Jimmie Johnson Nextel Leader Chat at Loudon

Jimmie Johnson Nextel Leader Chat at Loudon Audio File

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, met with members of the media for the Nextel Leader Chat and discussed entering the Chase for the Nextel Cup as the points leader, his mindset for the Chase, the challenge of racing two different cars in the Chase, if NASCAR should award the regular season points leader, his relationship with his teammates during the Chase, if the signing of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was a distraction and the characteristics of Dover.

ON EXPRESSING CONCERN AFTER THE BRICKYARD YET BEING THE POINTS LEADER HEADING INTO THE CHASE: "It feels great. A lot can change in the sport and I think just using my situation I can look back at probably eight, 10 races ago, it just shows myself and I think shows probably everybody how much can change in 10 weeks and how tough it is to be good through these 10 weeks coming up. I was concerned about making the Chase. We were running well and having poor finishes and I knew if we weren't running well and weren't finishing we'd be in big trouble but fortunately we got the finishing thing under control and maintained a good pace and good equipment and all that stuff so we really didn't lose too much. We're now leading the points and we did a good job over the last couple weeks here to get some more bonus points. Now we got a 20 point margin over Jeff (Gordon) and 60 over 12th and we'll just roll with it and see what happens. I can say that I'm much more relaxed. I woke up this morning, I was having breakfast with my wife and to sit there and remember a year ago today wha t the emotions were like and how tense and nervous I was last year at this time. It's so different now and I can't tell you how excited I am to go racing and get in the middle of this and see where it shakes out. Obviously I have a lot of confidence since we've won the last two races but aside from that, I'm in a better place, much more confident and I think my team is as well and we're really excited to go racing for these 10 weeks."

ON THE MINDSET HE'S TAKEN FOR THIS RACE AND IF IT'S ONE OF ATTACK OR DEFEND AS HE GOES RACE TO RACE TRYING TO PRESERVE HIS 60 POINT LEAD: "I think you have to take advantage of opportunities when they come so you're going to have to be aggressive. I think of laps led, I think of leading a lap in general, those are all very important to do to get bonus points and to try to separate yourself and get a bit of an advantage. I'm trying to tell myself and I hope that I can just go out and race the same way I always have. I've always been good at collecting points. I've always been good at competing for a championship and the last thing I want to do is get out of my rhythm, get out of my team's rhythm. So we want to win but I'm not going to be reckless and I'm not going to make stupid decisions out on the track and hopefully we can also have that situation on pit road where we're just solid and smooth and not in a panic mode. We'll see. Last year we were forced to panic and we responded well and I would prefer this year for it to go much smoother."

HISTORICALLY DRIVERS WHO HAVE GOTTEN IN A HOLE HERE DIDN'T COME OUT OF IT. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT COMING OUT OF HERE IN A HOLE? "It's really important but there are variables that are out of the competitors hands that control this whole thing and last year I had a lot of bad races and then some other guys finally did and that really dictates it. If we all come out of here with poor performances, it's a wash and the next nine races following that dictates it so it's real tough to have a clear strategy and I think everyone's strategy is to run top five, top 10 and try to get maximum points but we won't know the hole that we're in or the advantage we may have until we're probably seven or eight races in and I think then you can formulate a strategy at that point. Until then I think we're all just out collecting points."

HOW MUCH HARDER DOES YOUR TEAM HAVE TO WORK TO MANAGE TWO DIFFERENT CARS IN THE CHASE AND IS IT AT THE SACRAFICE OF SOMETHING ELSE YOU MIGHT BE SPENDING TIME ON? "At this point of the year I think we're pretty well caught up, at least at Hendrick. The beginning of the season running both vehicles was really tough and trying to get our inventory of cars built up, trying to understand the technical side of the Car of Tomorrow, what makes it go. So at this point if you look at the whole season we're in the best position so far I think not only Hendrick Motorsports but as a garage area. We've had seven, eight months to really get prepared for this."

SHOULD NASCAR AWARD THE REGULAR SEASON POINTS LEADER HEADING INTO THE CHASE? "Yeah, I think that's been something that's been brought up each year and I do feel that there should be some reward for the regular season. I don't know what that may be. If you look at other sports and there's a championship won for whatever division it may be, what are those things? I guess they have home turf advantage depending on the sport so I don't know what a fair advantage would be moving into that. But I think it would be good for our sport to have a regular season champion and a post series champion."

ON THE HIGHEST A CHAMPION HAS FINISHED A YEAR AFTER WINNING HIS FIRST CHAMPION IS FOURTH OR FIFTH AND IF THEIR TEAM IS UNDER AS MUCH PRESSURE GOING INTO THIS CHASE AFTER WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP: "You're not bringing me good news (laughs). I know that throughout the team and throughout Hendrick Motorsports that focus of winning and winning championship is always there. That's just ingrained in the company policies at HMS and I think that's helpful and I think that the guys look to Chad and I to lead them and to show them what we want to do. Are we OK with a championship and sitting back and enjoying it or do we want to win another one? We both are very dedicated to performing in our sport, winning races and winning championships and I think that's kind of helped things along. I look at Jeff and I have a ton respect for what he and.also even looking at Robbie Loomis, Steve Letarte, the different crew chiefs that Jeff has had, those guys have maintained that focus and it's rare. I certainly believe it's rare and I think that our guys are feeding off of Chad and I. I give a lot respect, a lot of props to Chad because he's always looking forward. Someday he'll stop and th ink back and look at what he's accomplished but he's looking forward and (is) the leader of the team and really driving us to focus on a second championship and not be comfortable with a championship."

HOW DOES YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JEFF GORDON AS A TEAMMATE CHANGE GOING INTO THE CHASE VERSUS THE FIRST 26 RACES? IS IT EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF A LITTLE BIT MORE? "Yeah and I would assume as we get closer to the end of the Chase that it may be more that in that light but we've been through this before, we've competed against each other in championships and through it all, year after year, week after week, we recognize how if we work together it helps both of us and that's still the bottom line. When we get on the track there's still enough going on with each driver's style, each crew chief's style, that when you get out on the track you can race your own independent race and not worry about things and I would expect us to continue with the open notebook policy that we've always had and try to ensure HMS with a championship. That goes along with Kyle Busch. I have to give him a lot of credit for staying committed to the racing, being open, sharing what his driver techniques are, what changes they're making on the car and really helping the whole organization so hopefully between the three of us and Casey Mears helping out we can keep dr iving technology forward and help the company win another championship and let us not close the books and let us settle it on the track is really the way we're hoping to do it."

WITH ALL THE MEDIA ATTENTION ON THE SIGNING OF DALE EARNHARDT, JR., DID YOU FIND IT A DISTRACTION FOR YOU AND THE HENDRICK TEAM? "No. There's been a lot going on there's no doubt about it and we still have a lot to finish up and button up with Dale Jr. coming to Hendrick Motorsports but that's really stayed in the offices of Hendrick. I'd say Doug Duchardt, Marshall Carlson, Rick Hendrick, there's a group of guys there that have really been digging through that and our marketing staff as well at Hendrick Motorsports and it's stayed in the offices. It really hasn't made its way into the teams. I would think now that we're into the Chase and there's a lot of things that changed with the 25 and 5 for next year the way that's working out that there will be some sort of a burden on those teams getting prepared for next year but in the 24/48 shop, all efforts are focused on a championship. I say that and I think about Kyle and those guys are in the Chase but there will be some type of burden on those guys. Kyle's not going to be there, Junior's coming in, sponsors are changing, Casey's moving from the 25 to the 5, so it's inevitable to have some type of pressure on them but the 24/ 48, there hasn't been any pressure creeping in our walls."

ON THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF DOVER: "The corners are below the level of the straightaway so you're launching off into the corner and then trying to get the car to slow down and turn and then driving back up onto the straightaway and it's really an entertaining track, a fun track to drive on but you're on the ragged edge and that's why it's such a dangerous track and have so many issues. And then the track is a self cleaning track as I've heard mentioned and if you get in trouble and you lose it, you're going to hit something and it's a place that is very challenging and the risk reward thing, you've got to risk every lap and there's a chance you're going to bust your butt so the reward is very small for a lot of guys. It's one of my favorite tracks. I really, really enjoy running there."

IS THE CHASE LIKE A TRACK AND FIELD EVENT WHERE YOU HAVE A STAGGERED START AND YOU HAVE TO STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE AND KEEP YOUR EYES FORWARD UNTIL YOU GET TO THE LAST TURN AND THEN YOU RACE EACH OTHER? "I think that's the way I approach it. I'm not sure about the other guys. I've always been under the school of thought that I'm my own worst enemy, my biggest competitor however it's phrased and I think my team's that way and if we stay focused and we have history to show this, if we're focused and giving 100 percent we can be successful and that's the thing I fall back on and kind of the way our team operates so I certainly kind of approach it that way."

Jeff Gordon Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Jeff Gordon Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS talked with media about starting the Chase in second place in the points, focus for the Chase, on the importance of getting a good start early in the Chase, Talladega being the wild card race, on making is 500th Cup career start, on the opening round of the Chase being at Loudon, on racing at Dover next week, on the Talladega test, on losing the point lead to Jimmie Johnson going into the Chase, on the Chase coming down to consistency, and more.

Selected transcript of the interview follows:

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET A STRONG START IN THE CHASE RIGHT AWAY? "It's important. You can tell. The intensity level has stepped up. Focus has gotten greater. Everybody wants to make a statement and say we came to play. I think it's important to show early on who is going to rise to the top and who is the team to beat. But it happens moment by moment. One moment's in practice and the next moment is in qualifying and the next is in the race. All that really matters is when you come out of here on Sunday and who scored the best finish."

ON MAKING HIS 500TH CUP CAREER START "It's very cool I'm very proud of that and especially because it's consecutive starts. To me, it's been a great ride and a great team. I've been fortunate to be with the same sponsor in DuPont the entire time. It's hard to believe that we've run 500 Cup races. It tells me I've been racing a lot longer than I thought."

IT USED TO BE THAT WE THOUGHT ONE BAD RACE WOULD KNOCK YOU OUT OF THE CHASE. BUT NOW, WE'VE SEEN THAT YOU CAN HAVE ONE OR TWO BAD RACES AND STILL HAVE A SHOT "The history and stats for the Chase kind of cracks me up. I hear all these stats about nobody has ever done this or that, but they don't compare that to the actual Chase. We're only talking four years here, so it's always being rewritten. Nobody knows what it's going to take each year. It's always something different. I think consistency is the most important thing and not having the big mistakes or one bad finish. And I think if somebody stays consistent, they're going to win it no matter what the other guys do. Jimmie (Johnson) definitely proved last year that you should never give up. You just never know. Somebody could put seven straight races together and than have three that go bad."

ON STARTING THE CHASE AT LOUDON. DO YOU LIKE THIS TRACK? "Yeah, I do. I think action speaks louder than words. We've just got to go out there and make it happen. We can sit here and talk about we're going to do this or we're going to do that at this track or that track. It doesn't matter really. You've just go to the race track. You've got to fight hard. You've got to be a great team and work though every moment you're on the track and fight to be better and better each time. This is a good track for us, but it doesn't mean anything until we come out of here with a great finish on Sunday."

ON THE TALLADEGA TEST "It was pretty good. I was happy. It was a little wild, which is what I expected. That was with about 18 or 16 cars. When you get 43 of them out there, it's going to be highly entertaining, that's for sure."

HAVING LEAD THE POINTS SINCE BRISTOL, AND NOW BEING IN SECOND PLACE WITH THE RE-SETTING OF POINTS, DO YOU THINK YOU GOT THE SHAFT? "If I didn't know what the rules were going into the season, I'd say we got the shaft. But that's not the case. Ever since they've had the Chase, they've said what it is. This year they made the change to the 10 bonus points. It made the regular season more exciting. It made everybody push harder to get those wins. It did what it was supposed to do. But I do think they're going to have to revisit now, going back. If you're going to have incentives for guys to win races, you have to have some kind of incentive for a guy to go out there and be the points leader at that point. I wouldn't be surprised if they revisit that a little bit."

Tony Stewart Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Tony Stewart Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Impala met with media to discuss teammate Denny Hamlin, on the transition from open wheels to stock cars, renewing his contract with JGR, and on focusing on the Chase

Select quotes from driver interview:

DENNY HAMLIN SAID HE FEELS MORE COMFORTABLE IN HIS SKIN THIS YEAR. DO YOU NOTICE THAT? "I think so. I think it's like we've always said, you don't just come into this series and feel comfortable. Your life totally changes when you come here. There is no way to prepare for it. You just get thrown into it and it is what it is for a while. It takes guys a little while to get used to it."

DOES HE HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE? "I think so. From day one, he's had confidence. Obviously, winning his first race at the Shootout didn't hurt that."

WITH BOTH OF YOU IN THE CHASE, CAN YOU HELP EACH OTHER? "Well, we do every week. It's not going to be any different these next 10 weeks than any other week. We always help each other. It's not going to be any different in the Chase. Now granted, if it's down to just him and I with two races to go, I'm sure we won't help each other quite as much. There is nobody in this garage that's going to do that. We'll help each other as much as we can to get one of those two cars in a situation to win a championship."

HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO GETTING YOUR CONTRACT SIGNED? "I'm not even going to work on it any more until the season is over. Seriously.

SO YOUR MAIN FOCUS HAS TO BE ON THE CHASE, PERIOD? "Yes. Absolutely. All these things like right now, are a total distraction to what I'm trying to accomplish the rest of the season and that's why I'm not going to do any more than I have to do until the end of the year. My goal is to win the championship and focus on the things I have to focus on to get that done."

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Denny Hamlin Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Impala SS, met with media and discussed heading into the Chase, whether consistency or winning races was more important for the Chase, his mindset on who he is racing right now, next year's program and the media tour in New York City.

THOUGHTS ON HEADING INTO THE CHASE: "We definitely feel a little bit of confidence coming into this weekend and next weekend but practice didn't go as well as we hoped for and we've just got some things that we've got to work out on the car and figure out how to be better at. So I think if we can do that, should be alright."

DO YOU THINK CONSISTENCY IS MORE IMPORTANT OR WINNING RACES? "We definitely haven't got the wins that other guys have had but I feel like we've been pretty good. As far as consistency, we're trying to get back to that. I feel like that's what it's going to take to win the championship - to top-five them to death. Really, we just need to run a little bit better to get back to that. I feel like the beginning part of the season we were a little bit stronger than what we are now and I think it's just the Car of Tomorrow program. A lot of teams have caught up and surpassed us so I think with a little work we should be alright though."

IS YOUR MINDSET THAT YOU ARE RACING 11 GUYS NOW OR STILL 42? "I'm racing 11 guys, for sure. You're definitely not racing some of those guys and you're going to drive that way on the race track for sure. You're going to probably expect a little more courtesy but you're probably not going to get it and get frustrated. Ultimately you're looking at 'where did I finish among the Chase guys' at the end of the day when the results come out. Really, I think you're going to see the top-12 guys probably going to finish in the top 15, top 20 unless something goes wrong. So really, you're going to have to run in the top five each and every week to be a contender down the stretch."

IS THERE A GREATER SENSE OF URGENCY KNOWING THAT NEXT YEAR WILL BRING A FULL-TIME NEW CAR PROGRAM? "No, I don't think so. We don't see this as the end of our winning days at the end of this year. We're going to be just as competitive next year, without a doubt. Without a doubt we will just as competitive. I think that it's going to take some time to make us to where we're championship contenders, where the No. 24 and No. 48 are every single year. But we're not at that level right now. So we're there. we have been last year and this year but I feel like those guys can run 75 percent and that's my 100 percent. Their cars are just really good right now. That can change over the off-season; I think as long as we do our homework we're going to come back just as strong, if not stronger next year."

HOW WAS NEW YORK CITY? "New York was good. I definitely felt like we... it was tough. It's tough to have a day like we had yesterday doing so much media stuff and then having to come here and practice in the morning. I wish things were a little more spread out or compact, one of the two. So that way it didn't last so long and take up so much of the week. But it's definitely the kickoff of the playoffs, basically for us. I think they do a good job of trying to get us to as many media outlets as possibly and I definitely felt like we hit a lot of avenues that we normally wouldn't hit, just at the race track. So it's definitely better than not being there, for sure, so you've got to appreciate it a little bit."

Martin Truex, Jr. Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Martin Truex, Jr. Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Impala SS met with media to discuss the wild card race, getting off to a fast start in the Chase, on his first win at Dover, on being the leader at DEI, any advice he's received from Dale Earnhardt Jr. about the Chase, about what it means to him to be in the Chase, the biggest difference between last year and this year, and getting a jump start in the Chase with good tracks for him right away.

Select quotes from driver interview:

EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT TALLADEGA BEING THE WILD CARD. IS THERE A PARTICULAR TRACK IN THE CHASE THAT YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT? "The only one that I'm kind of worried a little bit about is Martinsville. We haven't really figured that place out yet. That's about the only track that I'm a little bit worried about. But our cars are running well and our COT's are running pretty good, so I'm not all that concerned. But Talladega is definitely the wild card. For us, the other wild card would be Martinsville."

ON HIS LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE ENTERING THE CHASE "I'm pretty confident. Obviously there are no guarantees. We need to go out here and do our job and perform the best we can. But the next two weeks are two great tracks for me and my team to get off to a good start and build some more confidence."

WHY DO YOU THINK WE SEE SO MANY SWEEPS AT DOVER? "Well, it's a tricky place. It's probably one of the tougher tracks that we go to. It's very fast. It's hard to get a hold of. The concrete gets real bouncy. It's just hard to get grip and hard to make you car work good there. It think that's probably the biggest reason a guy figures out some stuff and gets his car to go around there. It's tough for a lot of guys to get their cars working right there."

ON EMERGING AS THE LEADER OF THE RACE TEAMS AT DEI. HAS DALE EARNHARDT JR. TAKEN A BACK SEAT THERE? "I don't think Junior will ever have a back seat to anybody." (laughs)

YOU'RE IN THE CHASE, AND HE'S NOT "I don't think that matters. We're just doing what we can do. I love my race team and we're having a lot of fun. We're looking forward to next year. We're looking forward to all the stuff coming up and taking this team and this company into the future and winning races and hopefully championships. So we'll just do what we can do for the rest of the year and I think when Homestead comes around, we'll be one of the guys up there fighting for it. We're just going to have some fun here and do what we can do."

WHAT ADVICE HAS DALE JUNIOR GIVEN YOU ABOUT THE CHASE? "He just told me to enjoy it and have fun. You've worked all your life for it and to just make sure you have a good time. I don't think that's going to be a problem for us and our bunch. We love racing and enjoy coming to the race track. This is what we love to do. We just feel blessed to be in the Chase and to have all the success we've had this year. We just hope to keep it going and have a great last 10 races."

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FOR YOU BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR? "I think the biggest thing was just getting experience; not just for me, but for my whole team and all of us working together in the Cup Series and building that foundation. With all the teams that are good have been doing this for a long time. To be able to run with them has been great. I think Denny Hamlin had a big edge on me and some of the other rookies last year coming to a team that has been running well and had been successful in the past. They only had one new guy. We had all new guys. It took us a while to build a foundation and some confidence. Just working on past experience helps tremendously. Just getting that experience was huge."

Kyle Busch Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Kyle Busch Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Impala SS, met with members of the media and discussed the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, if there's family pride having two brothers in the Chase, if it's bittersweet leaving Hendrick Motorsports, what he learned from last year's Chase that he'll bring to the Chase this year, if there's any tracks in the Chase he can be aggressive at and be harder on the tires, the characteristics of Dover, what happened at Richmond, visiting New York and where he would choose the banquet to be held.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON HIS THOUGHTS ON THE CHASE FOR THE NASCAR NEXTEL CUP: "I'm looking forward to it. I think we've got some great moments hopefully looking forward and being able to race with the same team that we've had for the past two years, second year in a row we're in the Chase. So I think we've learned from some stuff that happened to us last year and we can just come out stronger this year and be able to start off right with Loudon and get through Dover well and get ourselves seeded better and see what we can do after that."

ON IF THERE'S ANY FAMILY PRIDE HAVING TWO BROTHERS IN THE CHASE: "We're just racers and we just want to be able to compete at the best of our level and to be the best in the Nextel Cup Series so for us to both be out there, to be able to compete against each other is definitely pretty cool but we want to be able to win it. Kurt luckily has been able to do that the first time out and last year we struggled terribly so hopefully sometime down the road I'll be able to get mine. It's just a badge of honor to be able to carry that trophy home with you and put it up on your mantle."

WHAT DO YOU BRING WITH YOU TO THIS YEAR'S CHASE BASED ON WHAT YOU LEARNED LAST YEAR: "Don't wreck yourself on lap 2 at Loudon and try not to blow up at Dover. Those are the first two. We went to Kansas the third race and didn't have anything go wrong the whole day and we finished seventh so I feel like if we can just keep everything to a minimum and just not have any problems then we'll be pretty good. You got to be cautious. You got to be careful but you can't be overly cautious. You still got to be out there and be a little bit aggressive and be able to go out there and race against the rest of these guys and you can't take advantage of those guys that aren't in the Chase because they're out there racing for points too whether its for 25th in points or 35th in points or whatever it is, those guys have a race of their own."

Jeff Burton Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Jeff Burton Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Impala SS met with members of the media and discussed starting the Chase, on Jeff Gordon losing the points lead after the reseeding, racing at Dover, his outlook on the Chase this year compared to last year, how many points should be given for a win, how Clint Bowyer will fare in the Chase, Bowyer's progression from last year to this year, cheating in sports, the sponsorship battle with NASCAR and his mindset difference between leading the Chase and being 10th.

Select quotes from driver interview:

THOUGHTS ON OPENING UP THE CHASE FOR THE NASCAR NEXTEL CUP: "I feel good about where we are. I know that we have some areas we need to improve in, there's no question about that. We need some speed. We haven't been as fast as we need to be. We've been just a little bit off pace. We're not in left field but we're a little bit off pace. Much the same way we entered the Chase last year but we're working hard. We feel like we have some new stuff coming that hopefully can make some more speed and I think our team is mature enough and I'm mature enough to win this thing. We've just got to go make it happen. It's going to be a long 10 weeks; a lot happens in this sport in 10 weeks. If you think about it, having a 10-week stretch with no problem is very, very difficult to do so we have to minimize our problems but we also have to lead laps, run in the front and get good finishes. That's what our game plan is."

JEFF GORDON LED THE POINTS ALL YEAR BUT IS NOW SEEDED SECOND BECAUSE JIMMIE JOHNSON HAS MORE WINS THAN HIM. DO YOU THINK THAT NASCAR SHOULD REWARD THE REGULAR SEASON POINTS LEADER? "I would be disappointed (if I were him) for sure but everybody knew going in what the points were and that there's been a cry in the public and in the media about wins being more important than just finishing fifth. That's what this point structure does. It's an example of 'be careful of what you ask for'. It's been a constant cry in the garage from fans and media about wins should mean more. Now they do, now the guy that led the points pretty much the whole time is second. So it's an example of. there's always the other side of things. It doesn't matter to me, whatever the rules are, it's our job to take advantage of it. It is an example of when you get something, you have to understand it's not all positive. There are other sides."

LAST YEAR YOU LEAD THE CHASE POINTS FOR A WHILE - DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THAT THIS YEAR? THERE ARE TWO MORE DRIVERS IN IT THIS YEAR. "I think the two extra drivers makes it harder, there's no question. Our series right now is full of high competitions, full of good teams, good drivers so when you put two more in it, it makes it harder. There's no doubt about that. Can we do that again? I think we can. We'll see. The results will be the results. I know that my team is mentally prepared. I know that last year was a great experience for us. Even though when we look back on it we feel like we may have let one get away, at the end of the day we learned something from it, it made us stronger, built character. Hopefully, and I said last year, we were laying a down payment on the championship. Now it's time to get some equity back."

Kevin Harvick Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Kevin Harvick Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS, met with members of the media and discussed going to New York City, the Chase track he's worried about most, Talladega and new techniques there, running well at Loudon and what it means for the Chase, his new game plan, if a driver can have a bad race in the Chase and still bounce back, Clint Bowyer, Dover, running the new car at Loudon and repeat winners at Dover.

HOW WAS NEW YORK? "It really wasn't that crazy. Everything was so spread out and just kind of. it really wasn't that bad. I've been there in February and had to do it all myself so it was much more laid back than that."

IS THERE ANY ONE TRACK IN THE CHASE YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT? "I think for us it's been Charlotte. We've ran well but it seems like we've crashed or just. we've had two transmission problems the two races before the last two crashes. So the last two years I haven't had good results. We've ran okay, haven't run great but we haven't run terrible. I'd say that's for us, probably one where we need to turn that around."

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OUT OF TALLADEGA AFTER THE TEST? "You just have to be so much closer to the cars so you don't get hung out and get a run on by other guys behind you. So you've got to stay really, really lined up with the car in front of you and they're hard to see through them. The packs are still going to be just as big so it's still the same Talladega. We're still going to have to dodge the big wreck."

IS THERE A NEW DRAFTING TECHNIQUE THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO LEARN? "It's definitely different. The side draft doesn't seem to be as effective as it was before. You can definitely get a run on somebody and the bump-drafting is as aggressive as it's ever been with that particular package. I think it's going to be more aggressive than it was before."

HOW IMPORTANT IS A GOOD RUN ON SUNDAY FOR THE REST OF THE CHASE? "We won this race last year and didn't win the championship so I think it's all about 10 weeks, it's not about one week. It's not about the first week, it's not about the last week. It's about all 10."

HAVE YOU REFOCUSED YOUR GAME PLAN AS THE POINTS HAVE RESHUFFLED? "Just go try to win. We need to capitalize on our strengths; this is one of our strengths. And you've got to capitalize on the good days and you've got to make the bad days into decent days. So that's what it's going to take to win and everybody's got to pick it up a notch and be as focused as we've all ever been. Just see what happens in the end."

ON THE FACT THAT A DRIVER CAN STILL BOUNCE BACK IN THE CHASE AFTER A BAD RACE: "You've got to be aggressive and if you're not, somebody else is going to be - in all departments. If you have a bad week. Jimmie (Johnson) came back and won last year but this field is pretty deep with competition. I think the guy who wins it is really going to have 10 good weeks this year."

ON THE HIRING OF CLINT BOWYER: "Well, it was probably in 2004 so I was kind of involved in that from the beginning with him. We put him in the No. 21 car with me and I was one that went to all the tests with him and he would test the second half of the day when we would go do all those tests so I kind of got to see it firsthand how he progressed. At a lot of the race tracks he's really good at now he struggled with right off the bat. Once he figured it out he really, really came about so he adds that young, jubilant person to our team and he's progressed really well. Last year to this year is a huge jump so he's a great piece of our team."

WHAT DID YOU SEE IN HIM? HE HAD HARDLY ANY ASPHALT EXPERIENCE. "Richard (Childress) just saw him race at Nashville in the ARCA race and he did really well without a whole lot. So that was what he liked about him."

WHAT WILL BE THE KEY TO DOVER THIS NEXT TIME AROUND? "The key for us is just to keep everything running. The last three times there we've had motor trouble so we don't really know where we were last time because the car was not running on all cylinders. So we felt like we were okay handling-wise, we've just got to make sure that we keep it all together."

IS THAT A TOUGH TRACK FOR THE CHASE? "Dover is just Dover. It's one of those places where like they say, if you do make a mistake, you're going to hit something most likely, probably twice. So it's not a hugely forgiving race track but it's a fun place to race at."

WAS THERE A DIFFERENCE HERE BETWEEN THE OLD CAR AND THE NEW CAR? "The speeds were slower. Everything was somewhat slower. Just pretty much the same characteristics."

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY REPEAT WINNERS AT DOVER? "I think Dover is a rhythm race track. It just seems like if you get a particular setup where getting a rhythm to get around the track, it just seems like if you can find that, you're going to be successful there."

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top-12 Hauler Chat at Loudon

Clint Bowyer Loudon Hauler Chat Audio File

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Impala SS met with members of the media and discussed the phone call with Richard Childress offering him a job, his trip to New York City, his take on Dover, his not having any wins but is still in the Chase, his role compared to Martin Truex, Jr., his role at RCR, how tires play into this race, where his team might have a weakness and his spin at Richmond.

Select quotes from driver interview:

THOUGHTS ON DOVER: "I like Dover. First of all, it was a difficult track for me to catch the first time but I really enjoy that race track. It's fast, fun and racy. Seems like we're moving around more than ever. Really looking forward to it. Car of Tomorrow track, of course, so I think that should be good for us."

YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT WINS STILL IN THE CHASE. DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE ODD-MAN OUT? "Not really. By the time it was all said and done there was three cars behind us that did win races so that just tells you how much more solid we were week in and week out than they were. That's what got us this far. Definitely we've go to pick up the pace. We've got to win races and run closer to the front but still, consistency is the key to winning the championships."

DO YOU SEE AN AREA WHERE YOU AND YOUR TEAM MIGHT HAVE A WEAKNESS? "Yeah, experience. I think that's where most of our weakness is. As we go on through our career and my career especially, I keep getting better and better. I think the biggest thing from last year to this year is that I think I've caught up to my race team and caught up to my teammates."

ON HIS SPIN AT RICHMOND: "That was pretty stupid. Man, I just messed up. I told them I was set on 'kill' going into that thing. I was wanting to win that race and I was trying to do everything I could to win. That includes being the first car to go into that checkered flag. It was early, but I think it's important to get out front. Probably patience would have paid off there, obviously. Again, that's what I meant by experience. I've gotten myself into situations where we've had a car to win and just kind of screwed up."

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Press Conference at Loudon

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Press Conference at Loudon Audio File

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Impala SS, met with members of the media at New Hampshire International Speedway and discussed what he wants to accomplish the next 10 races, Martin Truex, Jr., drivers not having a teammate in the Chase, his upcoming announcement and being a public figure.

ON COMPETING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: "I'm just excited to obviously be at New Hampshire. This is a track where every time we show up we seem to run really well and I think we're getting closer and closer to having an opportunity at victory. We came here with the COT earlier this year and led a lot of laps and finished fourth I believe. We've led a lot of laps here in the past and (I'm) looking forward to trying to do that all day Sunday."

OTHER THAN WINNING RACES WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN THESE FINAL 10 EVENTS WITH DEI? "Well I think we would like to just continue running well and in the top five every week and showing up each week and running well. That's really all I enjoy doing behind the wheel. That satisfies me just being able to get my car in the top five and challenge the leaders and stuff like that. If I can do that every week that's fun for me and that's all I ask for. The motors are really good power wise and hopefully we'll have no more failures the rest of the year. We threw a belt last week and we've thrown a belt before and we just need to figure out how that's happening and I think those guys are trying to do that. I want to help Martin however I can. If I can do anything specific to help Martin and his race for the championship I'd like to be able to do that, however that may be. Whatever he needs, I don't know."

ON MARTIN TRUEX, JR. BECOMING THE FACE OF DEI AND WHAT HE HAS SEEN CHANGE IN HIM AND HOW HIS RELATIONSHIP HAS CHANGED WITH HIM: "We're still pretty good friends. I expect to continue to be friends regardless of who's in charge as far as drivers go at DEI. Martin's going to be that guy next year. He hasn't really changed his way of how he does his job or his mentality or his work ethic. He's always serious about racing and always been that way. His team, fortunately for DEI, started to get really competitive through the middle part of the year and has obviously worked their way into the Chase which is exactly what that company kind of needs to give it the confidence to be able to be competitive in the future. I've never bow hunted before and I'm going to go in a couple weeks with Martin to Oklahoma. So I think the friendship and the bond we have will continue on after the working relationship at DEI is over with. But he's definitely going be the leader of that program as far as the drivers go and I think he'll do well with that. I think that that's really in a sense what he's been waiting for and what he needs to continue to grow as a driver and get more confidence and become a champion contender. He needs to be a leader of a race team because he's that talented behind the wheel."

WAS MARTIN THRUST INTO IT WHEN YOU LEFT OR DO YOU THINK HE WAS READY FOR IT? "There's no tangible throne so there's no real way to... there doesn't even have to be a leader if nobody wants to. It's really by choice and I think he wanted it and when we made the decision to leave, he went out there and won at Dover and sort of stepped up to the plate and became that guy. I think that he wants to be that guy. I think he really wants to because he's raced underneath me for a couple years now and he answers all the questions about Dale Jr. and this, that and the other and he does it with patience. I would have a hard time putting up with it all the time. I think it's something that he's really looking forward to, really getting out from behind that being at the forefront of the company."

DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE BEING A DRIVER COMPETING IN THE CHASE WITHOUT HAVING A TEAMMATE IN THE CHASE? "I don't think so. I think it actually is a better situation because the teammates can get really competitive on the race track. I don't think that that gives them any advantage but even if I'm in the Chase or not I can help my teammate the same way that they might help each other, the other teammates that are in the Chase. I don't think it makes a difference but we're a good team and we run well. We run in the top five. Martin's got that data to look at and use if needed and that's really what's helped him and me this year is that we've both been competitive and that's sort of helped both teams when we needed help, needed speed and needed some handling issues fixed. We've been able to lean on each other pretty good because each of us is showing up at each track and running really well. He'll have that and that's going to help him a lot."

CAN YOU GIVE US ANY HINTS ABOUT YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT WEDNESDAY AND NARROW DOWN THE LIST OF NUMBERS? "No. I've done about as good as I can do about narrowing it down and what not. It's going to be a lot of fun to really see the reaction of the fans and I hope that they really enjoy what we're going to do and we've been having a lot of fun with design and with the approach and sort of forming what our identity is going to be on the race track and off the race track. It's going to be lots and lots of work.the hardest part is when you're working with anyone new whether they're a sponsor, whether they're a PR person named Mike Davis or whatever, trying to hone them into how you want them to work and how you see yourself as an individual. The hardest part is not changing anything you do personally about your personality or your mannerisms or anything and trying to get them to understand that that's who you are. That's how you stay comfortable and you stay grounded. Our new partners are very aware of that, that we want to continue with our personality and we don't really try to re invent the wheel or try to propose this new attitude or anything on the fan base. I just want to keep doing my job the same way I've been doing it and I want to keep being the same person I've been all this time and they're pretty comfortable with that."

ON WHAT HE HAS LEARNED ABOUT MAKING A COMMENT AND THAT BECOMES THE BASIS FOR SOMETHING BEING FAR BEYOND WHAT HE SAYS AND HAVING TO SAY THAT'S NOT WHAT HE MEANT: "Yeah, for example after the Richmond race I said that the motors always seem to fall apart when they put them in my car and that sort of sparked all the conspiracy of someone or somehow I was being put in that situation to where my motor was going to blow on that exact lap or whatever. It's just an off the cuff comment, just trying to make light of the situation, which was very disappointing at the time. That's the unfortunate part about where we are now is that yeah those comments sort of get taken too seriously and I don't know when everybody started taking me so seriously but it's not a very comfortable situation to be in (laughs) I'll tell you that."

ON MARTIN'S PERSONALITY: "I think that we're similar in our personalities and being quiet and stuff. I told Martin when he went to New York to really try to have a really good attitude about it. He would do the same thing I would do 'Man, I got to get up at six. Got to be downstairs at the hotel at six thirty. Got to do Good Morning America and all that stuff and go on Letterman and all that.' It's fun when you're finished and you look back on it. But you look back and you go 'Man that was cool I was on Letterman.' But building up to it, either you're so nervous that you talk yourself into not enjoying it or you really just don't like doing those type of things. But I told Martin try to really enjoy it. He's worked so hard to get there. You look at all the photo albums and pictures of him coming up in go-karts and running his modifieds and running the Busch East or what was the Busch North Series? When you see where he is now and how hard he's worked to get there. I think that he sees where he wants to be and sees where he wants to get to and he wants to win a championship and he wants to win races and that's all that matters and I feel like he knows how talented he is and he knows that he's the caliber of driver that needs to be the A driver or the number one driver in the lineup. He's the kind of guy that's getting there and I think that this is the perfect opportunity for him and I think that he sees that it's a good opportunity. Hopefully he handles that with respect and makes the right choices and does the right things and says the right things over the next couple years. He can totally take on that role man and really get that whole company believing in him and behind him and listening to him. He can start really forming and steering that company in decisions it makes whether it be change in manufacturers and huge decisions like that or small decisions as small as a shock guy on a different team or on the 15 car or whatever. Martin can start really start steering those decisions to make the company work and look and feel how he wants."

DO YOU THINK MARTIN HAS THE INTANGIBLES IN HIS GUT TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR OR IN THE FUTURE? "Well I pick Martin to win anytime anybody asks me. I think Martin's team is competitive enough. From what I'm seeing from the competition and I think the way Martin runs and his abilities and how competitive his team has become over the year, I think that he has the chance. He has as good and probably a better chance than he even believes he has so really it comes down trying to minimize your mistakes and I've learned that the hard way a couple times. You can't have any part failures and you got to minimize the mistakes that you make as a driver. The team will do their job and the cars will be competitive for Martin so he's got a good shot. He's my pick to win it."