three long straightaways. It has a lot of high speed corners. Sears Point almost all corners are slow, elevation changes are done at a quicker rate, it's completely different. It's totally different. The same skills apply which is why you see the same people run well at both tracks but from a technical standpoint they're completely different."

FROM A RACE FAN PERSPECTIVE, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT JUAN PABLO MONTOYA MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO? "I think that certainly he and Allmendinger, they certainly bring with them a background in road course racing that the majority of us don't have. That makes all of us have to be better. That makes all of us have to find a way to do a better job which is what we've seen consistently. If you look at the field at road course racing, where we were eight years ago to where we are today, the gap from the first car continues to close and we'll see that even more this year with four people coming in that have more experience and their background in that arena. I think it makes it more competitive. It puts more cars out there with a chance to win, not necessarily focusing on one driver, but that makes the race more exciting."

ON HOW IMPORTANT A CREW CHIEF IS AND HOW THEY CAN DICTATE A RACE ON THEIR DECISIONS AND HIS THOUGHTS ON FRANKIE STODDARD: "He was really quick on his feet. From a strategy standpoint Frank was one of the strongest in the garage. He had a way of gambling at the right time. He had a way of playing it safe at the right time. He was really, really good on pit road. We won a couple races, we had good, fast cars but got ourselves in position where Ray was coming and we were able to take advantage of the cars because of his calls. He and I together conjured up the idea of taking the checkered on pit road at the All Star race. I had the idea but I told him that he had to have the guts to pull to it off because if it didn't work it was going to be his fault. He thought about it overnight and came in and we executed that based on his willingness to gamble. He was really good on pit road. When it comes to strategy and knowing when to do certain things, I think he's one of the best."

WHAT'S THAT LIKE FROM THE DRIVER'S POINT OF VIEW WHEN THE CREW CHIEF DECIDES TO MAKE A GAMBLE? "Well you've got to be careful not to get caught up in the strategy. You got to be careful not to start trying to figure it out. You need to have the confidence that your crew chief is going to do it and you need to drive the car and there is some information that you can provide to the crew chief that will help him make his decision from a what do you see other people doing, how their cars are handling, those kind of things. But you need to concentrate on driving the car and if a crew chief makes a decision to try to pull some strategy it can only work if the driver's in there getting 100 percent every lap. It's like pitting early, if you pit early that only works if the driver when he comes out of the pits is getting all he can get and it only works if the driver before he comes in the pits gets all he can. So the driver needs to focus on driving the car and not try to figure out if the strategy's going to work or not. I think it's really important because sometimes I get caught up in worrying about how this is going to work out rather than worrying about driving the car and it's in my best interest to worry about making the best lap time at the end."

ON HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO MAINTAIN FOCUS IN THE FIRST RACE AFTER HAVING HIS FIRST CHILD: "Well Jeff (Gordon) does it at a time in his life when he has a lot more maturity and has things in a different perspective than I when I did. I think Jeff's position in the sport is fairly solid I would imagine. He can take a little bit of a not a break but a little bit a mental break and still perform and still be OK. When I went through my first child, I was still trying to earn my way into this thing and it's just a totally different perspective. A lot's been made about it but what Jeff's going through is no different than what everyone of these crew members has gone through, well not everyone one of them, but what a vast majority of the crew members have gone through, NASCAR officials. Being the job that we've chose, the passion we happen to have requires to us to be at place sometimes when it's difficult to be there but that's just the ballgame we place. Jeff's position is no different is no different than anybody else's in the garage other than the fact that he is solid in here (in the sport). He doesn't have to wake up on a Tuesday morning wondering about his job. He can kind of relax for a week or so."

ON IF JEFF GORDON CAN TAKE SONOMA OFF: "I'll be shocked if he's not at Sonoma. You come see me Sunday morning in Sonoma if he's not there. I'll be really surprised."

ON THE FIRST TIME THE FANS SEE NASCAR'S NEXT GENERATION RACE CAR AT NEW HAMPSHIRE AND HIM HAVING SUCCESS THERE AND IF THE NEW CAR WIPES AWAY HIS SUCCESS: "We haven't won a race there in years and we haven't had the success that we need to have there. The Car of Tomorrow has changed things for sure. There's a lot of work going into the Car of Tomorrow by a lot of different people trying to become more successful and we're one of them. We haven't run as well as we need to in the Car of Tomorrow so far but that doesn't mean we can't, that just means we've got to figure it out and we're working a lot between now and New Hampshire and hopefully we'll be a smarter going to New Hampshire than we are right now."

DID YOU TEST AT MILWAUKEE? "We haven't but we will."

ON THAT BEING A SIMILAR TYPE OF TRACK: "That's the best option we have as far as I know."

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 DIRECTV Monte Carlo SS, Weekly Top-12 Behind the Hauler Chat

CLINT BOWYER, NO. 07 DIRECTV MONTE CARLO SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA FOR HIS WEEKLY TOP-12 HAULER CHAT AND DISCUSSED THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND FATHER'S DAY:

ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR. ANNOUCEMENT HE IS JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "It will be good for Hendrick, I said a long time ago, where ever he goes, it will be good for the organization he chose. We just have to focus on Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and what we have to do to get better. I think we can do that. We are still working on a fourth team. We just have to make sure it is the right guy. I am confident Richard (Childress) can do that.

"Obviously there is more that goes with Junior's package than just what is on the race track. Those are the things that are a big advantage. But I know we can get a fourth driver that will be as good of a racer as he is and we will be will just fine. Their marketing capabilities is what is so huge over there with the talent they have over there. Junior is only going to amplify that. We just have to focus on RCR and what we have to do to make our RCR cars better and beat them.

ON RACING NEW GENERATION RACE CAR NEXT WEEK AT SONOMA: "Hopefully mine drives really good. I am looking forward to going there. We ran good there last year. We got caught up in that wreck on the first lap, but I like that place. For whatever reason, I always struggled and I didn't like roadracing because of Watkins Glen, I struggle there, but I went to Sonoma, I really like the track and I adapted, to it pretty well and felt pretty confident being there."

ON WHAT GOES THROUGH A DRIVER'S MIND, LIKE KYLE BUSCH, WHEN HE KNOWS HE ISN'T GOING TO BE RACING THE NEXT SEASON WHERE HE IS NOW: "Bummer (chuckles), Seriously, that is a bad deal. Obviously getting moved aside for someone else, nobody wants that in any job in any case. But it is what it is and he (Kyle Busch) will bounce back. He is a good race car, a good talent, wherever he goes, he will win races."

ON RACING ON FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND: "Unfortunately my Dad can't be here with me this weekend. He is here almost every week. Without our Dad's we wouldn't be here. Most of the driver's in here, their Dads either raced or had a huge part in their being in car racing. My Dad was certainly no exception to that. He worked his butt off and it is because of him, I am here. It is no different than any other racer across the country. Most of them, it is a family deal. Mom takes care of the books and Dad is working his tail off after work. Dad would leave work, well actually he wouldn't leave work, our race shop was right in the back corner of his towing business. He would shut the shop down and we would go in the back corner and work on our dirt modifieds until at least midnight every night. His hard work and determination definitely got me to where I am at and it is a big part of it."

ON RACING AT MICHIGAN: "I like this track. I always say, if it is fun to watch on TV, it is fun to race on. This place always puts on a good race. You know, as soon as the rag falls, we are three and four wide searching around. If you car is not working on the bottom, you can move up. It is kind of like dirt racing, you can keep searching around until you find a place where you car is happy and make the lap times and that is what is neat about this place."

ON GETTING FIRST WIN SOON IN LIGHT OF FIRST TIME WINNERS TRUEX, JR. AND MEARS: "Hopefully we will be there, we just have got to keep doing what we are doing. I want to be in the Chase and a part of it. In this Series, it is all about the Chase at the end of the season and racing for that championship. Richard pays us to win races and contend for championships. Fortunately, you don't exactly have to win races right now to be a part of that championship battle at the end of the year. Certainly, winning a race is definitely is high up on my list to do. We have come close a few times. We just have to have that lucky break. You just have to have that day, you know. Truex I really feel like they have been getting better and better. We are a better race team since we came over to the Cup Series. I don't feel guilty saying that, we have been, week in and week out. It is frustrating to see those guys win their first race when you have been a little bit better."

ON GOING OUT WITH RICHARD HUNTING OR FISHING: "We haven't had time. We can't go on those trips he goes on, he goes for weeks at a time. I think he is back now from the last one. It would be fun to go hunting with him some time. I just don't know if I want to be gone hunting, trying to kill an animal for that long."

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

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA FOR HIS WEEKLY TOP-12 HAULER CHAT AND DISCUSSED THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND NEW WINNERS THIS SEASON:

ON HOW HIS CAR WAS IN PRACTICE: "Our Shell-Pennzoil Monte Carlo SS was really good in practice. We started off in race trim and kind of wanted to get a feel for where we wanted to start tomorrow. We were pretty close. We tried something we wanted to try and went to qualifying trim and everything was ok."

ON THE NEW CHEVY R07 ENGINE: "It just has a little bit different curve to it than our old motor. Just the potential of it is a lot greater than what we had. I think it is definitely a plus and glad we are running it and starting to work through things. A lot of things you have to work through that go wrong, you just have to run it to make those things happen."

GENERAL REACTION TO NEWS THAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. IS GOING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "My honest opinion? I could care less. (Laughs) I really don't care."

DO YOU SEE KYLE BUSCH AS AN RCR TEAMMATE? "No."

ON RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: "Michigan is really one of those places is a lot of fun to race around. You can race from the bottom of the race track to the top of the race track. The cool thing about it is the bottom groove is a little bit less banked than the middle groove and the top groove so you can make your car turn down there if you need to. If you can do that, then you can usually pass people easier than running around the top."

ON RACING HIS KHI TRUCK THIS WEEKEND: "For me, it is just to have fun. The main thing is to help the No. 33 Silverado (Ron Hornaday, Jr.) if they need anything. That is the main focus there is to help them win try to win a championship."

ON IMPORTANCE OF RCR HAVING A FOURTH TEAM: "I think it sounds like something that we are working towards. I don't know if it will be next year or the year after or when it will be. That is up to Richard (Childress). The main thing is you just have to have somebody come in and be able to fit in to the chemistry that we already have and the teammates that we already have. That is my concern."

ON RACING NEXT WEEK AT SONOMA: "I enjoy the road courses. To go out there is going to be a challenge with the new generation car. Our roadrace stuff has always been good. We had a couple of good tests, see what happens when we get out there on the right tire."

THOUGHTS ON HAVING SO MANY NEW WINNERS IN CUP SERIES SO FAR THIS SEASON: "I think both Martin (Truex, Jr) and Casey (Mears) have had a couple of years, in Martin's case, a year in this series. To be able to finally win is good for teams, but those teams are experienced and I think they were expected to win."

ON WHAT MAKES MICHIGAN A DRIVER FAVORITE: "I enjoy coming here, we haven't always had the best luck here, but it is one of the places I really enjoy coming to."

Behind the Hauler Chat with Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST MONTE CARLO SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY. HE DISCUSSED HIS RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE WILL DEPART HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, WHAT HE IS LOOKING FOR IN A NEW TEAM, IF HE HAS A TIMELINE TO MAKE A DECISION, WHAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. CAN EXPECT AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND OTHER TOPICS.

WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON YOUR IMPENDING DEPARTURE FROM HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? WAS IT A MUTUAL DECISION OR DID THEY TELL YOU THEY HAD DALE EARNHARDT, JR. IN THE FOLD AND THAT IT WOULDN'T WORK OUT?: "It's been said by not only myself but Hendrick Motorsports that it was a mutual agreement and that's exactly what it was. We decided it and sat down, talked about things and decided that it would be in both of our best interests to try to get a fresh start. I feel like it's a time where I can step away from where I've been for a few years and try to get a fresh start and see what else out there."

ON WHEN THIS ALL CAME TOGETHER: "It was a series of events. It was all throughout our negotiations and everything like that. When the negotiations weren't going well, then they were going well and then we had some stumbles in the road and whatever whatever. The final essence was mutually decided and agreed and sat down and talked about Monday."

ON TEAMS HE WOULD LIKE TO GO TO OR IS MOST INTERESTED IN: "Not at this time, no. Actually I'm just kind of flattered and excited about all the interest and phone calls that we've gotten. I haven't talked to any representatives from any teams. I've got people that stand behind me that do that stuff for me so when it comes down to the point where I feel like there's some people I need to talk to, we'll definitely sit down."

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN YOUR NEXT TEAM? ARE YOU MARRIED TO CHEVROLET? ARE THERE CERTAIN THINGS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? "I'm not married to Chevrolet but I've got a lot of great friends there and a lot great respect for those guys and they do as well me too. You know I'd love to stay in a Chevy but we're just going to keep all our options open right now and play the field and see exactly what's out there."

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TALKED TO YOU ALREADY? WHAT'S YOUR DEADLINE? DO YOU HAVE A NEW AGENT? "Yes, that's correct (about having a new agent). It's MMI, Motorsports Management International. The only thing Ray (Evernham) and I talked about was yesterday at the dirt track. I flew home with him so obviously we're going to have something I'm sure and I was looking forward to that but he just informed me that he'd like to talk, like to sit down and get more in-depth about things and stuff like that but that was all he said. He just said he'd like to sit down and go further. You know we had other drivers on the plane and stuff like that so it wasn't the time or place."

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU TALKED TO? "Actually they haven't even told me how many have called and who all has called but they said that the phone lines have been good so that's all I need to know."

SHOULD WE BE REPORTING THAT YOU WERE BLINDSIGHTED AND THAT IT WAS A SHOCK OR WERE YOU KEPT INFORMED ALONG THE WAY? DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS COMING THIS WEEK? "You know I had previous representation by someone else and it wasn't discussed to me some of the things that probably should have been so I was out of the loop on most of it so I'm very ignorant when it comes to that kind of stuff because I wasn't informed. To me just from what I know is that the negotiations were going well, then they weren't going well, then we started getting back on track and then Junior announced availability and then that's where we kind of stalled out again and so, you know, I'm not stupid. You guys aren't stupid so it's kind of common sense I guess."

ON HAVING FOUR WINS AND BEING 22 YEARS OLD AND HIM BEING THE KIND OF GUY PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO KEEP AROUND AND IF HE'S SURPRISED THE WAY THIS HAS ALL COME DOWN? "Sort of, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would leave Hendrick Motorsports or go a different venture but neither did Kurt Busch when he joined Roush Racing so it's matter of where people grow up into somebody different and times change and people change and stuff like that. I was 17 when I first talking with Mr. Hendrick and signed my deal with Mr. Hendrick. I've had the greatest time and utmost respect for him and everything around his organization that he's put me with and I look forward to being able to go out and see what I can accomplish somewhere else."

TO CLARIFY, YOU NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR RELEASE FROM HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "It was a mutual decision."

WOULD YOU SAY THAT ONCE JUNIOR CAME INTO THE MIX AND WAS AVAILABLE, YOU WERE SHOVED ASIDE? "I wouldn't say that. I would say that we talked, we sat down, we had conversations. You know it was like 'What do you see happening here?' Blah, blah, blah, blah. 'What do you see happening this way?' I feel like I would like to keep that confidential. Rick can elaborate on it if he'd like to but coming from me it's not going to come from me."

DO YOU HAVE A TIME TABLE TO GET THINGS SETTLED? "No, I don't have a time table. I'm just kind of going to play it out by ear and see exactly what's out there, see what's available and just kind of chill."

IS IT BETTER TO BE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND BE NUMBER THREE THAN IT IS TO BE AT A LESSER ORGANIZATION AND BE NUMBER ONE? "It kind of depends on what organization it would be. To me racing at Hendrick Motorsports is obviously a great organization as well as there's other great organizations out there too - Gibbs is great, RCR is great, DEI has got a great organization over there too - so everybody that has good race teams and stuff like, they've got the people around them. It's just about trying to build a new relationship with not only a different owner but building people around myself."

HOW HAS THE DYNAMIC OF THE TEAM BEEN AFFECTED BY THIS NEWS? "I'm not going to speak for them so you'd have to ask those guys. To me I'm still 100 percent focused to that team and I love those guys. Those guys are my friends and have been. I've grown in a strong relationship with those guys so I'm going to go out there and do what I do every week and that's to drive that car to the limits and try to win races."

ON LEAVING THE BEST TEAM IN NASCAR RIGHT NOW AND IF THERE IS ANY TEAM HE CAN GO TO AND NOT FEEL AS IF HE IS TAKING A LITTLE BIT OF A STEP BACK. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE GIVING UP A LITTLE BIT NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO IN THE SHORT TERM? : "I don't think so. I think there's teams out there from the standpoints that I hear that they're as equal to, they have the resources, they have the money, they have everything that they need in order to be a Hendrick Motorsports. Whether it's the technology or whether it's the car or the people or whoever, I don't know that because I'm not there so if I get there and see where there's an area that we can improve on or grow on then I'm certainly going to go to the team owner or the respective person that I need to and try to grow it."

CAN CLARIFY THAT YOU HAVE CHANGED REPRESENTATION? SO THE PERSON NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACT WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS IS NO LONGER WITH YOU? "Correct."

WHY IS THAT? IS THAT BECAUSE THE DEAL FELL THROUGH? "No, no it has nothing to do with the deal falling through. I just felt like I needed to make a change. Again, I had been with him since I was 16 years old. He worked with Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears, those guys. He's the same guy for those guys too so he's got a great reputation and is a great guy but I just felt like (it was) in my best interest to try to further along negotiate some different offers. I'd like to move."

BRIAN VICKERS WAS NOT ALLOWED IN CERTAIN TEAM MEETINGS WHEN HE ANNOUNCED HE WAS LEAVING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES COULD IT PRESENT IF YOU AREN'T IN TEAM MEETINGS? "It's a very good possibility. I hope it doesn't come to that but you know, given the circumstances it probably will. To me I think I'm close enough to the notebook where I know what's going on and I know what's in the car. I can look at stuff and see exactly what it is. I'm not retarded. I know pretty much a race car from the ground up. I've worked on them for years. I've built my own race cars. I can look at certain aspects of it and know the measurements of it are and stuff. I hope it doesn't come to that but I can still look at it. I drive the thing."

AT THE AGE OF 22 DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE THE CREDENTIALS TO GO AND FIND THE KIND OF OPPORTUNITY THAT JUNIOR ACTS LIKE HE'S FOUND, ONE THAT WILL SOLIDIFY HIS CAREER TO WIN AND SUCCEED? "I like the credentials I've built. I think they're good. They could be better of course. There's a bunch of races out there that we could have won but anybody else could say that too so those races could have been taken away but I feel like it's a solid resume and I think that's pretty much what it takes. It's not excellence but as long as you're solid you can make it work."

CAN YOU CLARIFY ON RICK HENDRICK'S COMMENTS THAT YOU HAD SOME FABULOUS OFFERS AND YOU SAYING YOU HADN'T BEEN TALKING TO ANYONE? DID MR. HENDRICK MEAN YOUR AGENTS OR REPRESENTATION THAT HAD FABULOUS OFFERS? WAS IT A MISCOMMUNICATION? "Yes."

DO YOU FEEL BETRAYED BY HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "You're correct in your statement there that my previous representation didn't inform me of the calls, he did inform me he was getting calls, then I guess that was opened up to Hendrick Motorsports and then that's where they sort of got upset. Do I feel like I got pushed out? No, I don't feel like I got pushed out. For the way the negotiations were going, it wasn't going well, then it was, then it wasn't again so I think that I can do better somewhere else. That's the way we kind of felt it."

DID YOUR PREVIOUS AGENT COST YOU YOUR RIDE? "I don't think so. It was a tough decision to let him go to be honest with you and I really didn't want to do it. But I feel like I've got a better background now where I'm at that I can work really hard to not only become a better racer but a better driver. You know I wasn't in that much contact with him and that's what I want. I want to have contact with people where I can be more informed, more involved with everything."

ARE YOU BITTER OVER THIS? "No, no I'm not bitter. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to next year and the years after that. There's a fresh opportunity. There's a fresh start somewhere else so why not be excited about that? Why be bitter over something that was a mutual decision and an agreement upon?"

DO YOU THINK THE INCIDENT AT TEXAS WAS A START OF THIS? CAN YOU DEFINE WHAT ROLE THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE PLAYED? "No, there's no connection there. It was a miscommunication between myself and the team. I messed up and we messed up all together and we've admitted that. You know everybody wants to say that was a try-out period. He ran eight laps in a destroyed race car, you know? There was nothing to learn there. It just happened and like it's been said, one of the team members was a good friend of Dale's and went over there and asked him to try to finish out the race to try to get a spot for points."

DID THAT INCIDENT GET YOU OUT? "I don't think it's just necessarily one incident or anything like that. Like I said, it was back to the contract negotiations and stuff like that and it just didn't happen."

WILL YOUR NEW NEGOTIATIONS BE A DISTRACTION FOR YOU? HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THIS? "I'm looking forward to just being able to I guess sit down and talk with some people and stuff like that and see what's out there. Right now I'm down because I want to be with my guys, you know? And now having to work with those guys for the rest of the year is going to be a little bit difficult but I'm still committed to them. On the other side of the coin, I'm excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and I'm looking forward to being able to try to solidify something. I don't have a time table. I really don't care as guess as long as I can get something."

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TALKING ABOUT THE RIDE JUNIOR IS LEAVING? WHAT CAN JUNIOR EXPECT WHEN HE JOINS HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "I'm interested in talking to anybody who wants to talk so whether it's DEI, whether it's Gibbs, RCR, Evernham, Yates, whoever's got an open seat. Whatever, lets go, let's sit down. Let's have dinner.

"As far as what Junior can expect, great equipment, great race cars, pretty solid backing and the research development team that they have over there is pretty good too so he's got the world lying ahead of him."

Alan Gustafson, Crew Chief No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Monte Carlo SS Transcript from Media Q & A

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA TO DISCUSS GOALS FOR REMAINDER OF 2007 SEASON; DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND COMMENTING ON DEPARTURE OF KYLE BUSCH:

ON WHERE YOU STAND AFTER ALL OF THE CHANGES THIS WEEK: "I stand the same place I was last week. I am the crew chief for the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet that Kyle Busch drives and we are going to continue to try to win races and go after this championship. That is our main goal, it has been from day one and that is what we are going to focus on doing."

WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATION LEADING INTO NEXT SEASON? "To be honest with you, I am trying to focus on this season. I don't want to give up on what we have got going on here. These guys work really hard and spend a lot of time, and it is only June. We have got a long way to go and the end result of what we are trying to accomplish is win races and championships and regardless of what turns we take to do that, that is the focus and is going to be, and it's what's going to be this year. When next year comes around we are going to focus on the same things, there may be some different players involved but we will take care of that when we get there."

ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: "We all know what he means to the sport and the type of person that he is. My initial reaction is, Mr. Hendrick seemed very excited about it, which is great, you know, if anybody deserves that in this garage, it's him and Junior can bring a lot to our company which is what we all work for. We want Hendrick Motorsports to be successful and to prosper and the employees here to have opportunities to have good lives for themselves and their families and I think that Junior is going to help the company do that. I know that Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and our teammates are excited about it, and we are excited about it in the future, but we are going to keep that in the future, for now."

YOU ARE A BRIGHT, YOUNG CREW CHIEF. ARE YOU UNDER CONTRACT? ARE YOU A FREE AGENT CREW CHIEF NOW? "No, absolutely not. I am under contract with Hendrick Motorsports. Mr. Hendrick has made me who I am today. He has given me all of the opportunities that I have and my loyalty lies with him and whatever he wants me to do, I am going to do it for him because without his help, his support, I wouldn't be who I am today and I appreciate that and understand it."

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP LIKE WITH DALE EARNHARDT, JR.? "I don't know Dale. I have been around Dale for a long time, just growing up. I grew up in Florida in the Southeast watching him race late models at Myrtle Beach and Hickory and Volusia County back in the day. So, I have seen a lot of him. I don't really have a personal relationship with him. I have heard a lot of good things about him from our drivers. I worked with Mark Martin and Mark had a lot of good things to say about him. You can tell, you know, he is a good guy."

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE ON THIS? YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN LIMBO, NOT KNOWING YOUR FUTURE: "No, I am not in limbo. We have got, I am in charge of this No. 5 car and having this Kellogg's CARQUEST car run well and win races and that is what I am going to do. Believe me, that is not limbo. That is a tough job. That is a lot of work. That is something that I take very seriously. I am going to focus on that, you know. We are here in Michigan. This is a very important race, here in the backyard of Chevrolet, who is a great partner of ours and we want to come here and win this race and run well. So, limbo for next year? To say that you are in limbo is really not a fair statement because we have got a lot of work to do. We have got guys in the shop that work a lot of hours and put a lot of effort into it and we are not just going to say, hey this has changed so we are going to stop doing what we do, no, we are going to keep focused on running well."

ON THE SITUATION WITH JUNIOR IN THE CAR IN TEXAS AND EVER IMAGING IT WOULD END UP LIKE THIS: "Whew! No, absolutely not. A lot has been made of that and I have said this before and I want to say it again, I want to look at what happened there, we had the fastest car there in practice before qualifying and it was rained out. Then we wrecked that car in the second practice and we got the backup out for the third practice and started 43rd, made it to third, Tony Stewart spins out in front of us, which Tony Stewart rarely ever spins out and we ran in to the back of Junior. So that is a crazy circumstances series of events and for all of that to unfold is just one of those deals."

DO YOU SEE THE IRONY IN IT? "I think that we all see the irony in it, you know. I just want to make sure that people know that, I have heard some stories that that may have been an audition and that's, obviously you can see that by the set of circumstances, that that is very, very, very, very far from the truth."

DO YOU EXPECT TO BE A CREW CHIEF NEXT YEAR: "I expect to be a crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports. But I will make a statement that I will be at Hendrick Motorsports next year regardless. I would rather sweep floors for Rick Hendrick than I would be a crew chief for somebody else."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR TEAM, BECAUSE A NUMBER OF THEM ARE FRIENDS WITH DALE EARNHARDT, JR. AND YOU HAVE TO HOLD THE TEAM TOGETHER AND MOTIVATE THEM AND THAT IS A TOUGH TIME WHEN THINGS ARE KIND OF CRAZY RIGHT NOW? "Yeah, it is but the thing that I am very proud of my guys for, and I think that they show it week in and week out, even at Texas in all of that adversity, they are very professional and they are focused on representing Hendrick Motorsports and Kellogg's and CARQUEST, who are our partners, as well. They do a good job at that and I expect them to continue to do that and I know that they will."

WHY DO YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE STAYING AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? WHAT MAKES THAT PLACE SO GOOD THAT, WITHOUT HAVING EVEN TALKED ABOUT OTHER PLACES, I AM SURE THAT YOU COULD GET OFFERS ALL OVER THE GARAGE? "Yeah, well Rick, Mr. Hendrick, is the most classiest guy in this garage. Like I said, he has been great to me since day one. When I started there eight years ago, he treated me with tremendous amount of respect when I was just a kid who didn't know what was going on. I appreciate what he has done. To me, that is what is important, you know. This sport is going to come and go and things are going to happen, but to have a personal relationship with a genuinely grand man like that is very important to me. I am going to be loyal to him. He was loyal to me."

LAST YEAR WE SAW WHEN BRIAN VICKERS LEFT THE TEAM, HE WAS EXCLUDED FROM SOME OF THE TEAM MEETINGS. IF THAT HAPPENS IN THIS SCENARIO, WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES DOES THAT PUT ON YOUR SHOULDERS IN REGARDS TO GETTING KYLE THE INFORMATION AND PASSING IT ALONG? "That can get very sensitive. We did kind of see that with Brian. We work very hard here at Hendrick Motorsports to get an advantage and those advantages are small and we don't want to give them away and potentially get it to somebody else. With that being said, if we look at it and do a good job, careful to sensitive areas, I think that we can make it work. We haven't discussed any of that yet, but it is definitely a valid question that we are going to have to be looking at towards the future. For right now, Kyle is going to get everything that he has gotten from day one, from me, from these guys, from Jeff Gordon, from Jimmie Johnson, from everybody involved, all the support we can to win races. You know, it's not like we are struggling. We are a tenth place team that has ran very well and we have got five finishes 30th or worse and we are still tenth and I think that speaks volumes for the performance of the team. We eliminate some of that stuff and we will be championship contenders. So, that is going to be a sensitive area. That is going to be an area that we are going to have to look at, but we are going to do everything that we can to win races."

WHERE IS THE BALANCE IN SHARING AND GIVING ALL OF THE INFORMATION IN TRYING TO MAKE THE CHASE, BUT ALSO HOLDING BACK BECAUSE IN A FEW MONTHS, THAT GUY IS NOT GOING TO BE WITH THE TEAM? "I think that the balance leans towards performance. We have made obligations to all of our employees at Hendrick Motorsports and Kellogg's and CARQUEST to represent them the best we can and we can't just say, hey because things are changing in '08, we can't tell them sure, we are not going to do that. So, it definitely leans towards performance and we want Kyle (Busch) to run well. We want this team to run well and we are going to do everything that we can. With that being said, I am not going to go and photocopy my notebooks and go hand them out, but we will do the best we can."

WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED WITH KYLE (BUSCH), DO YOU FEEL DEFLATED AT ALL OR DISAPPOINTED AT ALL? "Yeah, I mean, Kyle is a friend of mine. When you have a relationship like you do with the driver, it is very personal and when things go wrong, there is some disappointment. To sit here and say that there wasn't, I would be lying to you and I feel like when this all happened, we all knew the potential for Kyle to be a champion and win a lot of races. We still have a chance for him to be a champion here at Hendrick Motorsports. I feel like, now that it is not working out, I feel disappointed and I feel a little bit responsible, in some regard, because if everything would have went well, we wouldn't have this problem. With that being said, I don't think that I didn't give one hundred percent, it just didn't work out. It is sad, but that is business and we will just have to move on."

WHEN DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS AND WERE YOU SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT THIS WAS COMING DOWN THE PIPE ON MONDAY? "Not much about this sport shocks me anymore so I don't know that shocked is the word. No, I mean it's, you know, you kind of know, if you evaluate where you are at and you just kind of know, you kind of know."

IS IT TRUE THAT AFTER THAT TEXAS INCIDENT, THAT WASN'T THE REASON WHY DALE EARNHARDT, JR. GOT INTO THE CAR, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID THAT WAS KIND OF THE CRUMBLING POINT, THAT THE TEAM LOST FAITH AND THAT THERE BECAME SOME MOMENTS THAT MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT AFTER THAT? "I definitely think that was a brick in the wall. Nothing was intentional there. I hate that that went down the way that it did and I hate that if it severed any feelings or put anybody in an awkward position that is regrettable, because that was not the intent of any of that action. So, yeah, that is a brick in the wall. What part of the contributing factor to these decisions that was, is anybody's guess. It wasn't good, you know. We all knew that it wasn't good. We knew when it happened that it wasn't good. It wasn't something that we wanted to have happen. The way it went down, the miscommunication, the things that went wrong, it wasn't good. So, anytime that happens, you don't like to have stuff like that happen."

DO YOU EXPECT THAT YOU WILL BE CONTENDING AGAINST KYLE ON THE TRACK? "Absolutely, Kyle is the best at his age on the track that I have seen. I have said it from day one and I will say it again, the difference between Kyle getting 20 Cup wins and 70 Cup wins is mentally how he handles the situations. He has got the talent. He is good enough to do it. He is going to be hard to beat. He is good. For anybody to dispute his talent is ridiculous. We all know that he has got it."

YOU AND KYLE OBVOIUSLY HAVE A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP, THE FACT THAT HE IS GOING TO BE LEAVING HENDRICK, FOR ANY SECOND DID HE TRY TO SAY WHY DON'T YOU COME WITH ME TO WHEREVER I END UP? "No. We haven't got to that point. We haven't talked about it. I am very good friends with Kyle and Kyle knows how I feel about Hendrick Motorsports and Mr. Hendrick. I have known Mr. Hendrick and had a relationship with Mr. Hendrick before I have with Kyle and he gave me the opportunity to be with Kyle. I wouldn't know Kyle if it wasn't for Mr. Hendrick. I wouldn't have been through these circumstances to know and grow and learn with Kyle. So, it goes back to Mr. Hendrick and I think that he knows that."

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DALE EARNHARDT'S CREW CHIEF? "I want to be the crew chief for the No. 5 and these guys. To me it is more about, I know in this sport, obviously the driver is a huge part, that is what the media focuses on, that is what the fans focus on, but when you get down to the working level, it is the sum of all parts. So, the team is a huge part of that. This team, I have a huge amount of respect for. I have got a great relationship with my guys and that is what is important to me. I want to be with these guys. I want to be with this team. That is who I want to work with. Dale Jr., you know, who would say that they didn't want to work with Dale Jr.? More important to me is working with my guys."

YOU SAID THAT HE WAS TALENTED; CAN HE (KYLE BUSCH) BE HARNESSED? "Um, yeah. I think that decision is going to have to be up to him. He is going to have to decide if he can or not."

ON FEELING THE PRESSURE MR. HENDRICK SPOKE OF FILTERING DOWN THROUGH THE RANKS: "I think there is pressure with Kyle and there is pressure with Junior, obviously, because he is the most popular driver, there is pressure with Jeff Gordon. You have got a four time champ, a guy that has won seventy-five races, in my opinion, the best driver to ever drive a stock car, so when you are working on a team at Hendrick Motorsports with him or if you are Stevie (Letarte), you don't go run 30th with Jeff. (laughs) Right? So there is pressure. There is pressure for all of us and you know, Junior, with the fans support and economic impact that he has, is there is pressure. Yes. We all feel it, but I don't think it is anything unusual to us. It is nothing to Hendrick Motorsports, nothing unusual to the crew chiefs."

GIVEN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TEAMS, WHERE YOU BECOME SO COMPETITVE AND HE (JUNIOR) WANTS TO BE JEFF GORDON AND HE WANTS TO BE JIMMIE JOHNSON, CAN YOU MAINTIAN A PEACEFUL CO-EXHISTANCE? "Yeah, I think that has been the challenge with this multi-car team from day one and I think nobody has handled that better than Mr. Hendrick. When we have got teams that run the way we have and won ten races and three in the top ten, and Jimmie (Johnson) and Jeff (Gordon) running tooth and nail every week in and week out. It is nothing new to us. We have seen it before and we will be able to cope with it."

ARE YOU WORRIED THAT KYLE IS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE PRESSURE OF FINISHING OUT THE YEAR IN THIS CAR AND NEGOTIATING WITH OTHER TEAMS? "I want Kyle to be happy. I want Kyle to, first of all, enjoy his life, enjoy what he has, his opportunities, to run well, to successful. I want all of those things for him. I don't want him to get caught up in the stuff that doesn't matter. You know, what somebody says about him, or what the media portrays it to be or what it is not to be, or what some owner thinks or some owner doesn't think. You know, I want Kyle to be happy with Kyle and Kyle to be happy with where he is at. So with that being said, I don't know how he is going to react. I don't know how things are going to go on, I just hope that he is happy with where he is at, he is happy with who he is, he can be successful and he can enjoy his life because he definitely deserves that."

DID YOU SIT DOWN AND TALK TO HIM AND SAY, I AM COMMITTED TO YOU? "Absolutely, he knew that from day one and I have told him that several times through these proceedings and I don't think that I have to tell him. I think that he understands."

I KNOW THAT YOU EXPRESSED YOUR PERSONAL FEELING OF DISAPPIONTMENT ABOUT NOT SEEING THIS THROUGH WITH KYLE. WOULD IT GIVE YOU A GREAT SENSE OF PERSONAL SATISFACTION, IF PAIRED WITH JR., YOU COULD HELP HIM WIN HIS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP? "Well, I mean, the number one goal is company wide. We want to win championships for Hendrick Motorsports, for Rick Hendrick and that is what is important. Yeah, it's Jeff, Jimmie, Casey, Kyle, Dale, Landon Cassil, whoever we have got in those cars, we want them to win. That is our job. That is our goal. Does it mean more for one or the other? Well, you know, maybe.maybe not. We just want to win the championships."

YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT WOULD MEAN TO DALE. "I know how much it would mean to me. (Laughs) If it was Kyle, Dale, Jeff, Jimmie, Casey, Bugs Bunny.I don't care. I want to win."

RICK SAID THAT HE WAS STRESSED WITH A LOT OF PRESSURE ON HIM TO GIVE DALE WHAT HE SAID THAT HE WOULD GIVE HIM. "I am sure he has a lot of stress. He has a lot of pressure, I know he does. But there is no person in this world who lives up to his word more than that man. So, I don't think that there will be any problems there."

Behind the Hauler Chat with Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Monte Carlo SS

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS MONTE CARLO SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY. TRUEX DISCUSSED THE MORALE AT THE DALE EARNHARDT INCORPORATED SHOP, ON WHAT CONVERSATIONS HE'S HAD WITH DALE EARNHARDT, JR. SINCE THE ANNOUNCEMENT, ON HOW THE ANNOUNCEMENT HAS AFFECTED THE DYNAMIC OF HIS TEAM AND OTHER TOPICS.

ON THE DALE EARNHARDT, JR. ANNOUNCEMENT: "Well, I knew an announcement was coming. I don't think that it really matters where he ended up, to us, or to me. I am happy that he ended up somewhere where he is happy. He seems really excited about what he has got going on, so I am happy for him, but I didn't think that it was that big of a deal."

HOW IS THE MORALE AT THE SHOP? "Yeah, I think that everybody seems more pumped up than I have seen them in a long time. Our cars are running great. Winning that race was big a couple weekends ago and we have got momentum on our side. So everybody is pumped up and excited, not only about this year, but about the future."

HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN ABOUT JUNIOR? "I found out when everyone else did."

WHAT CONVERSATIONS HAVE YOU HAD WITH HIM SINCE YOU LEARNED THAT HE WAS GOING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? "The only thing that I really said to him was I asked him how he was doing one night and he said, this was the night after he announced it, he said "How are things?", I said "Good, you are glad it's over aren't you?", he said "Yeah." He just seemed relieved. I think that he had a hard time holding it all in all of the time. He couldn't talk to anyone about it so he seemed like he was getting a little stressed out. He said he is back to normal now so he is real happy."

WHAT IS THE DYNAMIC CHANGE IN YOUR TEAM NOW, KNOWING THAT HE IS NOT GOING TO BE THERE NEXT YEAR? "I don't know, obviously some things have changed here and there. It is hard to say, the only thing that I see happening is people preparing for next year and for this year and trying to get prepared the best they can possibly get for the future. I think when Junior was there, a lot of people were just like hey, Junior is here, we don't have to worry about anything. Now, they have to think about what they are doing a little bit more and maybe work a little bit harder to get where they want to get. As far as our racing goes and the people that work there on race equipment, things are awesome. They are working hard, they are building great stuff, they are getting things better still and our race cars have been really good. So on that side of it, we are doing great."

ON IF IT IS ANY DIFFERENT ON HOW YOU SHARE INFORMATION NOW? "No, both the number 8 and the number 1 are both here to be in the Chase and try to win a championship. We are here to help each other. We were out testing yesterday and it was just like it had been for the last couple years so none of that has changed."

CAN YOU ENVISION KYLE BUSH AS A TEAMMATE? YOU GUYS HAVE HAD SOME PRETTY INTENSE BATTLES: "I remember him getting pretty mad at me a few times but other than that, I mean that is about as far as it went. You know, Kyle is a great driver, that is obvious, everybody knows that. He has had a few issues in the past with his temper and things getting the best of him, but I don't know. Could I imagine him as a teammate? Yeah, I think he would be a good teammate. I get along with Kyle just fine, I always have and he is a heck of a race car driver and he could help us really getting our cars fast. I would never rule it out but I don't know what they have got going on or who they are talking to."

RICHIE SAYS THAT HE WOULD BE AT THE TOP OF HIS LIST. "Okay, I guess he is at the top of the list then (laughs). That is more than I knew, so. I would not have any problems with it. I am probably the easiest guy in this garage to get along with. I treat people fair no matter what the circumstances are. I got no problems with Kyle. We have hung out in the garage and talked a bunch and he has always been nice to me. Since our Busch Series days we really haven't had any tussles."

RACING ON FATHERS DAY, WHAT MAKES IT EXTRA SPECIAL? "For me, my dad is going to be here, so that makes it special for me. He's here just about every week so it is always nice having him around but especially this weekend."

HAVE YOU PROMISED HIM ANYTHING? "No, not yet. Hopefully I will get him a trophy."

AS THE PAST FEW DAYS HAVE UNFOLDED, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT? HOW ARE YOU THINKING THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT YOU THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR? "Well, I think that the impact, the things that are going to impact me have already happened. I think the big news was when Junior was leaving, was the only big news. What is going on right now really doesn't have that big of an impact as much as that did. There's a few guys out there that would fit good with our race team and as a teammate so whether they pick one of three, which one out of the three or four that they are looking at, I don't think it will make a big difference."

DO YOU HAVE A LITTLE EXTRA WEIGHT ON YOUR SHOULDERS? YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE NUMBER ONE GUY AT DEI NEXT YEAR: "I am excited about it. I feel like my team is up to the challenge of holding the banner up for the company. We look forward to it, like I said we just want to focus on our race cars right now. We are in the Chase so far and we want to stay in that and keep getting better and have a shot at the championship at the end of the year."

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OUT OF THE CAR OF TOMORROW IN SONOMA? "I don't think that you will see much difference. The COT was kind of, a lot of people were kind of worried about the way that we were racing when it first came around, but it has been a good car. We have had some good races with it. We tested it at a road course and other than the fact that it is a little bit slower than the old car; it is not a huge difference like we have seen everywhere else. It will be the same old Sonoma."

WHEN YOU HEARD THAT EARNHARDT JR. WAS GOING TO HENDRICK, WAS THERE ANY THOUGHT OF, GOSH, HE IS JOINING THE TEAM THAT HAS ALREADY WON MOST OF THE RACES THIS YEAR? "No. I was just real happy for him because he seemed so excited about it. I watched the announcement just like everyone else did, just like I did when he announced that he was leaving. So he just seemed real excited and I was real happy for him. Obviously it is a great place. Everybody always raves about how great of a place it is to work. Obviously Rick Hendrick takes care of his people and that is why everyone wants to go there. It will be interesting to see how Dale, Jr. can get in there and work with Jimmie and Jeff and Casey and those guys and who knows maybe we haven't seen the best of Dale, Jr. yet. Maybe he will go out there and he will win 60 percent of all of the races, who knows."

DO YOU THINK THAT THE DRIVER LINEUP THAT HENDRICK WILL HAVE NEXT YEAR IS A GOOD THING FOR THE SPORT? "I don't know, we will have to wait and see. I am not real sure what to think about it. They have got a lot of great drivers, which is what everyone wants. A lot of people have got a lot of great drivers; they have just got the whole package right now. Things change. We will see how it goes for him. I am interested to see how Junior is going to do in their cars. I think Junior is one of the best drivers out here and I think that they have some of the best equipment out here. So I am interested to see what happens with it."

WHAT HAS THE DIFFERENCE BEEN FOR YOU OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS? "We have just had a few things go our way finally. We have had great race cars all year long and we have had some crummy luck at times and that really showed what we were capable of as far as our finishes go. We ran very well all year long. I was real proud of my guys and my team for sticking with it and not giving up. That has been the biggest thing with just; we haven't had any trouble over the last couple of weeks."

ON HIS THOUGHTS OF GROWING UP AND RACING AND HIS FATHER: "Probably one of the coolest memories I have ever had was watching my dad win his first Busch North race. I was sitting at home on the couch and it was on TNN. So, it was cool to watch your dad on TV win a race. That was one of my best memories of my dad racing. As far as him and me and racing go together, he has pretty much got me to this level. He owned everything that I ever drove up until I got hired by DEI. We have had a lot of fun in the past, racing go carts and modified's and coming up through the ranks and everything. He is a smart guy that taught me a lot about racing. He still comes to the track just about every weekend and it is really a lot of fun to have him around."

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT ALL OF THE TALK HAS BEEN ABOUT DALE EARNHARDT, JR.? "Shocker (laughs). No, he gets all of the attention."

IS IT SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO MAKE THEM AKIN TO THE NEW YORK YANKEES? YOU KNOW, THE RICH GETTING RICHER TYPE OF THING? "I mean if you could compare it, yeah. They have won a lot of races this year and I am sure that they will in the future too. We will have to see. It is exciting. I am just real happy for Junior. He seems real excited about what is going on. He is a great friend. I am just as eager to see what is going to happen with all of that as you guys are."

WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT HE SAID TO YOU WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN? "I found out when everyone else did. So, I mean, the biggest thing was when I talked to him after I heard and he just acted like it was a big relief. He finally got that out of the way. It was like he was dragging a big anchor around with him. We are happy for him and glad to see that he is excited and I wish him the best over there."

TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE UNIQUE TRAITS OF THIS TRACK: "It is a fun race track. It is a real momentum race track because it is so big. Multiple grooves. It is usually a really fun race because the guys are spread out all over the race track. If your tires wore out you can move around and find some stuff that really works for you. These are the kind of tracks that I really enjoy. I don't like tracks that you are stuck doing one thing and you have got to necessarily make your car fit the race track. You can kind of move it around and make it work with what you have got."

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PULL HERE? "Part of getting the pull or qualifying is having a fast race car. That doesn't hurt anywhere I don't think. It surely doesn't mean that if you qualify bad that you are going to race bad. This is probably one of the least important places for qualifying, I think, because, like I said, the grooves, it's wide and you can race anywhere on it and it is real easy to pass if you have got a fast car in a race. It don't really matter."

IT SEEMS THAT WHEN YOU GET THAT FIRST WIN, EVERYTHING STARTS CLICKING AND EVERYBODY STARTS RUNNING BETTER. CAN YOU RELATE TO THAT? CAN YOU SEE THAT HAPPENING? "I think that it was just our time. It was meant to be. We have had some crummy luck this year. We have had fast cars and now for some reason, things have finally turned. Things change. Things go round, good luck/bad luck, so we have had our string of bad, I think, and it was just time for us to shine and it was our time to go out there and win and show everyone what we can do."

DO YOU SEE A DIFFERENCE IN CONFIDENCE IN YOUR GUYS? "Absolutely, every weekend now is, we can go there and win this race. It is not, well can we or what do we got to do to do this or, them questions are all gone. We still know the things that we need to get better on and we still know the challenges that we are going to face but we have got the confidence now knowing that we can beat all of those challenges. We can go out there and win the race, if we do things right. It is a good feeling. The guys are really pumped up. Everybody back at the shop is real excited."

YOU HAVE SAID THAT SINCE THIS DALE EARNHARDT, JR. THING BROKE THAT YOU THINK DEI WILL BE OKAY IN THE LONG TERM. THE RUNS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE HAD IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, HOW FAR DOES THAT GO TO BACKING THAT UP AND GIVING EVERYBODY CONFIDENCE THAT NEXT YEAR AND BEYOND, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY? "I think that it pretty much should hush everybody up (laughs). It should squash all of that. They are working harder than they ever have to do everything right, to get the right people in place, to make our cars better. There is no reason why 42 other teams out here can make it without Junior but we couldn't. I love Junior to death, he is like a brother to me, he has been a great friend. Real excited for him with what he has got going on right now. We can do it."

AS A DRIVER, UNTIL YOU GET THAT FIRST WIN, IS THERE LITTLE SHRED OF DOUBT IN YOUR OWN MIND? "At times, you know, when things get tough. For awhile there, it seemed that things could never go right for us and I always just wondered why, what did we do to deserve this, and you get down when things are going bad. And they weren't necessarily going bad, we just, every time we had a good run we would pit and the caution would come out or, just stupid things would happen and it's like, you get so aggravated, so mad and that is when you start to question everything. Luckily I have had all of these guys in here, they have always done a good job of keeping me focused, keeping me pumped up and looking at the positives, you know, how well we ran, how fast the car was, looking at lap times compared to everyone on the race track and stuff like that. They have done a good job of always keeping me focused on the things that I need to focus on."

MEDIA Q & A WITH CASEY MEARS, NO. 25 NATIONAL GUARD/GMAC MONTE CARLO SS

Casey Mears, No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Monte Carlo SS, answered questions at Michigan International Speedway regarding Dale Earnhardt, Jr. joining Hendrick Motorsports, his personal relationship with Dale, Jr. and racing at MIS:

ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "I think it's going to be cool. Dale and I have been pretty good friends for quite a while now. I got to know him fairly early when I moved back to North Carolina and I'm excited about him being on our side of the shop. Obviously we're a four-car team and share all information very closely but it's going to be nice having him at our shop and working together; I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE LEARNED FROM HIM? "I'm going to find out. I'm going to find out when we're teammates. That's stuff that will be a guess right now until we start getting more involved in getting to know each other a little bit more. We know each other on a friendship side but not on the technical side and what he likes out of a race car. I think the combination of knowing what he's learned at a different team and bringing that to our company and having the chance to sit down and talk about it, those are the things I'll have answers for after he's actually here. Right now, all I know is that I'm excited about having him because he's a good friend and obviously brings some more talent to the table."

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW HIM ON A PERSONAL LEVEL? "I've been back in North Carolina now for almost six years and met him fairly early on. We hung out quite a bit at his place quite a few times and had a good time, just around the lake and having fun outside the track. We're not the closest of friends since he's got best friends and stuff but I think over the course of the last few years I've gotten to know him pretty well and I think that the background he grew up in and being around the sport, he obviously knows and understands a lot about it. He's given me some good advice early on when I was a rookie and struggling. He's just a good guy, good friend. I'm looking forward to working with him."

ON YOUR UPSWING AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON: "I think that probably the last five races or so we've really been hitting our stride and running really well. Going into Darlington had a really good run going and had an issue with the radiator plugging up and losing the engine. I think that probably about six races ago I really feel like our team started to come together. Just getting to know everybody, Darian and I getting to know each other and the whole team's attitude being very positive knowing that we can go forward and to get that win at the Coca-Cola 600 was definitely a huge confidence builder for everybody. It probably took a lot of pressure off of all of us, really. We've won and now we can just focus on how to do it again instead of having that hanging over our head that we're the only team within Hendrick Motorsports that hasn't won. I think that it relieved some of that pressure and allows us to focus and do our job and to come back at Dover, we qualified very badly but we rallied back to get a 13th, which was good in the points. Then last week to end up fourth, I think we just keep gaining and to stay on this path, it's a very outside shot but we've got a shot of still making the Chase. Our goal is to just keep rallying off some top fives and top 10s all the way up until the Chase and then hopefully be within striking distance with a couple to go."

YOUR THOUGHTS ON MIS: "I love this place. Michigan has always been a good track for me ever since I ran Indy Lights here. I got two or three second-place finishes here in Indy Lights and I always seemed to be running inside the top five typically here whether it's in a Busch car or Cup car here. Haven't always finished there but we've always had cars that are competitive and able to be there. I think now with the path we've been on, all that we've learned the last few weeks, and bringing our Charlotte car back to here, I know I've got a good race car. The thing I like about it too is it gives you a lot of options. People start running the top or the bottom, run the middle, whatever. However your car is handling it gives you options to go in other areas to make your car work.

"Being this close to Detroit, Chevrolet is obviously really big out here so it would be fun to win this one for sure."