Jimmie Johnson Nextel Leader Chat at Talladega

Jimmie Johnson Nextel Leader Chat at Talladega Audio File

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed the role this track will play in the Chase, Jeff Burton, how he races his teammates during the Chase, if he expects a wild race this weekend, new drivers making their NASCAR debut in Talladega, the outcome of the Kansas City race, if he feels pressure racing in Charlotte, if he has any safety concerns racing here and how NASCAR has changed since he was a new driver in the sport.

ON HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT TALLADEGA AND THE ROLE THIS TRACK WILL PLAY IN THE CHASE FOR THE NEXTEL CUP CHAMPIONSHIP: "Well there's no telling how it's going to come out and I think that's what all the excitement is right now. From the driver's standpoint and the crew's, we just don't know what to expect. Typically we see some crazy things happen here, at the same time we've seen a lot of crazy stuff going on the last few weeks so we're prepared for anything and looking forward to it. It's a great track for us. This fall race really isn't all that kind to me. I don't finish it for a variety of reasons. I hope to change that this year and leave here with a decent finish. That's really what our goal is, to get out of here with a top 10."

ON JEFF BURTON AS A DRIVER AND A FRIEND AND WHAT HE LIKES ABOUT HIM: "I was a fan of his before I really got in the Busch Series and I just thought that he was a clean hard racer, which I respected and admired. Outside of the car, I don't know him off the track that well but the way he carries himself through the garage area he speaks from an honest point of view. Sometimes I agree with what he says, sometimes I don't, but at least he's honest and consistent and I think a very admired guy in the garage area. I know people respect him, they respect said what he said on the track, off (the track) and I think he's well liked and (well) received everywhere."

IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY YOU RACE YOUR TEAMMATES DEPENDING ON IF THEY ARE IN THE CHASE OR NOT? "Well I think each team has maybe a different point of view on it and the way that you use a teammate that's not in the Chase can come in a variety of ways. I think of Penske and how they're using the 12 to try to find some new technology right now, kind of sacrificing the end of his season. I look at on track what you can do and really only Talladega and Daytona you can help each other on track. I know that the 25 car in general, they've been working on some new stuff and have been trying some new ideas. (They) tried them last week for us, nothing that we really hit on, but you try to do that and I think teams that are outside of the Chase are willing to take more of a chance and that's why you see it. They're trying to do whatever they can to finish up the season strong and someone like the 25 in our case.you know if we can hit on something and give Casey an advantage and go out and win a race and then also help develop something and help us along - that's really the reason we have four cars. They can be a little bit more risky now that they're not in the Chase and we're closing in on the end of the season."

DO YOU AGREE WITH DENNY HAMLIN'S ASSESSMENT OF TEST DAYS HERE THAT THIS COULD BE WAY WILDER THAN ANYTHING WE'VE EVER SEEN AT TALLADEGA? "Yeah, I was left with that impression as well. It seemed that the bigger hole that these cars punch you close up in that draft inside that hole and get to someone's bumper but you really couldn't pull out and pass someone and finish a pass so it meant more bump drafting and trying to set up a pass even if you're the guy looking for the opportunity you drag the brakes even harder yet to get a bigger shot from behind to push you and try to get by someone. Hopefully in a 43 car pack it's not that way but when you have all this energy to close and you can't go anywhere with it and can't execute a pass, in my opinion that's going to create the more intense racing than what we have. Before we could kind of make a single car pass, if you got a big push you could pull out and clear that guy. We saw Harvick at the Daytona 500 come from fourth or fifth row with a big run and make it all the way up to Mark Martin and racing back to the finish line. What we saw in the test, you couldn't even clear one car. You couldn't keep that momentum keep going and I think it's too early for us to know why. I personally think it has something to do with the wing and the way wing works with the air coming above and below it, something's going on there, but we're all kind of speculating right now and as you pointed out once we get on track we'll learn a lot more today when we have all the cars out there. But the test session was more hair raising than we hoped to be honest with you."

ON SOME NEW DRIVERS MAKING THEIR DEBUT AT TALLADEGA AND HIS ANXIETY LEVEL ABOUT THAT: "The anxiety is still there for me and I think until the race is over people are going to be skeptical and concerned and worried through all of it. There's nothing that's going to change it now and it's just really time to focus on what we need to do as a team to win the race and to run up front so I guess I'm trying to put it behind me and moving forward and in general I'm just nervous about being here at Talladega."

HAVING SOME DAYS TO DIGEST WHAT HAPPENED AT KANSAS AND HAVING SEEN THE REPLAYS, DO YOU HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE RULING AT THE OF THAT RACE? "No, I can't say I better understand the ruling and I haven't made an attempt to either. I haven't been in the truck yet. I just got here and came over so that's something that I will definitely do and try to better understand what goes on in that situation - what happens if you run out of gas on the backstretch and you don't make it back. Where is that cut off point and where do you start losing positions is my question that I hope to have answered. But I still feel the same way. It's nothing against Greg or Roush Racing or any of those guys but if you run out of gas you run out of gas and it was obvious that the car wasn't running and I think it was a bad call but it's behind us, we're moving forward and looking forward to this weekend. But my impression of last weekend hasn't changed."

DO YOU GO INTO THE RACE AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY WITH MORE PRESSURE OR IS IT MORE CALM BECAUSE OF YOUR STRONG PERFORMANCES THERE? "In general we're excited to go back. It's a track that regardless of the surface and kind of the design of the track we run well so I have a lot of excitement looking forward at that race. When we get there to the track and we're off a little bit, sometimes it creeps into our heads 'well it's not working out, something's changed' and we put a little bit more pressure on ourselves than if we're having a tough practice. But leading into it we're typically excited about it and I am this year. I think it's a good opportunity for us to possibility get a win and score some more points in the Chase."

TAKING THE POINTS PERSPECTIVE OUT OF THIS RACE, WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR OWN PERSONAL SAFETY WHEN RACING? "I don't have any concerns there. I wish we didn't have any points on the line. I'd just go out there and hammer down, have fun, bump draft. The racing itself out there is a lot of fun but when you have this much to lose the racing isn't fun out there. It'd be nice if this race was in a different setting where it wasn't so much to lose here and then you could go out and have a blast. Our cars are safe. We've seen some massive impacts. Those tracks did a good job with soft walls. The Car of Tomorrow is safer. All of the things are going in the right direction. I don't have a fear for safety, just a fear of losing points."

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL REACTION TO BEING OUT THERE FOR THREE HOURS IN THIS SITUATION WITH SUCH TIGHT PACKS AND THE POSSIBILITIES? "There's no doubt you leave here just mentally spent. You're focused on so much that's going on and trying to look through windshields of cars in front of you to see where momentum is going, see if there's going to be a problem that you can miss, so I do share that with Jeff (Gordon) that you leave here just drained and headaches and worn out from all of it. After last year's experience to make it all but the last half of the last lap, I really don't have a strategy and I don't have comfort anywhere running at the pack especially when you get in the closing laps, if you ride in the back you've got to then at some point drive your way up through the pack to try to score a good finish and last year running second coming down the back straightaway, I still ended up tore up so my guard is down. In a way it's down and I'll try to better explain. It's not that I'm really intense and worried about what's going to go on and where because I can't control it. I've been at the front, I' ve been at the back, I've been in middle, I've been in wrecks, I've started wrecks, I mean I've been a part of everything here that can take place and there ain't a darn thing I can do about it so I'm just going to line up and go and hopefully be able to stay relaxed all the way through these next couple days and then through the event and miss the problems that are out there because it doesn't matter where you're at, there's a high chance you're going to get tore up. It's kind of timing - right place, right time or wrong place, wrong time."

HAS THE GARAGE AND TRACK SITUATION CHANGED A LOT SINCE YOU TRAINED AND MOVED UP? "I think that today's world is better for young drivers that are trying to develop and come along. Even six years ago when I started in Cup there were less drivers paying to attention to short tracks, dirt tracks, off road racing, sprint cars, whatever it may be and with today's pool of drivers that have made it from different backgrounds and the way they're giving back and involved in other forms of racing and the car owners are now looking there, I think that as a young up and coming driver you have more opportunities in today's world than even when I started a few short six years ago so it's exciting to see these guys come along and have a shot to come in and run the big times. It doesn't matter if it's just here on our own soil we're now having guys like Juan Pablo (Montoya) and Jacques (Villeneuve) and Dario Franchitti, guys coming in from all walks of life that want to have a shot here in NASCAR so it's a good time to be in the sport."

BASED ON WHAT HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU REALLY SHOULD BE RACING FOR YOUR FOURTH STRAIGHT TALLADEGA VICTORY? "I can't remember what went on in the spring here. When you said I finish second I was happy to hear that. I couldn't remember where I finished. I don't feel that way because I didn't even realize where I finished in the spring but it's a good track for us and I know we always bring great cars and I've been able to learn a lot through the draft. I've been taught good lessons. I've also made some mistakes and have learned lessons through that so I'm excited to come back and feel like when we come to Talladega I have a shot at winning and I think that I have that opportunity to."

Jeff Gordon Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega

Jeff Gordon Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega Audio File

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont / Pepsi Impala SS met with media to discuss the CoT issues at Talladega, the Chase, open wheel drivers entering NASCAR, and more.

WAS THERE A LOT OF BUMP-DRAFTING GOING ON DURING PRACTICE? WAS DENNY HAMLIN DOING A LOT OF BUMP-DRAFTING? "Oh, there was some excessive bump-drafting going on out there. I didn't see what happened. He got into the back of me. Maybe it was a little harder than it should have been but that's these cars. That's the situation that we're in right now. So I don't know. I didn't see what happened."

HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT THE 'BIG ONE' AT TALLADEGA? "I'm always concerned no matter what. But you come to Talladega and you know there's a very good chance or possibility of that happening. Most of your goal throughout the day on Sunday is to try to just survive that big wreck. And that's definitely going to be on our minds on Sunday for sure."

YOU AND CLINT BOWYER AND JIMMIE JOHNSON HAVEN'T HAD PROBLEMS. IS THAT A LITTLE BIT OF A CUSHION FOR THIS RACE? 'What do you consider problems? I look at Dover where we had problems but we survived the wreck. I look at Kansas. We were sitting in a very bad position. Luckily the track dried and we went back racing. We were able to adjust on the car. I feel like we battled through some great fights and battles of our own to get ourselves back up towards the front to overcome some of those issues. But no, we haven't been caught up in the wrecks. And that's our goal to try to get through this weekend like everybody else that's in the Chase. We're all trying to survive that big wreck and be there at the end. It can happen anywhere. But I think we all know that there is a high chance of it happening here."

CAN YOU HANG OUT IN THE BACK? "I don't know. I tried that before and I just couldn't do it. But I think that what you're going to see is a lot of shuffling. You'll see a guy who drives to the front and then he goes to the back. So you're going to see a lot of that. If we get up front and can stay there, I want to stay there. But if you can't get to the front or if you get shuffled from the front to the back, then maybe we will ride in the back. I don't know. I think you've got to evaluate every situation differently. If it looks like it's a little bit too out of control out there, that might be a better option. There is no guarantee any where on this race track that if a crash happens, that if you're riding in the back you're going to be out of it; or if you're up front leading that that's not going to happen. So, all you can do is drive the best you possibly can. If it's your day to get caught up in it, then it's your day. And if it's your day not to, then you won't."

ON THE VISABILITY ISSUES OF THE COT "We don't really see great around the older car here down the straightaways, but you can't really see through it because of the wing. And the car is so wide that you can't see around it. All the more reason to be more careful."

HOW DOES THIS CHANGE THE WAY YOU RACE? "Be more careful. All the more reason why we shouldn't be trying to push a guy with our bumper down the straightaway when you don't know what's happening in front of him. The momentum change is so drastic. My biggest concern about what could happen this weekend is that you're third or fourth in line and something happens three or four cars ahead of you where a car drops off out of the outside or the inside lane and is moving backwards at a fast rate of speed and you don't know how much they're checking up in front of you and you run over the top of a guy. It's that domino affect that could be the one that gets guys in trouble. I don't know any way around that. Even if you're a foot off of his bumper, I don't know if there's any way around it."

WHEN YOU GET A PUSH, IS IT BETTER OR WORSE THAN THE OLD CAR OF ACTUALLY CLEARING A GUY? "I think when you get the push you're going to clear him if you're got a guy behind you. But if you go by yourself, the momentum is really going to be broken by the guy ahead of you. No, I see the shift being so big that you can clear the guy. The biggest problem is that you don't want to clear him too much because if you get out there by yourself and they're going to blow right by you. So I think that it's going to be exciting. I think there's going to be some fantastic racing. I think there is going to be a lot of three and four wide. Lead changes are going to be as much or more than we've ever seen. But I think the potential for the big one to happen is more drastic with those types of situations also."

IF YOU GET HUNG OUT, IS THERE A BIGGER PRICE TO PAY? "Oh, you're going to go way back. But, I don't think you're going to lose the draft. Unless the guys get single file, I don't think you're going to lose the draft."

LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT WEEK AT CHARLOTTE, IS THERE A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RACING IN MAY COMPARED TO OCTOBER? "I think I heard that maybe they made some tire changes. So hopefully there's a little bit more grip when we go back there. We had a lot of issues with a super hard tire because the track was so fast. That would be nice. But I don't know. I didn't run well the last race."

WOULD IT TAKE SOMETHING AWAY FROM THE CHASE IF TALLADEGA WASN'T ONE OF THE FINAL 10 RACES? "Definitely. This is one of the most spectacular tracks we have on the schedule. I think that while we all know it's like playing Russian Roulette when we come here, I still think it's one of those races that it's too spectacular not to be in the Chase."

WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THESE INTERNATIONAL GUYS NOT REALLY CUTTING THEIR TEETH BEFORE GETTING THE OPPORTUNITY TO RACE ON A SUPERSPEEDWAY LIKE THIS? "I think that Dario Franchitti is doing it the right way. He's coming in here and running the ARCA race and he's doing it the same way that Montoya did it. I think that's a smart way to do it. I think we've got guys who have plenty of talent to be running this race. It's the fact that they have no experience in this car that I think it's just risky. I just don't think that it makes a lot of sense - not for them to be doing it, but for NASCAR to approve them to be running this race. I think that there are plenty of other tracks and races like the ARCA race and the Truck race that gets them enough experience to get ready for Daytona."

JIMMIE JOHNSON HAS WON FIVE OF THE LAST NINE RACES AT CHARLOTTE. IS HE THE FAVORITE? "Well, yeah, he's very strong at Charlotte. You know he's going to run good. But (Tony Stewart was very strong the last time we were there as well. Honestly, I never really focus on who the guy is to beat as much as I do how we make our car the best we can make it. If we do our job right, then I know we will be a contender for the win. You hope that if you're off a little bit that it's only a little bit and you're still a top five car. Right now, I just want to get to the finish of a race at Charlotte. It's been a while since we've done that."

BECAUSE OF YOUR SUCCESS HERE, DO YOU COME IN WITH A LITTLE MOR CONFIDENCE? "I would if we had the old rules. In the old car, that really suited our team and my driving style really well. We've had success here and we showed it the last time we were here. But this car brings a whole new different perspective on how we approach this race and how we run this race. And there are just a lot of unknowns. Even having won five races here we're going to have to change up our game on how we go about it and try to stay out of trouble. That's the biggest goal I think all of us should have this weekend."

IF SAM HORNISH QUALIFIES FOR THE RACE HE WOULD ALSO BE MAKING HIS DEBUT AS VILLENEUVE. DO YOU SEE THAT IN THE SAME WAY? "Yeah, I would just like to see this not be the first race. But the fact that Sam has driven the Busch cars and he's gotten an idea of the competition and the cars a little bit, at least he has some experience in a bigger, heavier car. And Jacques is going to do a great job in a stock car. And I'm excited for him. I'm excited for Bill Davis too. It's a good addition for them. It's just that I don't think anybody should be making their debut race here. Nobody."

SCOTT SPEED ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT HE IS GOING TO RUN THE FULL ARCA SERIES NEXT YEAR. IS THAT A BETTER WAY FOR SOME OF THESE OPEN WHEEL GUYS TO COME INTO NASCAR? "If you have the time, I think it's probably the smartest way to go about it. But some guys don't have that kind of time. Some guys feel like they need to go faster. I think that Montoya is probably the perfect example. Here's a guys that's one of the best drivers that I've seen come along in a long time in any type of series and yet he drove ARCA races and Busch races before he just hopped right into a Cup car. And that's the smartest way to go about it."

HAS HIS SUCCESS OPENED THE FLOODGATES FOR ALL THESE OPEN WELL RACERS? "I think it's because it's almost not having so much success that's got those guys interested. The fact that a guy like Montoya came in and has had to fight hard; it hasn't come easy for him. Good teams are willing to give him a shot. So it's all about opportunity. And if a good, strong team is giving you the ability to come in and get your best change, that's the most important thing. Had Montoya come in and done extremely well right away, it would have put a lot of pressure on these other guys. The fact that he hasn't really done 'over the top' I think it actually takes a little pressure off those guys. They can say look at him. He's had to really build and take his time. So they go to the car owners and they say listen, if you're willing to be as patient with me as they're being with Juan Pablo, then I'm willing to come. If you expect me to start winning races immediately on ovals, then maybe I'm not your guy. That's the way I look at it."

CAN ALL THOSE GUYS BE SUCCESSES? "They are all great talents. No doubt about it. I think if they go about it right and don't just try to rush into it and they get with a good team, then I think they can be successful. That's what's gotten them successful in every other form of motorsports they've gone into. They didn't just jump into an Indy car and start winning. They drove other kinds of cars before they got there. It's the same way with a stock car. You can't just jump into the Cup series and expect to just go fast and be competitive. It takes time to learn the tracks and the cars and the competition. If you have some patience it'll pay off."

AT THIS POINT LAST YEAR, JIMMIE JOHNSON WAS 165 POINTS OUT. WHEN YO LOOK AT WHAT HE WAS ABLE TO DO IN THE LAST FIVE RACES, DOES THAT LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT THIS CHASE WILL BE MORE THAN A THREE-MAN RACE? "Yeah, there is no doubt; especially this weekend. Everything can change. All you can do it go out and do your best every weekend. You hope you avoid the crashes and that you have good performances. But you're not guaranteed any of those things. The guys who are 100+ points behind right now, they can't give up. They've got to just go out and do their best and maybe things can turn around like they did for Jimmie last year. You've got three guys who are up front right now who are pretty consistent. You've got Jimmie who performs well at a lot of tracks. We perform maybe lately not quite as good as those guys have, but we're very consistent. Clint (Bowyer) hasn't performed as well as either one of us but he's extremely consistent. So I think if one of those three guys stays consistent, those other guys aren't going to be able to come back. But, anything is possible. This thing could shake up week to week to week. We can have 100-point swings left and right. We've proven it can happen at Dover, it can happen at Kansas, and it can happen at Talladega, Martinsville, and Charlotte or anywhere. There is nobody that's a clear favorite, or the guy to beat right now in my opinion."

A LOT Of YOUNG GUYS ARE TRAINING TO COME UP RIGHT NOW. HAS THE GARAGE SITUATION CHANGED A LOT SINCE YOU CAME IN? "Sure it has. The cars have changed and competition has changed. What I've always like about the Cup Series is that you have car owners out here who are willing to go to their sponsors and convince them that here's a young, talented race car driver that has a long future if we bring him up right. And their willing to give that guy a chance. And there's not too many series out there that really go out there and do that. So I hope that we continue to do that. That's what happened with me. But things have changed, certainly. We've got 38 races and a bigger audience and more pressure and a lot more competition - especially going to the Car of Tomorrow next year. It's going to make it a lot more challenging. For a young, aggressive driver to come up the same way they have been over the last four or five years. The cars we've been driving, you can be aggressive and it pays off. With this car, you can't be aggressive."

EVERYTHING ELSE HAS CHANGED. DO DRIVERS CHANGE? "If you get drivers that are young and that get a lot of experience at a very young age, that only makes them better drivers. I think what's changed is that we're bringing the cream to the top. There used to be maybe 10 or 12 guys in this garage area that can win. Now, I think there are 30 or 35 guys that really can win races if you put them with the right team. And I think that number has just gotten greater over the years. So we're just bringing more and better talent into the Cup Series."

ON THIS TRACK AND IN THIS CAR, IS THE SIZE OF A DRIVER A FACTOR? "Do you think it's a factor anywhere we go?"

BOWYER SAID MAYBE YOU WERE TOO SHORT AND THAT'S WHY YOU CAN'T SEE OVER THE WING (laughs) "I do set my seat extremely low. But I can see over the wing just fine (laughs). I can't see over the one in front of me though. It might be a visual thing but it's not a performance thing."

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega

Clint Bowyer Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega Audio File

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Impala SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed the finish at Kansas last weekend, the "big one" at Talladega, drivers making their NASCAR debut here, this track being a part of the Chase, how he feels about his position in the Chase, racing at Charlotte, being upside during the Daytona 500 and teammates helping each other out during the Chase.

SO WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO WIN TWO RACES IN A ROW? "(Laughs) You know we didn't deserve to win that race by any means. (Greg) Biffle was the faster car just something happened there at the end. Had I known that I would have been saying 'Boy, there's plenty of daylight out there' but hindsight is always 20/20."

DID YOU GET AN EXPLANATION FROM NASCAR ON THE FINISH OF THE RACE? "No. I assumed that they were going to give him the win but it sure would have been nice to have it handed over."

HOW WORRIED ARE YOU ABOUT THE BIG ONE HERE? "It's gonna happen. I don't know how big it'll be and when it will be but I'd say it's definitely going to happen. I mean you can just race so close. I was able to push the 48, come off the side, drag across his bumper and suck by him on the outside and just do things that you shouldn't be able to do (laughs) and I did. It's always kind of a recipe for disaster here I think we just kind of built a little bit better recipe."

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE HOW YOU APPROACH THIS RACE? "You just got to use your head. You got to make sure you're not the one that causes the wreck. If we all do that maybe we'll get through it. But everybody's going to get antsy out there. You're able to maneuver around and make things happens and everybody wants to lead so it's going to be interesting."

ON IF HE FEELS TOO COMFORTABLE OUT THERE TO DO THINGS LIKE THAT: "Yeah, you're comfortable but if the car is darty it's hard to steer around and you're doing things, you have to be aggressive at times that you just assume not be to stay in the position you're in and that's what I mean by recipe for disaster. You just happen to be a little bit too aggressive at times to keep your track position that you don't necessarily want to do."

ON DRIVERS MAKING THEIR NASCAR DEBUT AT TALLADEGA: "There's two sides to every story. I'd like to see him have to earn it a little bit but then again they have earned it in other forms of auto racing and certainly their name helps. It's bringing a lot of attention, a lot of exposure and a lot of positive things to the sport but I'm not too sure Talladega is the best place to be grooming these people. I know it took two or three races before I was OK to run even on a mile and a half race track and to be OK the first race out at Talladega, I don't know if I'd have that happen."

ARE YOU NERVOUS ABOUT RACING WITH SOME OF THESE DRIVERS SINCE THERE WON'T BE ANY DRAFTING PRACTICE WITH IT BEING AN IMPOUND RACE? "Really? Great (laughs). It's just going to be that kind of deal. If they get in the show they're going to have to learn a lot. They're not dumb racers. They've won in their form of racing so they're going to sit back and learn and watch and hopefully put it to good use and when it comes time maybe they can do something with it but I know they're going to use their head and do the right thing. It does concern ya but the bottom line is if they do what they're supposed to do everything will be fine."

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU THAT TALLADEGA IS PART OF THE CHASE? "(Laughs) It's a thrill. It's going to be interesting. I mean everybody is worried. I was just talking to Jimmie a little bit ago and I'm like 'Man, you get away with some crazy things out here.' It's a very intense part of our season right now and to come to a place where it's kind of a crapshoot. I've played it both ways. I've tried to play conservative and tag along at the back and kind of do the Dale Jarrett approach and the one car that was behind me ran me over when the wreck happened so it can happen anywhere. Luck's got to be on your side. You got to control that luck a little bit and put yourself in the right situation and if you're in a situation you don't want to be in, you got to be smart enough to get out of it."

ON HIS POSITION IN THE CHASE: "It's just so neat to be able to get in the Chase and be part of such an elite group. We knew going into it we'd kind of have to step up our program in a big way and just being able to answer that call. I'm really, really fortunate that the guys on my race team we did it and we are doing it so it feels good. It's all about parking spots here in the Cup deal. If it's easy to get to your truck you know you're doing something right and it's just around the corner today."

YOU ORIGINALLY WERE SEEN AS A LONGSHOT TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW DO YOU ASSESS YOUR CHANCES NOW? "Well, I'd probably think that you're still thinking that they're going to bobble and that we're going to make mistakes and we're going to prove you wrong."

HOW DO THE MAY AND OCTOBER RACES AT CHARLOTTE DIFFER? "I don't know. I was reading in the headlines that Bruton (Smith) might be moving the place. My track record's not the best there. I'm all for it (laughs). Move it. Move it to the other side of Charlotte."

ON WHAT IT FEELS LIKE IN THE CAR WHEN YOU'RE UPSIDE DOWN LIKE HE WAS DURING THE DAYTONA 500: "It's pretty wild, pretty intense. There's so many things that are going through your mind and so quick. First thing you think you're fine and all the sudden out of nowhere you're upside down and I never even saw the car hit me. You get that breath and then you're sliding upside down and you're thinking 'Man, there's a lot of cars behind us. When we hit the grass are we going to start flipping?' That's the ones that will hurt people when you see the guys hook the grass and start barrel rolling and tumbling end over end. Those are the ones that people get hurt in."

ON THE VISABILITY IN THE COT "You got to just rely on and trust that guy in front of you. You can't pull out of line with these cars. It's really scrubs off speed if you get out of that wake and it's such a more fine wake it seems like behind these cars is they're so square it seems like the air that comes off of 'em is real defined to a pretty fine point. You just got to trust that guy in front of you and time it to where when you do have help you can pull over and make the pass. You're going to have to be careful. You're going to have to be smart and wise about picking and choosing your battles and when to go and when not to go because it seems like if you get the wrong car behind you you're in trouble."

IS IT OKAY TO RIDE AROUND IN THE BACK UNTIL THE END AND MAKE A MOVE? "Yeah, definitely and that's just what's so hard about this race is you have to be aggressive when you'd just as soon not want to be. Track position is going to be important but it ain't worth wreckin'. It ain't work crashing half-way through the race is over. Just kind of have to use your head and if we all do that we'll be just fine."

DO YOU APPROACH THE CHARLOTTE RACE DIFFERENTLY BEING A NIGHT RACE? "Kind of. Lowe's always seems to be doing the same thing so hopefully the sun will be down and we'll be able to not go through that transition with that track. It seems like it's so temperature sensitive, that race track, and as we go through that I think that will be less because it's a night race and will start later."

IS JIMMIE JOHNSON A FAVORITE FOR CHARLOTTE? "Well if you're a gambling man I'd be willing to bet on him."

ON MOVING UP IN THE SPORT: "Well, it's all about how big this sport is and all where you're parked. Being down here third in line, that's where the exposure (is). The media want to talk to the people down there so we just got here. We got to keep doing our job, doing the things that we've been doing.

"I'm just really proud of our race team being able to step up our program and answer that call. We all knew going into this we had to and it feels good to be a part of that."

ARE YOUR TEAMMATES ALL HELPING EACH OTHER OUT RIGHT NOW? "I don't think any more than normal. You always want to help your teammates out. I think together that's how you get better. There's no single car teams in the top 12 right now. It's all multi-car teams and everybody working together and the teams that do that the best are the ones that are up front. We're gaining on it. We're getting better at that at RCR and as a whole at RCR. I'm very fortunate to have two good teammates and as you said, definitely they help me week in and week out especially being a part of this Chase now. They've both been here, done that and it's a big help to have them on your side."

ON THE UPS AND DOWNS OF CUP RACING AND THE DIFFERENCES FROM WHERE HE CAME FROM: "That's the biggest thing. That hasn't changed. I've won seven features in a row and backed up with a DNF. It's just a very humbling sport. It can show you the highest of highs and drag you down to the lowest of lows the next day."

WILL GUYS SHOW PATIENCE IN SUNDAY'S RACE? "As far as racing on the race track, yeah, you don't need to do that until the end of the race but the mile and a half tracks that we were at in Kansas, patience is a virtue at a track like that. Where this is going to make or break you is in the points. That's where a track like this can make or break you."

ON VISIBILITY ISSUES WITH NEW GENERATION IMPALA SS: "I was talking to Gordon. I think he's just too short. Must not be able to see over the car in front of you. He was telling me that over in the garage. Either I'm not smart enough to realize it or what but they're very square and they are hard. The thing is it's the same for everybody. You just got to rely on that car in front of you and if you're not comfortable with that car in front of you, you better be getting out of dodge especially where we're running in the Chase. That's going to be the hardest thing is putting yourself in the right situation and not being too conservative to throw yourself out of contention at the end of this race."

ON POTENTIAL OF NEW GENERATION CAR GOING UPSIDE DOWN IF IT SPINS BACKWARDS AND THAT ROOF FLAPS DON'T WORK: "I was listening to you talk about that on SPEED Channel and I just said 'lah, lah, lah, lah.' I don't want to hear about that (laughs). I don't plan on being backwards and darn sure don't plan on being upside down again."

ON THE FINISH AT KANSAS CITY: "I could see it and I knew what happened. It was pretty obvious what happened but I knew that he was going to roll across the finish line. That's a hard situation. Put yourself in NASCAR's shoes and have to throw the guy out that did cross the finish line. I anticipated what the finish was going to be. It was frustrating. You want to win in front of your hometown crowd but I just didn't win at all."

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega

Kyle Busch Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega Audio File

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's / CARQUEST Impala SS met with the media and discussed the penalty regarding the manifold in the Busch car, on Jacques Villeneuve racing at Talladega, what he expects of the new generation race car on a restrictor plate race, whether he can come from behind in the Chase points standings to win the title, his approach in the Chase, on testing to see how the CoT reacts in a plate race, how the Hendrick cars work together on the track during the Chase, on team orders, his checklist of things to review in practice today, on the test session and the new car's ability to suck up and pass, CoT visibility and paying attention to drivers' hand signals, the mood of the shop after Jimmie Johnson's incident with Brian Vickers at Talladega, and the difference of Lowe's Motor Speedway in May compared to October

Select quotes from driver interview:

REGARDING THE MANIFOLD PENALTY, WERE YOU SURPRISED YOU WERE NOT DOCKED ANY POINTS? "Not really. They've seen that intake manifold before. I was actually kind of surprised. We knew they had to do something. They haven't told us whether or not we're allowed to run that piece anymore. I guess if we want to run it and get fined $10,000 every time, we can. But that wouldn't be very smart. So I guess we've got to find a new intake manifold."

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT JACQUES VILLENEUVE WAS ABLE TO GET THE CREDENTIALS TO ENTER THIS CUP RACE SO QUICKLY? "The NASCAR process has always been go to the half-mile, go to the three-quarter mile, go to the mile, 1.5-mile, two-mile to make your gradual step up. I had to do that when I came into the Truck Series. And I had to do that throughout the Busch Series. That's why you run those seven races the year before is to get that experience at those tracks and try to work your way up and get approved and go through that approval process. For guys that have just come into this deal now so being in different sport venues, and not ever driven a NASCAR stock car, I guess being a Formula I world champion gives you those credentials. But here by the rest of our token, we worked our way to get here and I don't think it's fair."

ON VILLENEUVE MAKING HIS DEBUT AT TALLADEGA? "I wouldn't doubt that Jacques Villeneuve isn't a tremendous talent and that he doesn't have the ability to do it or the ability to be competitive and to be fast here, the only problem that all of us do have is that he's making his debut at Talladega. He could go anywhere else and make his debut. Go to Martinsville, that's fine. Go to Phoenix, that's fine. Loudon, whatever. The biggest thing is that this is a Talladega plate race and these things are already out of control sometimes.

"But I'm sure he's going to be smart enough and understanding enough that he needs to learn. I wouldn't say he's going to be one of those aggressive type rookies that will go out there and try to make his way to the front and win the thing, he's just here to gain experience first off and foremost."

IS THERE ANY CONCERN AMONG THE DRIVERS ABOUT WHAT ONE OF THESE NEW CARS MIGHT DO IF IT GETS BACKWARDS AT 190 MPH? "I think it's going upside down."

WHAT IS ON YOUR CHECKLIST OF THINGS YOU WANT TO GO OVER IN PRACTICE TODAY? WHAT ARE SOME THNGS THAT YOU STILL WANT TO SEE WHEN YOU GET IN A 15 OR 20-CAR PACK? "I want to see how well the car sucks up and see what happens when you get outside of the draft and how hard it hits the wall and falls backwards and how long it takes to recover and what other guys cars drive like and whether or not there is any different manufacturer you can run better with or a different car in general that you run better with. And just kind of the same old stuff that you would do at any other restrictor plate track really; just trying to get a feel for it again and get used to it."

HOW MANY CARS AHEAD CAN YOU SEE THROUGH WITH THE NEW CAR AND HOW DOES THAT PLAY INTO YOUR STRATEGY? "You used to be able to see through the guy in front of you to see the guy in front of him. But right now, it takes more to look around the guy. Before, you could just move over to the side a little bit and see around him. Now you've got to get out completely from behind him almost to see around him because the greenhouses are so big. You can't see through the guy well enough with the big greenhouse so now you've got to go all the way around it. It's hard to see."

ARE THE DRIVERS TALKING ABOUT THE CARS GETTING BACKWARDS AND THE WING POSSIBLY LIFTING THEM OFF THE GROUND? "No, it hasn't been conversation among drivers in the garage. I just think it's a fact. If you look at it, there's the back bumper of the car it's scooping air right up underneath that blade, right underneath the wing. Any time you push air up against something it's going to lift it up. So I don't know that there's going to be enough air that goes between the deck lid and the wing, I think it's just all going to get packed up right there and they're going to go airborne. But I guess they're hoping the roof flaps are big enough and strong enough to hold the car down on the ground. But I think it would have been cool if we came up with some sort of quick release device that if there was air that got packed up underneath that and the wing would fly forward and flop up on the front side of the deck lid. I don't know if anybody ever thought of that or if anybody ever came up with a solution in order to do that. And it would still keep it in position as it was going in the forward direction. So that was maybe something we could have thought of before, but it's too late now."

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

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

Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Impala SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed on Sunday's first superspeedway race with the Impala SS new-generation NASCAR race car; on drivers with less experience, Jacques Villeneuve, Aric Almirola and Sam Hornish, attempting to make starts at Talladega Superspeedway; on working with teammates here at Talladega; thoughts on the "Big One" at Talladega; on concerns about new-generation car at Talladega, on surviving here without any more hit in the point standings and on next week's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Selected quotes from driver interview:

ON FIRST PRACTICE: "We were trying not to run in to each other out there to hard. If a guy in front of you gets out of the draft or gets slowed down, you catch them really, really fast. You just try to ease up on his bumper and touch him and then go to push him. So far, so good. It wasn't too bad out there. It is a lot more like the Busch cars are than the old car we used to run here. They suck up real good, it is hard to lead. If you get out of line, you get real slow, real fast. It is going to be interesting, I am sure it will be exciting."

ON WORKING WITH TEAMMATES SUNDAY: "We will try, we got together in practice for a lap and that was the longest we could stay together. There is just so much going on out there, you are just doing what you can to stay in the right line. Hopefully, we will be able to get out there and work together. I have more teammates now that I have ever had. Hopefully we will be able to get together with some of them and see what we can do."

ON ALMIROLA, VILLENEUVE AND HORNISH ATTEMPTING TO MAKE STARTS AT TALLADEGA: "I think it will be fine. I think they realize what they are in, realize what they are up against, I think they will be very patient and try to be smart. I think they will listen to their spotters and not take any chances hopefully and they should be fine."

ON THE "BIG ONE" ON SUNDAY: "We have been in the wrong place at the wrong time the last two weeks straight. It is pretty frustrating, especially when we have had cars as good as we have had. The same thing goes for here; you never know what can happen. Hopefully we got ours out of the way and we will be able to stay out of it this time. But you never know, you have to go out there and race and do what you can do. Try to stay near the front if you can and hope and pray it doesn't happen around you."

ON VISIBILITY FROM COCKPIT HERE AT TALLADEGA: "My concerns are the same as they have always been, just that big wreck. You hoping you aren't in it, especially with the position we are in the points. We can't afford it. We have had two bad weeks as I said earlier. It is harder to see through them (the new-generation Impala SS) for sure, but I don't think that is a big concern. It is more about that big wreck and whoever makes the first big mistake. We just have to hope we are not in it because we can't afford another DNF.

"The last two times we have been here, it hasn't been bad. We finished fifth or seventh the last two races here. I don't know, we will see. You never know. I am hoping the last two weeks will make up for it and the racing Gods will be kind to us this weekend. There are no guarantees. It is what it is. It has been pretty rough. I have been pretty disappointed about how things have gone the last two weeks. We will just do what we can and hope for the best. We will go out there and run strong. Our car is really really good right now. I am real happy with it. We will do what we can and just hope we aren't in it."

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega

Jeff Burton Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega Audio File

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Impala SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed what he expects to see at Talladega, drivers making their NASCAR debut here, expecting the "big one," the difference between the two cars at this track, what he hopes to learn in practice today, if this is a typical Talladega weekend, how difficult it is to see in the cars, the impact of a possible plate change, his mindset on where his team sits in the Chase standings, the difference between the May and October race in Charlotte, Jimmie Johnson at Charlotte and if Johnson's Chase battle in 2006 gives him hope about his own chances at the 2007 championship.

Select quotes from driver interview:

ON WHAT HE EXPECTS TO SEE AT TALLADEGA: "I expect to see big packs. I think you're going to see however many cars didn't have a bad pit stop or didn't get in a wreck or something are going to all be in one big pack. I think with the more cars you get out the easier it's going to be in the pack so I really don't expect to see a whole lot different racing than what we see normally here with the Cup cars."

ON DRIVERS MAKING THEIR NASCAR DEBUT AT TALLADEGA: "I don't think this is the best place to have your first Cup race. I think that it's the easiest place we go to drive. Riding around by yourself here is no challenge what so ever. It's extremely easy to do but when you put 42 other guys out there it gets pretty hectic and the decision making is different in these cars than it is normally every week. But I think understanding the car and knowing them means a great deal. Like I said, in many ways this is the easiest place to go and in other ways it's the hardest place to go. I don't think it's the ideal place to run your first Cup race.

DOES IT MAKE YOU NERVOUS RACING WITH THEM? "I think that they're good drivers and I think that they're skilled and I think that they obviously have the ability. The only thing in question is the experience and the question is would they be better off and the rest of the field be better off for them having more experience somewhere else. The answer is probably yes. Having said all that, if you watch these races most of the wrecks in these races start in front with the guys that normally run in the front so I'm contradicting myself a little bit because we always talk about the rookies, we always talk about the young guys and at Daytona and Talladega the veterans always cause the wrecks so I've always thought that was an interesting phenomenon."

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO CARS AT THIS TRACK: "It's really odd. In one way this car catches the draft back quicker and in other ways you lose the draft quicker. It's very situational. What's going on in front of you has a great deal to do with whether or not you can keep up with the draft, whether you can enclose on the guy in front of you and I think there's a whole lot we don't know yet. I think we have a tremendous amount to learn about what we need to do with these cars and the reality of it is until Sunday we won't be on the track with 43 cars and 25 cars is not the same as 43 cars. The biggest pack we had down here at the test is maybe 20 cars, most of them were 10, 12 car packs. We have a lot information that's going to get thrown to us pretty quickly here and we're going to have to learn real quick because I think there are a lot unknowns as far as how to drive this car, the best way to drive it, the best way to pass. There's a whole lot more to learn."

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega

Denny Hamlin Weekly Top 12 Hauler Chat at Talladega Audio File

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Impala SS, met with members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway and discussed being brought to the garage early in practice by NASCAR for bump drafting; on Sunday's first superspeedway race with the Impala SS new-generation NASCAR race car; on drivers with less experience, Jacques Villeneuve, Aric Almirola and Sam Hornish, attempting to make starts at Talladega Superspeedway; on working with teammates here at Talladega; thoughts on the "Big One" at Talladega; on concerns about new-generation car at Talladega, on surviving here without any more hit in the point standings and on next week's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Selected quotes from driver interview:

ON HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT SUNDAY'S RACE: "I hope everybody brought as many cameras as possible because it is definitely going to be history. I don't know, it is crazy because you just don't know where the cars are going to go. The old cars, you kind of had an idea when you were going to get a run; the cars didn't move around a whole lot. Now it just seems like the cars wander in the corner quite a bit. You never know when a guy really gets on you. The thing is too, with the wing, there is no hand signals now and that is a huge part of superspeedway racing is being able to know if the guy in front of you wants you to push him or is he already on somebody and he doesn't need a bump. We don't have that form of communication now, it is almost just like riding with the radios off.

"You can't see around them. It was hairy in practice, I can't imagine, really how the race is going to go. We will see. I have seen stranger things, it could go uneventful and it could be a big one."

ON HIS CONCERNS ABOUT THE "BIG ONE": "It is inevitable. It is really is. There is going to be no avoiding it. The only thing that I can think of is if NASCAR is a tough in the race as they were in practice as far as bump drafting, then maybe it will settle down a little bit but inside 20 laps to go, the guys are going to do everything they can to push the guy in front of them, because, ultimately, the only way to go anywhere in these cars is to push the guy in front of you. There is no riding and inch or two behind them and going through the traffic. You have to make contact to go somewhere and when guys are trying to get to the front at the end, they are going to hit each other. If NASCAR continues to crack down like they did in practice, then you are going to have a lot of judgment calls like 'All right, did they penalize this person or did they single him out.' I think they are just going to be at a tough, tough spot come Sunday."

ON CONCERNS ABOUT DRIVERS WHO MAY QUALIFY THAT HAVE LITTLE OR NO EXPERIENCE: "Not really. There is only few, a handful, that I haven't raced with that much. We kinda get the idea of how we race each other. But we need hand signals and right now we don't have that and that is a huge key to run a safe restrictor plate race and right now we don't have that."

ON BEING PARKED BY NASCAR AT THE END OF PRACTICE: "I was finished there anyway, but they parked me at the end. I don't know. We asked us what was the difference in us and everybody else with the front and back bumpers beat off. They said we were on TV while we were doing it, so I guess, doggone TV cameras (LAUGHS)"

ON LOSING PRACTICE TIME THIS AFTERNOON: "We are done anyway. They can park us for 15 minutes; they can park us for the rest of the day. We are done."

ON IF HAD BEEN TOLD PRIOR TO PRACTICE TO NOT HAVE CONTACT: "It is tough to say that monster is not created. Now, we just have to deal with it. We have created a monster with this car on a superspeedway and you are not going to keep... They wanted to punch a big hole in the car so the cars run closer at every race track. So, do they want them to run farther apart at a superspeedway? It is not going to happen. They designed the cars to run closer, but if you don't want contact, then you are going to have to penalize everyone that makes contacts.

"I think they made a general warned right at the beginning to everyone to stop using the front bumper. After that, I got hit probably 20, 30 times. Figured I would just keep doing what I was doing. I guess, right there at the end it was a little excessive."