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

JEFF GORDON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 DUPONT MONTE CARLO SS, TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT DALE EARNHARDT SR., TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS, RACING AT TALLADEGA AND MORE:

ON HIS BUSY WEEK SINCE WINNING AT PHOENIX: '"It's been busy. We went straight to Sonoma after the win and got to cook for the media, which was pretty unusual. We talked about fatherhood coming up and also talked about wine. And then to get to come here and continue talking about the 50th running of the Daytona 500 and the Jeff Gordon Foundation and so it's been a great week. Luckily, I won; because as much as I've been talking this week, had I not won, they would have asked me when I was going to get my first win (of the season), so its been a very fun and positive week."

WITH ALL THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON, ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE RACE THIS WEEKEND? "Yeah, that's the one thing about Talladega. When you come here, the first two days are pretty easy. The guys had to be here early this morning and go through a hectic inspection. But on Sunday is when my job really starts up. To that point, hopefully it's going to be pretty uneventful."

WERE YOU SURPRISED BY THE REACTION OF SOME OF THE EARNHARDT FANS LAST WEEK? WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF YOU WIN AGAIN THIS WEEK? "Well, I wasn't surprised. Dale Junior helped me out a lot with that, that's for sure. But I knew why I wanted to do it and that's all that really mattered. I knew there would be people who took it the right way and some who would take it the wrong way. And those are the people that I'm not going to be able to make happy no matter what I do. And so, I thought all in all, it really worked just the way that I hoped it would - that it would be a tribute and an honor to Dale (Earnhardt Sr) and I felt like it definitely did. So I'm glad that we did it. I had questioned it a couple of times - just because I was afraid of rubbing some people the wrong way. But I'm so happy that we did do it. It turned out great.

"And you know what? Nothing would make me happier or more excited than to see the reaction of the fans here by doing it (winning) this week. Dale owned this place. And we've had success here as well. Getting booed over the last several years is something that I've become accustomed to. That would be fine by me. I'd love to do it. We've been having a great year. Just like we were not sure when that #76 (win) would come, we don't know when or if that next win is going to come either."

ON DALE EARNHARDT JR'S COMMENT ABOUT NOT THROWING BEER CANS, BUT THROWING TOILET PAPER INSTEAD? "Sounds to me like there's going to be plenty of toilet paper being thrown (laughter) whether I win or not. But he's got a huge fan base here and he carries a lot of weight with the messages to the fans. We've been here, me and him, battling, where they gave one to me and then the fans reacted and threw a lot of cans out there. It can be very dangerous. That's the message that needs to get out there. (It's a danger) not just to the cars going around there, but to the fans in the stands that don't make it to the fence or over the fence. I don't think it's a smart thing to do - no matter what happens - after the race."

A BEER CAN SHOWER SEEMS TO BE WHAT THEY DO HERE "Oh, I got some of that at Phoenix. If they do that at Phoenix, you can only imagine what they do here at Talladega. The fans are entitled to their opinion and their reaction and their passion and that's what makes them NASCAR fans. And so, you've got to understand they're going to react some way if it happens."

HAVE YOU PERFECTED YOUR BURNOUT TO TAKE CARE OF AN EXTRA AMOUNT OF BEER CANS UNDER THE CAR? "No, I think I showed last weekend that burnouts and me really don't match up too well (laughs). They are pretty weak burnouts. When you win, and you're having a good time, it doesn't matter how good your burnout it. It's such a thrill. To get into victory lane this past weekend was just incredible. It felt great. I didn't care how good or bad the burnout was. It's just being able to celebrate with that team and know how hard we'd worked to get there. It was worth every bit of it."

ON TONY STEWART'S REMARKS ABOUT BOGUS CAUTIONS AND PRO WRESTLING "I think Tony is just bringing more heat on himself. If he wants to stay away from controversy and the media center after a race, then he might want to be careful what you say on Tuesday. I can understand why there can be a frustration. He's been in a position to win a lot of races this year and it just hasn't happened. And there have been some cautions that have been questionable to a lot of us out there. But never once did I ever think that NASCAR was trying to fix the race or change the outcome of the race. A lot of times, there may be debris out there and they don't want to call a caution because they're trying to get a confirmation about what the debris is. There was a large plastic bag out there (at Phoenix) for a number of laps. I think they were hoping to maybe see it go away. And it didn't, so they threw the caution. We've been talking about debris cautions for years in this sport.

"They usually fall in the right time for some people and not for others. And so somebody is going to be happy about it and somebody is not going to be happy about it. I'm not sure where Tony is coming from in all that. I know it's gotten him a lot of heat and he had an early morning this morning (6 a.m. meeting with NASCAR officials). That was one thing that was misquoted about me - or maybe it was the way I said it last week. Maybe it didn't come out the right way. But I said if Tony wasn't here, it would be a huge loss for the sport - not for Tony - because he's a phenomenal race car driver with a great team. He's like the Rosie O'Donnell right now (laughter) of NASCAR. Controversy is something he's been used to and it brings quite a bit of flair to the sport."

TONY STEWART SAID HE ENJOYED BATTLING WITH YOU AT PHOENIX LAST WEEK AND THAT'S WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT THE SPORT "I didn't take that as him being upset with me. From the reports I got, that wasn't the case. He's a very competitive guy and that's understandable and I think there are some frustrations about some other things that have happened and I'm not sure what those are. We obviously found out on Tuesday that some of the cautions have frustrated him."

DO YOU WANT NASCAR TO HESTITATE ANY MORE THAN THEY DO NOW WHEN THROWING A CAUTION? "What we always want is consistency. If you're going to throw a caution for debris, throw it as soon as it's there. That's what I've seen a little bit of is inconsistency. Sometimes they throw it right away. Sometimes they don't. Unless you're sitting up there in that tower and you are them, it's a lot easier for all of us at home watching on TV or for us in the cars as competitors to say we would have done it this way or that way. Until you're the one controlling the race, it's hard for us to really judge them. They've got a tough job on so many levels. I'm not always thrilled with the way they do things. I mean, be honest. I also know they have a very tough job and you're not going to please everybody."

DOES YOUR TEAM MOMENTUM TRANSLATE RIGHT OVER TO THE PLATE TRACKS? "I think our plate program is strong and our team is strong and this is a good track for us. When I left Phoenix and Texas - Texas, leading the most laps and Phoenix, winning the race - I felt like we can win anywhere. And that's a great momentum-builder and confidence-builder for this race team and I hope we can keep our strong runs alive and kicking. That doesn't necessarily mean we're going to win this weekend, but I think we're going to run well and have a shot at it."

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO WIN THIS WEEKEND AND SURPASS DALE EARNHARDT'S MARK HERE? "That would be pretty ironic because he taught me how to win here. He taught me how to use your mirror and how to use the draft and how to use cars around you. Nobody was better than him. I think I may have beat him one time here and thought it was one of the greatest accomplishments in my career because I watched him just wear guys (down). I can remember being in a race, riding along toward the end, trying to make some moves happen and Dale was nowhere in sight. All of a sudden the checkered flag is waving and I'm like, who won? They're like, Dale. You've got to be kidding me. That guy was nowhere even in the hunt. He was amazing here. To be able to win here meant a lot to me - especially when I raced with him. I just take that along with me and it would be a great victory to be able to do that here. Obviously it would be quite a statement as well to break that record here. But you know what? We waited since last July to try to put a team together and cars together to pull off that 76th win. Who knows how long it's going to take or when it's going to come for that next one."

MORE ON DALE JUNIOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THROWING BEER CANS AFTER THE RACE "Well, I take that as a compliment. The more people boo and throw things at me, the more I realize I've accomplished something that's gotten under their skin and something very meaningful. I'm not asking people to do that. But when it does happen, I hope they don't think I'm taking it the wrong way because I'm not. I think there are some safety issues as to why it shouldn't happen. And it's been incredible through all this to have Dale Junior supporting our efforts. He looks back at times when his dad and I were talking about racing and things off the track and he was there and a part of that and so he knew. I was at DEI years ago, spending some time with Dale talking about some things, when Junior was getting ready to run one of his Busch races. He took me in there to show me the car he was going to be driving and Junior was there and I was giving Senior a hard time because I thought the car was something old that they had pulled out of a barn (laughter). And those memories stick out in Junior's mind and he knows that Dale and I raced one another hard and the fans had their opinions; but that we had a lot of respect for one another."

JUNIOR SEEMS TO HAVE HAD IMPACT ON EARNHARDT FANS THIS WEEK "I don't think that any of those things are any secret. It's that perception and that rivalry among our fans and I think Junior fans and Gordon fans are always going to be rivals. I've had more Earnhardt fans over the last couple of years tell me, 'Hey, I'm always an Earnhardt fan and always will be, but I know how much Dale respected you and I respect you as well.' So, there are those that are going to not be fans. They might not respect me at all, but I also know there are a large group of them that share that type of feeling. Junior has only certainly helped that along. And I don't know why. I didn't ask him to do it and I'm not trying to get Earnhardt fans. I'm just out there doing my thing and racing and I love battling with Junior. I think he's going to be extremely tough this weekend. All those things show out there on and off the race track."

ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASS IN THE GRASS BY DALE EARNHARDT, WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT WHEN YOU WATCH IT OR WHEN YOU WERE A PART OF THAT? "It's one of many incredible moments and passes that Dale pulled off in the sport and what made him the Intimidator and what made him seven-time champion with all those wins. It's always cool every time you see it. It's amazing. There are not too many guys who could pull that off."

AT YOUR CURRENT RATE OF 3.5 WINS PER SEASON, YOU'LL PASS THE NEXT THREE GUYS IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS. YOU'LL PASS DAVID PEARSON IN ABOUT 8 YEARS. WILL YOU STICK AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO DO IT? "I guarantee I won't be passing David Pearson with 105 wins. No, I hope that I can get above my average and win some more races; I'd love to do that. But I know I don't plan on racing until I'm 45. I've had a great career and I want to keep going as long as I'm healthy and having a good time with a competitive team. But as this sport is changing and with fatherhood around the corner, I don't think I'm going to want to be at that competitive level - or be out there and not be competitive - at that age."

DO YOU THINK TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS HURT THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT? "Yeah, a little. I do. Hey, there is nothing wrong with giving your opinion and he's got strong feelings for racing. He's passionate about racing. But this sport thrives on integrity and viewers and fans and it's a trickle-down effect. You've got the people that are watching it. You've got sponsors. You've got people who build your race cars and make up these teams. It's a huge group of people that make this sport. What helps that is the sport being strong; and what can hurt that is the sport's integrity being questioned. It can definitely affect the sport. I do think his comments have affected it in some way. I would imagine that the conversations he had early this morning (with NASCAR officials) were a reminder of that."

NASCAR IS BEING FEATURED ON PRO WRESTLING NEWS NOW AND BY SPORTS COMMENTATORS "You can joke about it all you want but I can tell you that yes, they (NASCAR) wants it to be entertaining. Who wouldn't? Do we want Formula I that's not entertaining at all but yet the integrity of the hard-core racing is there. We don't want that. I don't want that. I want a sport that can compete in America as a great racing series that is very entertaining to the fans. What makes it entertaining is cars that can pass and cars that bump and bang and have these great finishes like we had last weekend like Jimmie (Johnson) and I had at Martinsville. Those things are all what make it entertaining in this sport. And caution flags help make it entertaining as well. It's something that NASCAR tries to balance out - the entertainment side of it as well as the hard-core racing side of it. And sometimes it's a tough balance. But you know what? I don't think the sport would be what it is today if it weren't for that."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS MONTE CALO SS

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS MONTE CARLO SS, TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT THE TEAM'S PROGRAMS, TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS, AND MORE:

ON TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS: "I didn't agree with his comparison with the wrestling or with him saying NASCAR didn't run a fair race. I didn't agree with those things. The conversation about cautions I think is okay to have. I think that's a reasonable conversation to have. TV is talking about it. I think Tony exaggerated when he made the comparison. It was counter-productive rather than productive. But Tony didn't mean any harm by it. He was trying to make a point. Tony is a racer's racer. And all he was trying to say was, 'hey, let's just make sure we're thinking about the racers'. I just think he over-exaggerated. That's just my opinion. I don't think Tony meant any harm by it. I think he meant good by it.

"Our sport is an interesting sport. We don't have time-outs. We don't have two-minute warnings. I believe in my heart that this sport has mostly benefited by having cautions mostly early in the race. Maybe we just ought to have them. Maybe at lap 40 we ought to have a caution. When the race starts, the track is different than it was when we had practice. The 30th place car is greatly advantaged by having a caution so he can work on his car so that there are more cars that are able to be competitive when the race ends. That's the advantage of cautions. The disadvantage is that every caution, someone gets hurt. So when we throw a caution, we have to understand that we're hurting people too. It's a difficult thing.

"Hey, I go to a football game and it's like they never play. The stop and they play and they stop and play and they stop more than they play and it's like, good gosh, that gets old. But stoppage in play does help how many cars can be competitive. But every time there is a caution, somebody gets hung out. Somebody has already pitted. Somebody was good on long runs. But as a rule, it gives more teams a chance to get their stuff together.

HAVE YOU EVER QUESTIONED THE VALIDITY OF A DEBRIS CAUTION? "I questioned last year's race at Atlanta. There was rollbar pad on the race track and I was furious about it. I can't say I've never questioned the validity of a call. I can't say I've never done that. I think for the most part, what I see them do is to do their best.

"Two weeks ago at Texas, I don't even know what it was, but there was a huge piece of debris on the race track for a couple of laps. They did their very best not to throw a caution to keep from hurting somebody. The thing in all of this that drives me kind of crazy is any belief by teams or fans that NASCAR does something to help a particular team. That drives me whacko. I'd quit if I believed that's where we are. I'd just have to quit. I don't believe they'd throw a caution so Jeff Gordon could win Phoenix. That worked out that the No. 24 car got lucky. It wasn't NASCAR's fault. I don't think they'd throw a caution so the Lowe's car could win a race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. I think that's ludicrous. If I ever believe that it's like that, I'd quit. And that's the thing that drives me crazy in all of this. It's NASCAR's responsibility and the charge to look into the overall good of the sport. And I think they do a damn good job of that."

ON THE SEASON TO DATE: "Well, we've started off pretty well. We certainly have some areas we need to be better in. Our Car of Tomorrow needs to be stepped up. Our superspeedway program, we need to work a little more on. We have a lot of room to grow and we're going to have to if we're going to stay a contender. We've had some good fortune that we haven't had any catastrophic races. We do need to be better and we're working hard to be better."

ON THE SPONSORSHIP HEARING "I've spoken to RCR representatives that were at the hearing. It's a difficult spot for us to be in. We have a sponsor that has been in the sport for a long time. They want to continue their involvement in the sport. There's not a whole lot to say."

DO YOU THINK TONY STEWART'S REMARKS HAVE DAMANGED THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT? "Certainly one of the things that our sport has to have is credibility. When the fans watch the races, they have to know that NASCAR doesn't have an interest in one particular team. And anytime there is a hint of that, I don't think it's good for the sport. Although, this sport has to be willing to talk about the issues that people are talking about. I've watched shows where they'll (TV) come right out and say if we can find a caution, we're going to show it to you. Tony didn't start that conversation. That's something that I think the sport should do. Again, there are two sides to the story. When competitors have an issue, we need to be able to have those conversations and the sport has to be willing to talk about it and I think we need to be careful about how we address it."

STEWART SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW WHY HE DIDN'T GO TO NASCAR, BUT THAT HE WOULD FROM NOW ON TO AT LEAST EXPRESS HIS CONCERN: "Tony is a racer. Do you know what I mean? It was on his mind and he said it. Tony is an outspoken guy and when he has something on his mind, that's what he's going to do. He's going to say it. And I'm proud of him. I don't think it's necessarily productive, but at the same time, I'm proud that he said what he said. "That's one of the things that make our sport interesting. It's drivers and team owners and people that have personalities and it comes out. When I have an issue, I can go into that trailer. I have Mike Helton's cell phone number; I have his home phone number, I have Brian France's numbers. When I have an issue, they have always been open to being called. It's our responsibility to use that. The deal is to be willing to call them. We have to, as competitors, be able to do that. This is honestly, what we do. And we need to understand that we're lucky to be able to do it. We need to be trying to make it better.

"And I think that's what Tony was honestly trying to do. Tony didn't have malice in his comment. Tony was trying to make it better. Whether he went about that in the right direction or not, we can debate about. I believe that NASCAR's doors are open. They don't always agree with you, which by the way, they shouldn't. But they are very open to listen to you comments and your opinions and your beliefs. Like I said, they don't always say okay, we're going to change that if that's how you want it. Very rarely do they do that. But they do listen and I think ultimately, your opinion is valued.

"You can say almost anything you want to say, but how you say it is important. And that's something that Tony failed in. And I'm sure he'd admit that. But Tony is a racer. He's a smart guy and his opinions should be listened to. He didn't go about it in the right way. But he didn't have any malice by it.

"I'm tired of talking about it, I really am. Tony didn't start this conversation. Other people started this conversation. Tony put an exclamation point on it, without a doubt. But as far as I'm concerned, I don't believe they throw cautions in an effort to help the No. 24 car or the No. 48 car or the No. 8 car over me."

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

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S MONTE CARLO SS TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT RACING AT TALLADEGA, TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS, THE NEW IMPALA SS RACE CAR AND MORE:

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE 'BIG ONE'? YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO MISS IT BUT YOU'VE GOTTEN CAUGHT IN IT AS WELL. "You just have to race your race. When you see stuff that's going on you're not fond of you can try to get out of the way but when you're three and four wide here it's hard to really drop to the back. I've been caught up in wrecks and I've also started wrecks. It's something that's very, very easy to do here when you're racing at these speeds so close. I've certainly decided to be more cautious inside the car and try to wait until those closing laps to really get aggressive. When you're a racer and you're out there on the track it's hard not to race; it's hard not to try to squeeze into some positions. It's a tough thing and when you're running four wide at 200 mph, 30-40 cars deep, stuff happens. And we're not talking about big mistakes, I'm talking about an inch that makes the difference between an accident and not having one."

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HAS BEEN GREAT WITH THE NEW CAR. WHAT KIND OF RACE DO YOU THINK WE'LL SEE NEXT WEEK? "I think you'll see another good race. The track itself seemed to allow a second groove last time we raced there and in the test session there were a lot of guys up high already. So we're hopeful we'll have good side-by-side racing. I think the Richmond test got us ready for the Phoenix race and now going back to Phoenix I think the competition will be closer and I do think Hendrick has done a good job of getting off to a really fast start. But if you look around, I think Gibbs has been awfully tough, the No. 17 showed a lot of strength last week so I think all the big teams certainly are figuring this thing out. Guys who run well at Richmond I think you'll see back up front again."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS ABOUT NASCAR? "Well, we all know and love Tony for having an opinion and speaking his mind and he certainly has done that again. I think in any form of sports when you have officials making calls there are always questions. It doesn't matter if it's here, in baseball, basketball, whatever it may be and I think that's what you're seeing here. Sometimes situations develop and you're like 'where is it, what is it?' That just comes with any sport that has officials involved.

"Tony certainly was quite outspoken and made a lot of headlines. It was shocking for me to see how far a simple radio show. that voice could carry and be heard all around the country."

WOULD IT BE PRODUCTIVE IF THERE WERE A WAY TO DISCUSS THESE THINGS WITH NASCAR? "It's hard to say. To find the right settings to be able to talk things through with NASCAR and get all the drivers there that have the same opinion. Everybody has a different opinion on how things should be run; why and when cautions should come out. At the end of the day, it's NASCAR's sport - they've done a great job of being in it until this point. They were questioned for not throwing a caution at the end of the Daytona 500 and they're questioned for throwing cautions for debris and stuff so it's tough. We could sit here and pick them apart left and right but it's tough. A tough job that they have, they've done a great job growing our sport year after year."

WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM AFTER CALIFORNIA? "There's certainly times where calls are made and you have questions about it. As a driver, you go to the truck and you sit down and you talk about it and try to get a resolution. That's really the right way to handle it. I've been up in the truck asking lots of questions including the California debris caution that we had and its just part of the cycle."

DID THEY SHOW YOU THE DEBRIS AT CALIFORNIA? "No, I didn't see it but they expressed fact that there's stuff on the track and they need to keep the track safe and clean so you don't run something over and puncture a tire or have any issues. Again, when it comes to a sport, which has officiating there's always question marks. I don't think our sport immune to it, I think all sports have that."

WHAT IS IT ABOUT JEFF GORDON THAT MAKES HIM SO CONSISTENTLY SUCCESSFUL THIS SEASON AND WHAT'S IT LIKE WORKING WITH HIM? "It's been awesome working with Jeff from the year I started. To be a part of that and to have that person to fall back on to help me with what I need to do in the car and the setups was a huge help for me getting started. To Jeff's standards, he hasn't had the years that we're used to seeing or that he's wanted but they've still been amazing years. This year it's the Jeff that we all know and expect to see and he's doing an amazing job. It's really shocked me, working with him, to see the feel he has for this car and the way that he can find speed in it with his driving techniques. And also the way he's able to feel exactly what he needs and relay that to (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) and have Stevie fix it.

"So I really think the Impala SS in particular is something that fits his style. Maybe it's more like the 1990s car that he was so used to racing and driving and having a lot of success with. At the same time the current car, he's been up front and fighting for wins too. So you can't ever count him out. The guy is awesome and it's a pleasure working with him."

YOU HAVE YOUR OWN RADIO SHOW. DO YOU SOMETIMES FORGET THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM YOUR OWN HOME? "Oh, yeah. Without a doubt. That's one thing that Marty Smith and I joke about all the time. It's like 'wow, we're getting paid to do this and carrying on and voicing our opinion' and then later we'll hear things come back to us through fans or whatever it may be. You're like, 'whoa, there's a lot of people listening.' You've got to recognize that and try to be responsible with that, that tool that you have. It's a Catch 22 because a lot of the fans really want to hear what you're thinking and that's why these companies we're getting involved with are giving us shows. At the same time you've got to be smart and recognize the fact that you're a part of the media at that point and you have a responsibility to do it."

ANY FEEL FOR WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE HERE IN OCTOBER WITH THE NEW CAR? "When I had the test here, the cars weren't a lot different and we really found a gear and restrictor-plate combination that resembled what we have in today's draft. Granted, we only had six cars but just by the size of the vehicles when we're here with 43 cars on track, in a draft, we'll be able to suck up a little bit more, more like a Truck. But NASCAR doesn't want us to be too fast and too aggressive with these, the bigger cars, so I think you'll see a little bit more of a competitive race but really all in all, a very similar race to what you expect at Talladega."

WHY DO YOU THINK HENDRICK AND GIBBS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE WITH THE NEW CAR? "I think that you're seeing the top teams rise to the occasion. It doesn't matter if it's the current car or the new one. These race teams are about people. All the big teams have equal dollars, the manufacturers have the box that they are put in, the cars are all very similar and it boils down to people. I think the teams you see succeeding right now in the new car are the same ones you see succeeding with the regular car. It's kind of the way the sport is - the cream still rises to the top.

"I feel very lucky to be a part of Hendrick and know all the hard work that's gone into it. We have won all the Car of Tomorrow races but when I look around I see a lot of other teams that are very, very close. When I look at Phoenix, the No. 20 seemed like it was his race to win and then the No. 11 probably had the fast car and had a problem on pit road and had to come back from that. The same guys are going to come to the top, that's just the way it is."

THIS IS THE LAST DAYTIME RACE UNTIL JUNE. DO YOU ENJOY NIGHT RACING? "I do, I didn't even know that, though. Night races are fun. I think that for myself, the hotter the track is, the slicker it is, the better I perform and the better our team does. The night races seem a little bit more forgiving so that's the only side of it where I go 'well, I wish it was a day race.' Still, I think it puts on a good show for the fans and the cars look better at night too."

DEI USED TO DOMINATE AT TALLADEGA AND NOW HENDRICK IS AT THAT POINT. WHAT HAS BEEN THE TURNAROUND FOR YOUR PROGRAM? "It's just been a lot of work over a few years. We've really ramped up to try to catch up to the DEI cars and for the last few years it seems we've been equal to if not better than them. The hard part is to continue to do that and we're still working really hard on all of our programs including restrictor-plate racing. Daytona didn't really turn out like we wanted it to. We didn't have the speed down there like we thought we should and we didn't have that edge like we were used to. So we put a lot of work into this weekend's race and hopefully we'll get it back."

IS RCR STARTING TO CATCH UP IN PLATE RACING? "I think so. Childress has always had an amazing plate program. It seems like again, the guys that are good with the draft and the good teams still end up at the front. I don't think you can count out the Gibbs cars. I think Childress has been strong. Roush cars typically aren't known for their restrictor-plate stuff but Matt Kenseth has done an awesome job, regardless of the circumstances or track and is always up front at the end. I think there's a blend of car and talent there and an ability in the draft to be able to mess with it and these guys are figuring it out."

HOW MUCH FUN IS THE ALL-STAR RACE? "It is a lot of fun. When you have a million dollars out there to chase down you want to relax, you want to be laid back but that purse drives that competitive spirit back into you and it feels like a points race. If you crash out and something weird happens you go 'oh, well, no big deal'. No points on the line. When you're fighting for the win, there's just as much pressure as a points race to get that job done."

DO YOU THINK YOU WILL EVER REACH DALE EARNHART'S AND GORDON'S WIN RECORD? "I don't know. I look at that number and it is so far out there and in conversations with Jeff in the past, the years have gone by so fast and he had some big years winning a lot of races that he's shocked that he's been able to match Earnhardt with the wins. That's a huge number. I don't know what to expect. I certainly would like to but those guys have done an amazing job to get where they are and I just think its harder in today's world to win. I don't think you can see someone getting on a 10- or 13-race winning streak in the course of a season to get to that point. It's tough to do... I need to get to work. I'm only at 26 right now."

WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF WHAT TONY STEWART HAD TO SAY? "We know that Tony is opinionated and we're used to seeing him speak his mind. A lot of people love him for that and some dislike him for it. Tony is Tony and he's always been himself. It's hard when you have a radio show. You're not sure who's listening and you want to speak your mind and it looks like he certainly did. I haven't been too close to it all to know what's going on. I understand he's in a bit of a position."

IS HIS ISSUE VALID? "I think we question things all the time and I think not only in our sport but in other sports, when you have an officiating group calling a race or a ball game or whatever, there are question mark. Judgment calls were made into that and everyone has opinions. At Fontana I had something that I didn't necessarily agree with and you handle it the right way - go to the truck about it. There's certainly ways to handle it and ways that you can get in trouble taking care of it. You just have to be careful and recognize those things."

DO YOU THINK NASCAR CALLS COMPETITION CAUTIONS? "It's hard to answer. There are things that we question and you just have to go to the truck and talk them out and handle them the right way."

SO HOW TONY HANDLED IT WASN'T THE RIGHT WAY? WAS IT HARMFUL TO THE SPORT? "Tony has an opinion and we all love him for that. I don't know his exact comments and what he said but I do know that our demographic, from what I've been told in the past, we have a similar fan base. I'm not sure that it might be offending the wrestling world by saying it's not in the same category. I don't really know. I'm not really sure of what he really said, all I know is that there's been a lot of discussion about it and everybody's been saying he's in hot water. I just don't know."

DID IT TAKE YOU A LONG TIME TO FEEL COMFORTABLE TO GO TO THE TRUCK WHEN YOU HAVE AN ISSUE? "I don't think so. You've just got to be respectful and talk to people. You can't walk in there upset and demanding certain things. If you go in and have a conversation those doors are always open."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX MONTE CARLO SS

DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX MONTE CARLO SS, TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT HIS PHOENIX SPEEDING PENALTY, TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS AND MORE

WHAT GOES ON INSIDE YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU END UP IN THIRD PLACE AFTER A PENALTY AND MIGHT HAVE WON THE RACE? "It's tough to win or finish in the top five in any race but it takes more time for us - for myself - to get over it but I know deep in my heart that a third-place finish is good for us. It's a good points day and it could have been a whole lot worse."

DOES NASCAR PROVIDE DATA THAT SAYS HOW FAR OVER THE SPEED LIMIT YOU WERE? "We asked for it and what it said is that we were 50.13 mph. The limit is 45 mph but I believe they give you up to 50.1 mph as the absolute max. We were just a bit over it."

I BELIEVE YOU FIRST SAID YOU WERE 2.2 MPH UNDER THE FIRST TIME? "What we had was. you can call up NASCAR after you go down pit road and say 'in such and such a segment, what was our speed?'. We were the first car on pit road so I had no one in front of me and could run the exact RPM I wanted to run, then asked how much room do we have to go up or down. They said we were 2.2 and if it was good. (Crew chief) Mike (Ford) asked me if I wanted to increase the RPM and I said 'no, I'll just keep it in reserve in case I need it'. I came back in the second time as the leader and didn't need to speed but was speeding when I felt like I was running the exact same RPM. Whether we got a bad segment time the first time, I don't know. Maybe that was the fact - we just called in maybe a segment where we were a little too slow, where we were actually closer to the limit than what we thought."

HOW NICE IS IT TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE GETTING CARS THAT YOU CAN GO FROM 43RD TO UP FRONT IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME? "That's the great thing is that we had a lot of fun going back to the front but it was frustrating in the same breath. it gave me a lot of confidence that our team was really on top of things with the new car and it gives me a big shot of confidence for Richmond coming up."

YOUR THOUGHTS ON TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS: "It's pretty much taken up all the media when you turn on the TV and hear about it. To me it's tough that a guy really can't say what he really feels even on his own radio show but you've got to protect the integrity of the sport and can't throw mud all over it in the same aspect. I definitely see both sides of it. I think he's in a tough situation where he didn't want to let loose in front of the cameras so instead he did it behind the microphone and it still cost him."

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS

KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS, TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT PLATE RACING, TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS, AND THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR:

DO YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS? "No, not really. There's been an awful lot of debris cautions this year but NASCAR's got their personnel that are around the race track. I think it's like 10 or 12 stations that they're in and if they see something that they don't believe is safe they're going to throw a caution and try to get it out of the way so someone doesn't run over it and blow a tire or whatever."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEW BUSCH RESTRICTOR PLATE? "This place is just so good now and there's so much grip out there now. It's a lot of fun to drive and it's easy to drive. I didn't feel like there was a necessity for that but NASCAR felt that it was in their best interest to try to reduce speeds a little bit for safety so I'm all for that. It's a little bit different than what everybody ran at Daytona; it's a little bit different than what anybody ever tested so nobody has a whole lot of engine data. We were smart enough to take part in that during our Daytona testing when we had the telemetry on the car to put four different plate sizes on it. That way we could make sure that if they were going to put on a different plate size we would have the telemetry with it so we're okay."

DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR ANY YOUNG DRIVER MAKING THEIR DEBUT HERE? "Hold a pretty wheel. That's about it. Depending on what kind of car you are in, it's a tough place to make your first start. Juan Montoya did it here last year. Yesterday in practice all of us got our first look at him in the NASCAR-type series out here. He looked a little erratic. We'll have to just wait and play it out and see how he is in a race."

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT THERE HAS BEEN SO MUCH MADE OUT OF TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS? "Yeah, a little bit. The week before he was talking about retirement and everybody took that seriously. They're talking about the WWE wrestling comments and how NASCAR throws cautions and taking that seriously. Not to dog on Tony at all but I just think he opens his mouth a little too much, I think."

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CAUTIONS? "There's two parts to that. I think if there is something out there on the race track then make sure there really is something there. Make sure it's not just a piece of paper or a paper plate or something like that. And if there is - if you're going to throw a debris caution - let the TV look at it. Let the TV know where it's at and show us what it is and not just make it an imaginary one. I think that those could be the solutions to the problem on why drivers sometimes think that there's illegitimate cautions thrown out there is to just show us why that was."

YOU FINISHED A TOUGH SECOND A FEW TIMES AND ALWAYS CAME TO THE MEDIA CENTER AFTERWARDS. DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT STEWART SKIPPED HIS PRESS CONFERENCE? "I've skipped out on it too and I got the hash that he's getting as well. It was a little bit tougher situation for me when I did it. It was in 2004, just after the Hendrick plane went down and I was trying to get a win for Ricky Hendrick and all the people that were on the plane in the Busch Series car there at Phoenix. We led the most laps, led the whole race and in the final five laps we lost the race and finished second. The same thing happened a week later in Atlanta when we were fighting for the win with Matt Kenseth. I couldn't quite get around him and we finished second again. I've finished a lot of tough seconds but none are too tough were I guess now, being a little bit smarter you have to do what you are obligated to do."

WHAT'S IT LIKE BEING JEFF GORDON'S TEAMMATE AND HOW ARE YOU LEARNING FROM HIM? "The reason he's so good in the new car is because he likes a tighter race car. He doesn't like to have to drive those things too much. With the new car, it's incredibly tight and I can't stand to drive that thing because I like a loose race car. He just goes into the corner, turns the wheel to the left and lets the thing roll and smoothly picks up the throttle and drives the car off the corner. He likes it that way. That's his feel. That's what makes him the most successful in it. So that's why he's been so successful in that thing. As far as the other cars, I guess they've caught up to his game. The 1.5-miles, the two-mile places he's really been strong this year and those, technically in the past, haven't been his strong suit but more so this year it has been. I'm fortunate to be with Hendrick Motorsports and to have those guys on my team and to be able to go over to them and try to look at what they're doing and look at what he's doing and be able to talk with them and stuff like that. It helps me a little bit but I still have to get to Jeff Gordon's level which will take me a few years."

DO YOU THINK HE COULD WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR? "The way he's running right now, he is the championship threat. You just going to have to follow what results he's been able to pound out every week and what he's been able to do lately. I think he's probably going to be your main threat."

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW CAR AFTER PHOENIX? "Same old thing. Still what I've always said before."

DO YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR STYLE TO THE WAY GORDON DRIVES IT OR DO YOU HAVE TO ADJUST THE CAR TO YOUR STYLE? "I tried some things throughout the race and I couldn't do it more than two laps in a row. It's hard to change your driving style and it's hard to change how you like your race car to drive when you've done it your own way for so long. For me the biggest thing is to try to get the car to drive to my liking and to try to get it the way that I like it. There's probably some things that we can do to help the drivability out in these things and I'm sure some of the drivers have gone to NASCAR. I need to go to NASCAR and sit down with them and say 'look, can we do something to try and help these things out because they're not that fun to drive'. I'm surprised, actually, that we haven't blown out more right-front tires because of overheating them. At Martinsville we had three or four right-front failures because of not only brake heat, but also just because they're so tight. You're developing heat slide in that tire. I'm hoping that we can try to fix it somehow."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO SS FACES MEDIA

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT MONTE CARLO SS, MET WITH MEDIA TO ADDRESS THE COMMENTS HE MADE ON HIS TUESDAY RADIO SHOW ABOUT NASCAR AND CAUTION FLAGS FOR DEBRIS:

CAN YOU FILL US IN ABOUT YOUR MEETING THIS MORNING WITH NASCAR OFFICIALS? "I saw 6:00 a.m. this morning for the first time in a long time. They assured me that the debris cautions aren't things that aren't out there. They say that there are things that are there. And to be honest, the group that I spoke with this morning is a group of peers that I trust. If they tell me that the stuff is out there, I believe them. It's hard sometimes when you don't see it and there are a lot of times we don't see it and I questioned that. But I think they're approach was logical. Instead of doing it in the way I did it - I should have went to them instead of just saying it out in public.

"But that's a frustration that's been building up for weeks with me was these debris cautions. But honestly, I feel confident. They've told me that this doesn't happen. It's a group of people that I trust and until there is evidence to show me that what they are saying is not true, I'm going to believe them. That is why I didn't go to the media center last week (after Phoenix race). I was so frustrated that I knew if I went to the media center after the race..I was happy with my run. I was ecstatic with having a second place run. I had a great battle with Jeff (Gordon). I still hate losing. Second isn't what I wanted, but considering the week we had the week before, a second place run and leading the most laps was a great night for us.

"My frustration was the caution flags the first half of the race. But that was enough for me to not want to.. We try to learn from our mistakes before. I've went to the media center and been furious before and said things that I didn't want to say. And Tuesday night I was sick and still ended up saying things that I didn't want to say; or shouldn't have said, and got in trouble for. The meeting the morning was a good meeting. It's a little tender for me to sit down right now (laughter), but I'm semi-confident that by the time practice starts that the medication I've got will numb it up enough that I can go out there and do my job this afternoon."

WERE YOU SPEAKING FOR YOURSELF OR ON BEHALF OF A LOT OF OTHER DRIVERS AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT DEBRIS CAUTIONS? "I don't try to speak for anybody else but myself. It's been a huge topic. Just walking in here today and the conversations I've had with the group of people who have stopped me on the say in from the door to here, have shown how big a topic this has been. The group of guys I met with this morning are guys that I really have a lot of respect for. Unless you're out there when they go pick that stuff up..the smallest things - I know this from running Indy cars - can cause a punctured a tire. Sometimes the smaller things are worse than the bigger things are in a lot of cases. But we all know that what we're involved with is an entertainment industry.

"They were very honest about saying yeah, there are times they would love to find debris to have a caution. But they assured me that they don't just throw a caution with no debris out there. I have the trust in those guys and until there is something that proves them wrong on that, I believe what they told me this morning."

WHO WAS IN THE MEETING? "I'm not sure I'm allowed to disclose that. It's not that I don't want to tell you, I just don't want to get in trouble. We're really not supposed to discuss what's said behind those closed doors. I'm probably already going out a little further than I'm supposed to on that."

WHAT DO YOU REGRET THE MOST ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID? DO YOU FEEL THAT NASCAR IS MORE UPSET ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING ANALOGY THAN THE DEBRIS CAUTIONS PART? "They didn't say anything about professional wrestling this morning. I'm not sure that was a big topic at 6 a.m. I think it was more that some of the individuals felt like it was a personal attack on them and like I said, that group of people I spoke with this morning are a group I really have a lot of respect for. And not knowing that was the group involved, I did feel really bad about that part of it. It's a group that I've always had a lot of respect for and have always went in confidence with if I've had questions in the past. I just kind of felt bad for saying that.

"The other thing, I do know for a fact that it's at the bottom of the entry list that it is mandatory to go to the media center. It's not your choice to go. And in my contract, it does say that I'm obligated to go to the media center. So the fact that I made the comment that it's your privilege to have us...nope, you guys (the media) have 100 percent right, so I was 100 percent wrong on that one."

DO YOU REGRET MOST EVERYTHING YOU SAID? "Well, pretty damn close (laughter). You know me. If I think I'm right about something, I'm going to say I'm right. And when I'm wrong, I'm going to say I'm wrong. I think over eight years I've pretty much established that if I think I'm wrong about something, I say I'm wrong. And I was wrong about what I said about the media and that it was a privilege to have us come in here. It's a privilege to have us come in five minutes after we're done and we're still ticked off about something that happened on the race track versus a cool down period. But that was a topic that was covered probably four or five years ago. I think that is what makes our sport good is that you guys to get that access and that's what's making us all popular."

WHEN YOU SPOKE ONE WEEK ABOUT RETIRING AND THEN QUESTIONED THE DEBRIS CAUTIONS AND SAID NO RACES WERE BEING RUN FAIRLY THIS YEAR, DO YOU THINK YOU DAMAGED THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPORT IN A PUBLIC ARENA? "I'm hoping after my meeting this morning that it doesn't hurt it. Am I confident that I probably did hurt it, I'm sure I did. Everybody in this building has made a living off of this sport. I've made a living off of this sport. It's a lot of work and obligation. This is not a free ride for anybody here. Everybody gets up and works more than an eight hour day. Everybody puts up with stuff that we shouldn't have to put up with, but it is part of our jobs. Yeah, I'm sure I did hurt the integrity of it - and unfairly, after talking with those guys this morning. But the one thing I've always been praised about in this room - and it's also been used against me, but if I feel something, I've always told you guys. Tuesday's radio show is not why I didn't go to the media center. I wasn't saving something to talk about on Tuesday. I had a 100.5-degree fever and I tried to get out of doing the radio show on Tuesday because I was sick. Mike (Arning, pr director) felt like it was very important that I did get on there and at least talk about why we didn't come (to the media center) on Saturday (post race, Phoenix). That's where I'm a lot of times my own worst enemy. You can't fix 'stupid' a lot of times. I'm getting better about not saying stupid things at the wrong times, but I haven't totally cured it yet. But we're getting better though."

IS THERE A CHANCE THAT THERE IS VALIDITY IN QUESTIONING THE DEBRIS CAUTIONS? "There have been a lot of times when the cautions have come out and I haven't seen it (debris) and other competitors haven't seen it - nobody has seen it. But in talking to the officials I spoke to this morning, they assured me that every time they call a caution for debris on the race track, there is legitimate debris out there. And until there is something that proves them wrong, that group of people I'm going to believe. I've always trusted them and believed them in the past. And I'm not looking for something that's going to prove them wrong. I have the faith and trust in them that if they call a caution, there's something out there. And I guess in a big way, it's a weight lifted off my shoulders that we had that meeting this morning and that I do have that confidence in that group in saying that it's not the way that I thought it was."

IN ANOTHER PART OF YOUR POINT ON THE RADIO SHOW TUESDAY NIGHT WAS THAT YOU THOUGHT THEIR RELUCTANCE TO THROW CAUTIONS DURING PRACTICE WITH OIL AND QUICK DRY ON THE TRACK. DID YOU ADDRESS ANY OF THAT IN YOUR MEETING? "I did bring it up. For anybody that was at Phoenix Saturday, when we went on the race track, there was more stuff on the race track then than there was during the race when cautions have come out. But they didn't discuss it and they never brought it back up and we never really went over that part of it. I don't know why it was so bad Saturday when we went out for practice there. I guess it would have been better to have it then, obviously, than to start the race with it that way."

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

CLINT BOWYER, DRIVER OF THE NO. 07 JACK DANIELS MONTE CARLO SS, TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING, THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR, AND HIS PROGRESS AS A DRIVER:

HOW DO YOU AVOID THE 'BIG ONE'? "You can do things. It's no different than driving on the interstate. If people are driving crazy or erratic, get away from them. Back out and get out of that situation. If they're putting you three wide or four wide and you're not comfortable with who you're around and your surroundings, well, you've got the wheel. Get out of that situation. It comes a time at the end of the race where you can't afford to back out. You can't afford to get back up through there and get the run."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE PLATE CHANGE ON THE BUSCH CAR? WHAT DIFFICULTY DOES THAT PRESENT TO THE ENGINE BUILDER? "They've worked all winter long on getting those motors to run on that particular plate so anytime you change that they've got to tweak their setup around a little. I was kind of expecting it. They did it to the Cup cars. We went out there and we were running really fast right off the bat. I kind of expected it. I don't think it will affect the race one bit; it's just kind of a pain in the butt. You're out there chasing gears, chasing your setup. If it's going to draft well it's going to suck up well and if they switch that, you've got to go all the way back and start over again. On the second practice you didn't have a lot of time to work on other things that would help the car suck up a little bit and work better in the draft because you were chasing gears again."

HOW DO YOU THINK THE NEW CAR WILL DRIVE AT RICHMOND? "I just think the grip level is way down on those cars. They're so even. What we've got now you can race door-to-door. They're comfortable. With that thing you're racing your environment. You're racing the track and your lap times. You're not really racing the cars around you. If somebody comes up on you you've either got to hit them, move out of the way or they've got to let you go. It's almost impossible to pass."

HAS YOUR TEAM CAUGHT UP TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS WITH THE NEW CAR? "I certainly hope so. Obviously the Gibbs cars and Hendrick cars are running a little bit better in that thing but I can assure you that our engineering and our crew chiefs are working hard on figuring out what we were behind on and what we were ahead on.

"And we were ahead on some areas and behind in some areas and we've just got to get those things evened out and I think we'll be just fine."

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS? "I don't care. That's what I thought. I really don't care."

HOW MUCH DIFFERENT OF A DRIVER ARE YOU NOW THAN YOU WERE A YEAR AGO? "I think I'm a smarter driver, I think I understand a little bit better what I need to be doing and where I need to be at and my surroundings. Coming to Talladega you've got to be conscious of your surroundings. You can't put yourself in situations and be in a wreck. You can control your destiny sometimes but sometimes you just can't. Sometimes 10 cars in front of you get together and crash and you're going to be in the middle of it. There's just nowhere to go. This track is really wide, really big but there's still situations where it's just unavoidable."

HOW MUCH HAVE HARVICK AND BURTON HELPED YOUR GROWTH? "Oh, a lot. I owe a lot to them. They've been a really good part of my career and my learning curve is being able to work with drivers like Kevin and Jeff. It's been a huge help." NEXTEL WAKE-UP CALL GUEST: MARTIN TRUEX JR., NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER MONTE CARLO SS

MARTIN TRUEX JR., NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER MONTE CARLO SS WAS TODAY'S NASCAR NEXTEL CUP WAKE-UP CALL GUEST. HE TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT THE PIT CREW CHALLENGE, THE ALL-STAR CHALLENGE, AND HIS SEASON TO DATE

DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM HAS A SHOT AT THE PIT CREW CHALLENGE THIS YEAR? YOUR TEAM WON LAST YEAR. "I think so. We've got a few guys from last year that won the championship. We've got a few new guys involved and I think they're better than they were last year. So I'm excited; I'm signed up to go there and cheer them on for once. It's kind of different, you know. You're able to stand outside the car for once and watch them do their pit stops and watch them work and see how they get into it. It'll be a lot of fun to go there and do that. It's a huge event for them; they really get pumped up for it. It's going to be exciting to be part of."

YOU'RE ALSO PART OF THE NEXTEL FAN VOTE FOR THE ALL-STAR CHALLENGE. ARE YOU LOBBYING FOR VOTES? "Well, not quite as much as Kenny Wallace. It's going to be tough to beat Kenny. He's got his 'Vote for Kenny' campaign going on SPEED. That's a little tough to compete against but we'll see what we can do. The fans have been awesome. We got in two years ago by the fan vote and it was really cool, a really neat deal. We'll just have to see how many fans we've got out there; I know there's a lot and I hope they're supporting us 100%."

HAS THE LIST OF DRIVERS OR TEAMS THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH AT PLATE TRACKS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? "Running in the Cup Series it's definitely changed. The more you run with those guys the more comfortable they get around you. Guys like Tony (Stewart) and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson - people like that will start working with you a little more. That kind of takes time in the Cup Series but in the Busch Series it's kind of a constant revolving door of different drivers coming in and out and you just kind of work with whoever you can get together with and wherever your car works well with."

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS WEEKEND? "I feel really good. I feel like we'll have a really good shot at winning. We had a really strong car in the 500 back at Daytona. We got caught up in one of those late wrecks but we had a car that we led some laps with and had a shot of winning with. We always typically run well here. We've had a little bit of trouble being around at the end of these things, getting caught up in wrecks and things and engines blowing up. But last fall we finished fifth and we feel good about it. Going for four in a row in the Busch race, looking forward to having some fun in that race and then on Sunday we'll get after it and try to get our first win in the Cup Series."

YOU ARE CLOSE FRIENDS WITH DALE EARNHARDT, JR. DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE HIS CONTRACT DEAL STANDS? "Honestly, I don't have a clue. I don't really pay much attention to it. Junior is a friend, he's a teammate and we just go out there and race. Whatever happens out there is just going to happen."

YOU'RE OFF TO A GOOD START THIS YEAR. HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SEASON? "We've got a really strong team and we've got good race cars each week. I feel good about our performance, the way it's been on the race track. We've had some things happen to us out of our control. We started out at Daytona with a wreck and in California we lost an engine about five laps into the race. So it was a tough start to the year but we've had good cars and we've run well each week. I feel good about my team and what (crew chief) Bono (Manion) and all the guys are doing on the Bass Pro Shops team, working hard, bringing good cars to the race track. Good pit stops, making good decisions throughout the race.

"We've been doing all the right things but we just need to get some of the finishes. Last week we had a top-10 car all day long and got caught on that last caution with about 20 laps to go. Just things like that have kept kind of knocking us down but we feel like we're doing a good job and we feel like we can run up front each week."

WHAT HAPPENED IN BUSCH PRACTICE YESTERDAY WITH THE DEBRIS? "I don't know. I was the second car in the draft and we were just going along and I heard something bang around up under the car. I was following Mike Wallace and I don't know if it came off his car or if it was just some debris on the race track. It cut our tire down and our tire ended up coming off and going up into Junior's nose and tore both of our cars up. It was unfortunate but the guys got it fixed up real quick. Going back out there the car was still real good."

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO ROLLING BACK THE RESTRICTOR PLATES IN THE BUSCH SERIES? "I don't know. It's hard to tell because you only get out there in a 10- to 15-car pack. Once you get 40 out there the whole pack is going to go a lot faster. I'm sure there's a number they look at there depending on how many cars they have on the race track and what kind of speeds they think they should be running. Maybe we were up there or close to it but when you are out there with 10 or 15 cars it just feels slow anyways. It's kind of hard to tell.

"The plate was a huge change. It was probably too much of a change. We went out there with the next plate and it's just going to make the pack a whole lot tighter than it was. I was able to drive up through the pack pretty easy and take the lead. Once I got the lead I just kind of hit a wall and they drove back by me. So it's going to tighten the pack up a whole bunch more, I think."