REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “The first half of the race was so hot and slick. You could see everyone out here separating. We took the conservative side on tires. We just tried to keep an eye on the leaders – if we could still see them we were happy. We knew there were going to be cautions at the end. We just took care of the tires, took care of the car and went after it there at the end.

ON THE LAST FEW LAPS: “It was pretty fun there at the end. We had a lot more grip there at the end. We got two or three wide and pushed each other really hard and there happened to be about four Dodges lines up at the end. Everybody on the team has done a great job since we got here and I think that says a lot about what we can do this year.”

WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU CROSSED THE FINISH LINE: “I was happy. Everyone on the team was.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: ”To give my teammate a shot and to push him victory makes me feel like we won this thing as well right along with him.”

ON TEAMMATES AT DAYTONA: “You have to have teammates when you are restrictor plate racing. You have to work together whether you are on the track or off the track. Penske Racing deserves this. It’s our first ever restrictor plate win and we came through with a one-two finish.”

ON STARTING AT THE BACK: “We had to work our way to the front and then we got caught speeding on pit road. This is just a team effort and I’m really happy for this Miller Lite Dodge.”

DONNIE WINGO (Crew Chief, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “Well, with about 12 to go it looked like it was going to be pretty good. We fought being loose all day. We finally got it pretty good and finally got the opportunity to kind of get wedged up in there and we kind of got shuffled out and somebody got in the left rear of us and knocked us out. It knocked the left-rear corner panel down on top of the tire and we had to come in and get it off or it was going to smoke the rest of the race and probably blow a tire out.”

ON REED SORENSON’S FINISH: “We’re tickled to death. Anytime one of our cars can run good, I mean that’s good for the whole organization. That’s what we’re all in here together for.”

SAM HORNISH, JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “We were just trying to learn and make the car better every time we had a pit stop. It’s a big thing for me to just try and learn more and more each time we go out there. I tried to just be smart and not get ourselves into too many problems.”

HOW HAPPY ARE YOU WITH A 15TH-PLACE? “I’m about as happy as I can be with a 15th place finish. I want to win every time we go out there, not to be disappointed about it. We came in with a goal that if we were in the top-20 we would be happy with that. Not only were we able to do that, but we were able to see one of our teammates win so that was great.”

ON PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES: “I’m stoked. This is a big puzzle that we’re trying to put together here and put all of the right people in the right places. We’re just moving forward and trying to do the best that we can. As far as the team as a whole, to have two veteran drivers finish first and second in the Daytona 500 and a rookie driver finish in the top-15 – I feel pretty happy about that and I know that Roger (Penske) does too.”

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “We just had a good car. We had a really good car all race long. I think we were in the top 10 all day long at all times. I was really happy with our Budweiser Dodge and Allstate and everybody that’s a part of it. The team did a good job with the pit stops, the car was great, just everything was really good today. It was awesome. We got sixth.”

ON WORKING WITH THE OTHER DODGE DRIVERS: “Yeah, everybody was up there. I lost Kurt (Busch) I was going to push him, and Reed (Sorenson) and Elliott (Sadler) were pushing me. I was pushing (Ryan) Newman. We all tried to help each other the best we could. A Dodge won, so that’s pretty awesome for Dodge and all of us.”

HOW GOOD DOES THIS FEEL AFTER THE FRUSTRATION OF LAST SEASON? “I finished seventh here last season, so it’s a good start. We were much better today than we were last season when we should have finished about 20th, but I got through that wreck. It’s a strong day for us today and hopefully it is like that all year long. Hopefully we’ll run in the top 10.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge Charger)

ON THE DODGE DRIVERS: “First, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 11th – pretty darn impressive. Hats off to all of the guys at GEM (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) and the motors and everybody else that worked on all these cars and hard work, so congratulations to Dodge and obviously the two Penske boys. It looks like they got their restrictor plate program figured out. They’ve always been there, but never had the results. I looks like they delivered today.”

ON THE CAR: “My car was good. I was just surviving and trying not to put myself in position to tear my car up until about the last 40 laps.”

HOW WAS IT WORKING WITH THE DODGE BOYS: “It was good. They said we were going to run the high line and I have to be honest with you I was good enough with a 10th-place finish that time. I didn’t think we were going to go from 10th to first after the restart. We moved up a couple spots which is not bad and we were beating and banging pretty hard.”

HOW MUCH MOMENTUM DOES THIS GIVE YOU HEADING INTO NEXT WEEK? “It’s definitely a good start. Now we just have to see how many points we’re going to get taken away from us. At least we got a good baseline before they start taking them.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 40 Dodge Journey Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “We finished – that’s about all I can say right now. The guys gave it their absolute best and we had great pit stops all day long. The car was a little slow, but the problem was that anytime anyone got behind me and I was in the middle of the pack the car was unbelievably loose. I had to run at the back or I was going to crash. I think I need to work to give the guys better information to set the car up. We need to work on that, but we learned some stuff today, which was good, and I have a lot to learn about drafting.”

MIKE ACCAVITTI (Director - Dodge Motorsports and SRT Marketing, Chrysler Group, LLC)

WHAT DOES THIS WIN MEAN TO DODGE MOTORSPORTS? “This is an awesome victory. The win is super important. Ryan (Newman) and the No. 12 team did an excellent job. Penske Racing was on top of their game today. It was a great showing by all the Dodge teams. I mean, Kurt (Busch) was super strong and for us to get six out of the top eight is just a phenomenal showing for Dodge. It shows the depth of our program and we couldn’t be more excited for the 2008 season.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF ALL THE DODGE BOYS WORKING TOGETHER? “It was total Dodge Boys teamwork. We’ve been telling everybody that we’re working better together and the proof is in the pudding and we served up a heaping helping of Dodge Boys pudding out there today.”

ON ALL OF THE HYPE AROUND CHEVROLET AND TOYOTA HEADING INTO THE EVENT: “Listening to all the hype this week you heard a lot about a lot of people besides the Dodge Boys. We knew we had a super-strong team. We knew we were going to have a great season and we couldn’t be more proud of all our Dodge teams. Again, six out of the top eight in this great race with all of this heritage, and the 50th anniversary and winning it – this is just an awesome day for Dodge and all of our race teams.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: It was a great run for the Miller Lite Dodge. We started 43rd. I thought we would just take our time moving towards the front since there was nobody behind me, I can say that. Yet the car didn't want to go towards the front. We definitely struggled more than we thought we would have and the car was tight. It just didn't seem to quite have the punch to push through and to lead a draft or to push other cars strongly. But then nightfall came. The handling characteristics cured themselves somewhat. We still weren't a race-winning car, but yet I had the power like I thought I needed and I had the outside lane in my favor. For one instant, driving down the back straightaway, if Ryan Newman didn't pull up in front of us, I honestly thought we had a shot at winning the Daytona 500. But, you know, having that mindset all day of just plugging away, working our way up, and if this thing ends and we're 10th or better, that's a victory. For us to come home and push Ryan Newman to victory, I feel like I've got a small bit of that victory within me. I was emotional pushing him across the line. It felt incredible to have a Penske 1-2 finish today. To have Newman jump up in front of me, I thought that was the most beautiful thing in the world because I knew one of us Penske cars was going to win at that point. I'm just very happy. I'm not bitter at all for finishing second. To take this car and finish second with it, I think that's something special. But then that's definitely overshadowed by a Penske 1-2 finish today. That is something very important and I think that needs to be acknowledged.

ON GETTING BLACK FLAGGED? “Yeah, the speed zones on pit road aren't all the same length, and at some tracks that last segment before you pull out onto the track is a shorter segment, so there's no room for error. At the time I was dodging my teammate, Sam Hornish, Jr. He was pulling out dodging Jeff Burton. I was looking at the grass making sure I stayed out of it, making sure I didn't run into my own teammate. The third thing I forget to take care of was my tachometer. I was a bit fast exiting pit road. It's like, Man, here we go again. I hope we don't go a lap down and have to worry about working our way back up from a lap down. But we were able to stay on the lead lap. We had Mark Martin behind us. He got us back up to where we needed to be. Yellow pops out, and then we got to fight our way through the traffic again. I just kept the same hat on. That was, Hey, take your time, play it cool, there's still many more laps to go, because nightfall still hadn't come in yet.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ON BEHALF OF ROGER PENSKE AND IS THIS THE BEST FEELING YOU CAN HAVE FOR FINISHING SECOND? “Yeah, I'm sure Roger will be in a bit later and talk about how important this race is to him, and how many years he's tried to win it, to be able to be part of that, to have a Penske 1-2 break through for their first restrictor plate win and his first 500. It's just icing on the cake. Ryan did an excellent job today. He had a very fast race car. We worked together well on the track. I think that just goes back to putting your egos aside. We're not running 1-2 every week. We need to bump our cars up from 9th, 10th, 11th and run up in the top five every week. We know we've got more work to do. So it was emotional for me. I saw a glimmer of hope we might win this thing. Then he pulled up in front of us. I said, Hey, that's fine. I'm glad it's this blue car that pulled up in front of me because it says Penske Racing on it. I was very emotional crossing the line finishing second, because I know we did something very special for the captain today.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING THIS RACE FOR ROGER PENSKE: “Roger never put extra pressure on us to win this race. He does throw in a nice bonus in our contract if we do win (laughter). I think that shows his incentive, how important this race is. But honestly, he has this approach, such as when we wanted to switch our points, he asks you a question on, Hey, would this be a good idea if we swap the points? It's almost like he's got his mind made up already. And you just know when he speaks to you on what his direction is. So case in point, the Daytona 500 is very special, and he wants to win this race. So I'm happy that I pushed a teammate to win this race. You know, Ryan Newman might drop in behind me later on down the road and I might have my shot at winning. Who knows? But it's great to do it for the captain today.”

ON ALL OF THE HENDRICK/GIBBS PRE-RACE HYPE: “You know, it was one of those races where you knew at the end it was going to be a different style of race with the different lanes. Everybody is going to handle better at the end. So, yeah, I would agree that the Gibbs' cars were very quick all week, the class of the field today. The Hendrick cars, maybe they didn't handle as well as what they thought they would in this 500-mile race versus some of the others. Then there were some odds and end cars that were quick. But that 12 car could hang on the bottom groove longer than anybody else. Every time I noticed, I was up top, about 10th, 15th, there was the 12 car hanging on the bottom all on his own making it work. He showed very good strength. We know exactly what he had in his car for setup. We were just a bit different, trying to make our car handle like we thought we needed to. So it's just a great 1-2 finish. He had a very strong car. I don't know if we're in the same caliber as the Gibbs and Hendrick cars are right now. But it's definitely great to finish 1-2 and to be leading the points right now.”

DID YOU TAKE ANY SATISFACTION OUT OF DEPRIVING TONY STEWART OF A VICTORY? “Question has to be asked (laughter). It didn't matter who was to my inside, outside. I was doing what Kurt Busch needed to do to win the race. And when a blue car jumped up in front of me, like I said earlier, it was nice that it was my teammate and I was able to help that car win. Now, if the orange car jumped up in front of me, that was going to be my best opportunity to try to finish up in the top three. And so if he would have jumped up in front of us, I would have pushed him. He stayed low, and that gave the opportunity for Newman to jump up in front of us. So maybe he did think twice before he jumped up high, that it was me up there. Instead of worrying about who it was, he should have just went there.”

ON KYLE BUSCH’S NIGHT: “Yeah, I think the Gibbs guys feel dejected right now. They did their homework. They had fast race cars. They had the strength that you have to have to win. But I'm just beside myself that I'm sitting here where I finished second. It was a great effort from our team. We had big hearts; we persevered; started in the back; found our teammate at the end and won the race. For Kyle, if he would have pulled up in front of me, I would have pushed him. I'm happy that we had a great run. They finished solid, as well. There's going to be another one of these Daytona 500s next year, and I hope my car is a little stronger, just like their car was today.”

ON THE TIRES: “Yeah, when the field got stretched out, the pace seemed to slow down a little bit, and so the teams weren't on edge pushing hard on their right front or right rear tire. I still thought that the tire gave us fits as far as handling. If your car wasn't right, you would definitely lose the draft and fade towards the back. Handling was very important. Horsepower was important. Once nightfall came, that helped a lot of the cars that were ill-handling, got them back in the game.”

WAS THIS A CONTINUATION FROM A STRONG FINISH LAST SEASON? “No, this is really -- our team is beginning to gel. For us on the Miller Lite Dodge team was to have Pat Tryson. That is definitely a point we can look at and see that that helped put us in the game. For the 12 car, it's great to have Roy McCauley and Newman working well together. To see them win, break that winless streak; it was only a matter of time. I'm happy I was able to push him forward to do that and to see a Penske 1-2 today. You know, it's just hard work. The whole team, I've got every single one of my crew guys back pushing hard. Even the over-the-wall guys are the same. When you have that continuity, it only makes things go smoother.”

ON THE RACE: “Well, this race is about taking your time and positioning yourself for the later run. Some guys were very fast all day. Some guys were fast at the end of the race. When it's daytime and you've got 400 miles to go, it's almost like you just want to click off laps and ride and see who's going to rise to the top and be the players at the end. When nightfall comes in, you're done following people. Now you're making your own lane, you're getting bump-drafted harder and you're sliding up in front of guys and taking more calculated risks because you want to gain those positions and get towards the front. Even the crew chief wants to make sure he gives you the best tire scenario that the driver could want at the end, and so everything comes into play. It's just like you pick it up a notch. It's just like you inject everybody with adrenaline, and nobody's going to lift off that right pedal when it gets towards the end of the race.”

ON THE DECISION TO SWAP OWNER POINTS WITH SAM HORNISH, JR: “I think as a team, it was a smart decision and it played out. Sam Hornish, Jr., I don't know if he would have raced his way in during his 150 or not, yet he had points to fall back on. We had our champions provisional that I hope we didn't have to use, but we did. I'm 29 years old. I didn't think I'd have to use a champion’s provisional right now, but we did. That was because we had an electrical problem on our car during our 150. So moving forward, we now qualify with the Go or Go Home cars for the next four events. We'll get to go late. Maybe that will give us an opportunity to get a pole and lock us in the Shootout for the next year and give us better track position for the next few races. Our goal is to roll into Martinsville. We gave up seventh in points, and we hope that we're around seventh in points at Martinsville, because then all this will act like it didn't happen.”

ON YOUR THREE RUNNER UP FINISHES IN THE DAYTONA 500: “The way today's race unfolded for us, my car just didn't have the muscle that it takes to win at Daytona. And to have that mentality of, Hey, let's just do the best we can, protect our car, make it to the end, and gave us an opportunity to go for the win. But we weren't able to drive into Victory Lane because our car just didn't quite have the muscle I thought it needed. I'm still on the high of Penske Racing finishing 1-2. I'm sure later on this week and throughout the year I'll wish that I had an opportunity to win. But to finish third, it's great. I've got many more years ahead of me. I finished second in the truck race here before. I've finished second I think twice in an IROC car. Newman beat me once in an IROC race. I do remember that. I'm going to have to remind him of that (smiling). But it's a tough race. It's a tough track. To have a shot at winning, to sniff it, smell it, feel the emotion on the last lap of being close, is something that will fuel me for the rest of my career to try to win one of these.”

ON SAM HORNISH: “Sam did an excellent job today. There was a point where he was my shadow on the track. Wherever I went, he went. I think his team told him to do that. I felt very confident in him behind me and helping the Penske cars work together. He has a lot to learn, but yet he is a three-time IRL champion. So his learning curve is going to be like riding an escalator. He's going to keep going, absorbing this material. Before long, he'll be adding more quality ideas to Penske Racing to make all three teams better.”

WERE YOU AND YOUR BROTHER LOOKING FOR EACH OTHER IN THE CLOSING LAPS TO TRY TO MAYBE HELP THE OTHER ONE OUT AND IT JUST DIDN’T HAPPEN BECAUSE RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING IS THAT? ‘Yeah, the opportunity for him fizzled I think when he got bumped from the lead. You know, he was right in the mix. He was on the low lane. Burton was in the mix, too. I think he got shuffled in the middle. At that point I saw myself running side by side with Kyle. There's nothing you can do at that point to jump in lanes with one another. So we were at the mercy of who was bump-drafting us from behind. That's what pushed me up ahead. Had a glimmer of hope to win, but then Newman pulled in front. It was on from there. It was great to have a Penske 1-2 today.”

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “I can say I've been here almost probably 30 years trying to get in Victory Circle. To achieve this with this competition, with Ryan, the student really of the sport, and Roy and the whole team, just been unbelievable. You know, we've worked hard; we've come close. I think it was a pure team effort. When you saw the end there, you saw the 18 lined up with the 20, and you two the 2 lined up with the 12. I think that's what it took. To me, you know, Ryan drove a masterful race, as he's done many times and come up short. But today was special for us. You know, as I said, Rick Hendrick is a guy I always look up to. He called me today, because I called him to say what a great job they'd done all week, what he had done with Junior. I said, Look, if I get in that winner's circle, I want one of those H hats. He brought one down to me. Maybe that's the good luck call I had when I talked to him earlier. Ryan, you did a helluva job for us, and thanks for the team and for all the people that support us. All our 40,000 employees are going to be high-fiving you for sure.

ROY McCAULEY (Crew Chief, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE: “I'll tell you what, it was a race of durability when it comes to the tires and things like that. Ryan drove a masterful race as far as when he had the car, he could run in the first five. When he didn't have the car, he'd find a slot somewhere between 6th and 10th and mind his time until we could get it right. I think that's the mark of being a smart driver and using your car when you can. I'll echo Roger's comments about total team effort. I think it's a big day for Penske Racing altogether because I worked with Pat Tryson and Chris Carrier the whole day on the radio as to what would benefit the team as a whole. As far as pit strategy goes, obviously once we could stop at lap 160 and make it on fuel, it was just going to be a matter of if another caution come out, where you going to put tires on. I'm not going to kid you, we had some second thoughts here and there. But I felt the track position was better overall trying to stay out of the accidents which normally come at the end of a plate race. They usually come in droves the last 20 laps. Thankfully history repeated itself on that one. You know, like I said, Ryan drove a great race. The car was a handful at the end. Thanks to our teammates and the team as a whole, we were able to pull one off.”

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WIN THE 50TH RUNNING OF THE DAYTONA 500? ”Don't have the words. It's awesome. It's probably one of the most awesome things that's ever happened to me. To understand all the history of NASCAR, of racing in general, you know, the drivers meeting, to be looking face to face with all the guys, the greats that were on stage up there, and now to be part of one of those guys and part of that team, it's just awesome. I've always said that Indianapolis was great to be able to walk in the garage area and know that you're touching the same footprints as other guys that were such great drivers for the last hundred years there. Just to be part of the 50th running of the Daytona 500, you know, 15 years ago I was sitting in the grandstands in the Seagrave Tower. It's awesome to make the changes. Got to thank Roger Penske, Don Miller, everybody at Penske Racing, Roy McCauley obviously. But obviously Kurt Busch. Without a doubt, he could have easily gone three-wide and split us through the center and made one heck of a mess there going into three, but he chose to be a teammate. That's the most honorable thing that he could do. I would have done the same thing to him. Just thank him a bunch. Thank our Penske/Jasper engine group for the great horsepower. I felt at times we had a really good car. I felt at times we were struggling. To be coming out on top, as Roy said, with maybe not the best tires or the best situation, but to have the track position was a great effort.”

Ryan, can you walk us through the last lap? What were you thinking was going to happen? How did it go? “You honestly don't know. I mean, I would say for sure the leader was a sitting duck on every restart. I didn't think the 31 had the greatest car all day. We were fortunate that when they split apart that I got the chance to push Tony. That made a difference 'cause that lane moved, it gave Kurt the opportunity to run the high line, which he wanted to. Kind of the moons just aligned. When I pushed Tony through one and two, part of one and two, I was hoping he was going to hang on to it because I was pushing as hard as I could. We broke free. Kurt came up behind me off of two and just gave me the push from heaven. It was awesome. Listening to my dad on the radio spotting for me, all the other things, all the other emotions, all the hard work, people that gave me a shot racing quarter midgets, midgets, Sprint cars, Silver Crown cars, I have to thank everybody, including the fans.”

Every sport has coaches or players who don't win the derby or the series or this or that. How important was it for you to finally win at Daytona? If you didn't win, what would that mean to your career?

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “I would have come back next year and tried again (smiling). It was special for me. Obviously we've tried for many years. We've had great drivers. We've been very close many years. But, again, we never executed at the end, and I think this was a team effort. As Ryan said, he drove a masterful race. But, you know, I thank Kurt, too. As Ryan said, he could have got in the middle of it. He pushed us, you know, to victory. To me that's important. It could be the other way next year or at the next race. Awful important that we can say we have a big team, as you know, very important.”

Roger, can you compare this to winning an Indy 500? Also, I understand Mr. Nardelli offered a $1 million to any Dodge team that could pull off the win. What are you going to do with the money? “We're going to spend it to make the cars go faster, I'm sure that'll be the first thing we'll so. It was great. Bob Nardelli and I go back when I was at the Home Depot board. To see him as the CEO of Chrysler, he's really put some time and effort and give us people to make this a much better program. But comparing it to the Indy 500, as Ryan knows, we've been open-wheel guys. Coming down here has been tough. This has got to go to the top of the charts here. To see this win, what I'm going to try to do this year, have them back to back, have one in May, too. That's my real challenge right now.”

Roy, obviously you had one of the toughest years of your life last year with your wife being sick, having to step away from the team. Can you talk from an emotional standpoint to go from the lows of last year to the highs of this year, what this all means to you?

ROY McCAULEY (Crew Chief, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “Well, you know, I'll echo Ryan's words: I don't think I have the words for what the last year has been. Exactly a year ago today actually, not to elaborate, but my wife was diagnosed with cancer. You know, I thank Roger Penske for giving me the opportunity to take care of what comes first, which is family. Without Roger, I would not have been able to do that. That just says a lot about the team as a whole again. But to come from those extraordinary lows and go through a lot of successful medical procedures in her case to get her on the road to recovery. You know, when we sat down and talked at the end of last fall, they asked if I would be willing to take over the 12 car. We had to have a serious talk and say, Okay, we're going to beat this, and we are beating this, and we're not going to let cancer dictate the rest of our lives. So we decided that we needed to go for it, take over the job and run the 12 and try and put Ryan in Victory Lane and Penske Racing in Victory Lane as often as we could. I give my wife a lot of credit. She's kind of my rock with wings, if you want to call it that. It means a lot to me to come back and stand in Victory Lane with Ryan, because the last time I was his crew chief we stood in Victory Lane again. It's just an emotional rollercoaster, and it's nice to be on the top of it right now.”

ON SAM HORNISH, JR.:

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “I would say that I was really surprised, but I was confident when we made the decision to bring him in to be our third car. I know Ryan and Kurt have worked with him a lot over the last week, the tests here, then in Vegas, then in California. But he drove a masterful race. He was working with the teammates. I think he's gonna be a real great team player here. To finish 15th in his first race, stay out of trouble, I was amazed. I know the team was excited. Certainly you got to take a chance. We started with Ryan in what we called an ABC program, ARCA, Busch, and Cup. We're sitting here at the Daytona 500 victory table. Hopefully we can do the same thing with Sam someday.”

Ryan, when you're coming off two the last lap, you see Tony go low, you must have been dumbfounded. What were you thinking right then the next two or three seconds?

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “I know Tony was mirror driving. I was doing the same thing. Tony saw his teammate coming. Obviously you want that push. You want that push from your teammate versus anybody else. I was going to do what I had to, to shuck and jibe him there to make a rundown the back straightaway. You're right. He opened the door. The seas parted. Like I said, Kurt was the push from heaven that made it all happen. I have to thank Kurt first and foremost. But, you know, Tony was very much a sportsman. He could have made that Home Depot Dodge extremely wide, and he chose to race.”

Could you comment on Roy's situation and what it means to be reunited with him, just what the last year has been like trying to support him through his tough time. “I would say that Roy's situation was as tough as I think anybody could probably go through. I was really tight with Roy even when he was crew chief for Kurt in the start of '06. I did my best to try to keep him around to be the crew chief on the Busch team in '06. He had a great opportunity to move up when Rusty left and Kurt came. Everything came back together for us where Roy and I -- we have very similar backgrounds. Both of our dads used to own auto repair shops. He was born and raised in Maryland. I was born and raised in Indiana. Our lives kind of shadowed each other just with maybe a seven-year delay or whatever it is, four-year delay. It's really awesome. We think a lot alike. We act a lot alike. He's a great guy. What his wife went through, you know, my wife is very close with Amy, his wife. They did a lot of things together when we did our foundation efforts with the animals. She actually owned the marketing company. We stayed in very close contact with Amy and Roy through that ordeal. Happy to say that Amy is on the mend.”

When you woke up this morning, what did you think your chances were of winning this race? “Really good. I honestly did.”

Why? “It happens to you no matter what you do, what sport you're in. I had people come up to me and say, Today's your day. I can feel it. I know it. And you want to say, yeah, I feel it, too. You kind of want to go with the flow. So many things could have happened and taken us out of it. But I felt that we had a car that was capable of winning with the ALLTEL Dodge. You know, I felt that way throughout all practices. We cut our practice short yesterday just to be conservative. You know, like I said, all the moons aligned. It happened. It happened right.”

ON KURT BUSCH:

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “Well, I think we started this season with all three drivers, all three crew chiefs, the engineering folks together and said, Look, we got to make this one effort. You know, certainly when Kurt stepped back, we moved the points to Sam, obviously there was a lot of discussion about that. But what people don't realize, we gave our points to the Waltrip team two years ago. The good news was that Sam drove his way into the race and Jarret got in the race, so that made me feel good. But I think Kurt and Ryan are maybe different. They do different things Monday through Friday. But I can tell you now at the racetrack, the three drivers get together after every practice, and it's made a huge difference, I think, in communication and obviously on the racetrack. If you can't win yourself, you want your teammate to win. I've always said, we win as a team and we lose as a team.”

Was the move to North Carolina, consolidating the team, aimed more specifically at trying to get more success in NASCAR?

Well, I think when you have -- we had Penske Racing North and Penske Racing South. That always bothered me. I wanted to have one Penske Racing. Getting together with Don, we decided we had this opportunity to get this big shop and we could put all the disciplines under one roof. We've has a lot of crosspollinization. We moved crew members from the different disciplines. I think it's made a huge difference. We got one location, one set of people that manage it. We get the benefit, you know, of the experience that we have. To me, I think it was the right move because our sponsors like it. The fans like it. We've opened up our shop with our fan walk to the fans that come in. I get a number of people down here today that said, Boy, we love going to your shop. That makes us feel good. I think Ryan will say that your relationship with Kurt has made a big difference for him. He really wants that, too. He came down to the winner's circle crying when he saw that Ryan won, because he knew how much it meant. And the fact that he could make a big difference in that victory I think is special to him and certainly you.

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “Yeah, I was looking forward to him coming down 'cause, I mean, you can't do it without a team, and you can't do it without teammates sometimes. Like I said, everything aligned itself so Kurt could help push me. I'm just grateful for that.”

IT’S FUNNY YOU SAID TONY AND THE HOME DEPOT DODGE. “Did I say that?”

YES. “How about that. I was dodging him, that's all (smiling).”

ON DODGE FINISHING IN SIX OUT OF THE TOP EIGHT TODAY? “We got a different situation with this car at this racetrack. I think that's part of it. I think our Penske/Jasper engine did a great job. That made up for two of the six. That's a lot in itself. Just when you're trying to run wide open, the horsepower underneath the hood makes a big difference when the cars are similar. Outside of that, it's probably a part just racing.”

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION NOW?

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “Well, obviously, when you think of Rick's team and RCR, Gibbs, these are world-class teams that have won this race many times. We wouldn't be here if we didn't think we could win, I can tell you that. Every year we've been here, we've been close. I think this year we were confident. A lot of things had come together. To me, we got a long way to go before we can sit at the table with those guys, but we're coming close.”

HOW IMPORATANT WAS THIS TO SETTLE THAT SCORE FOR YOU PERSONALLY AS ONE OF THE LEADING FIGURES IN INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORTS?

“Well, I can tell you that you needed to win this race to get in that class, and we did that. Certainly our wins at Indy have been important to us. But there is no question when you run 35 or 36 races a year with the tight competition, the way this sport has been developed by the France family, it's tough. I don't think it's any easier this year than it was last year. If you can get in and you can race with these guys, I love it. I come to the races. I've been to a lot of races obviously. We've won a lot. To me, to come and have the opportunity to win, which we have here, then to be able to execute, is certainly special. As I said earlier, this goes to the top of the charts for victories for Penske Racing.”

IS THERE A MOMENT WHERE YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE THOUGHTS OF WINNING THE 500 OUT OF YOUR HEAD TO FINISH THE JOB? DO YOU HAVE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT?

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “My dad was spotting for me. I could hear the tears dripping going down the back straightaway over the radio. He was emotional, as he always is. Rightfully so. He's put so much effort into making me a race car driver and the person that I am. My mother, as well. But to listen to him, I knew I had a really good push from Kurt. I knew when Kurt pushed me that he was locked in. Granted, if we had the opportunity at the start/finish line, I would have raced him like I raced anybody else. But he did a great job. It was just awesome. I mean, I got that tingly feeling. You only get that in certain things, you know what I mean (smiling)? I didn't get it there; just down my back (smiling). Everybody's toes curl two ways (winking).”

WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALIZE THE TALENT THAT RYAN HAD? WHO FIRST GAVE YOU THE INDICATION THAT HE COULD ONE DAY BE A GOOD RACER FOR YOU?

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “Well, we really had a friend that used to follow the open-wheel series. You know how people give you a brochure on a young driver? I had gotten this brochure. I went to Don and I said, Look, I think this guy has some real opportunity. I remember staying a couple times and watching him run his car at Nazareth. You know, Ryan had the technology background. His family and dad were behind it. We took a chance. But at the end of the day we've been consistent. He's won a lot of races. We never got all the way to where we needed to be. But I think this didn't happen overnight. The same thing as we brought Sam in here. You just can't go out and pick the top driver. As I told Sam, I said, You know, I can't hire Chad Knaus for you as a crew chief, so don't count on it. We've got to build. That's certainly what we did. Certainly Roy's relationship with Ryan has been outstanding. All the people on the team, Don Miller obviously who was my partner for many, many years, made a huge difference in Ryan's career over the last several years. I want to thank him again for all that he's done.”

WHEN DID YOU SEE YOUR DAD FIRST AFTER YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR, AND WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU OR DO WHEN YOU SAW HIM?

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “When I was in Victory Lane, I just finished up the interview, he just told me he loved me, he was proud of me, and I gave it right back to him. He was extremely emotional. We gave each other a big hug. He went on to talk to everybody else (smiling). Talked to my mom on the phone. She was an absolute mess. Don Miller and some other people. One of my old Silver Crown car owners actually. It's amazing. I'm sure my mailbox is four times full now.”

DO YOU REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU GOT A SPEEDING TICKET AND HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING? “Let me think about this. Yes, I do. I was driving my 1957 T Bird. I pulled out of my driveway; the speed limit is 45. It's downhill. He clocked me at 60. We're talking like three-quarters of a mile here. He pulled me over in my '57 T Bird with my wife. I rolled down the window. He came down and said, Still runs pretty good, huh? I said, Yeah. What do you say to that? Goes back to his car, came back, and he give gave me a ticket. “

DID HE KNOW WHO YOU WERE? “I wish I knew who he was right now. It was one of those deals where it doesn't matter.”

ON EXPECTATIONS COMING INTO SPEEDWEEKS VERSUS THE REALITY OF SIX DODGES IN THE TOP EIGHT AND YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING TO CALIFORNIA AND VEGAS WITH THE CAR?

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “Well, again, we felt we had a good test here. We knew we had a lot more power that we could bring to the race. That's what we did in the reliability. This is a horsepower track. I think that Ryan came back and Kurt and even Sam and felt we had pretty good cars. We learned a lot. But, again, it was execution today. And most important, reliability, which we didn't have last year. Ryan missed a couple of wins because of reliability. But I think as we go forward, this will give our team a lot of momentum. But I can tell you this, we're going to line up with everybody else next week in California. I don't think because you won the Daytona 500 they give you an extra lap ahead of the field.”

TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES, HOW YOU KEPT YOUR MIND FOCUSED SO YOU DIDN’T GET FRUSTRATED DURING THOSE POINTS TO COME BACK TO WIN.

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “My car actually wasn't ideal out front. I was on the loose side for most of the runs. The last run we tightened it up, got it right. Roy did a great job. Guessing my voice feedback as far as how far to adjust the car. When I was out front I was just way loose, and that's why I dropped back there. When I was running third, I fell back to fifth, actually lost the lead draft. Giving it up. Man, I can't afford to crash it now. I got too good a car. Let's work on it. I sacrificed third place for running sixth at the time. It came back around once we got the cautions. Roy did a great job with the guys in the pits adjusting the car, getting me out. And I was worried when those guys came down, the 20 and the 18, when they cut off. I was worried they were going to have better tires, and they did. But we had the track position and it paid off. They had to really run their cars hard to get back up front.”

WHY DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE, AND DID THAT HELP YOU AT ALL TODAY IN ANY WAY? “Well, I think my decisions might have been a little bit better. I always said that college taught me two things: It was time management and problem solving. Those are the two things that everybody deals with in everyday life. I think everybody learns that at college, if you get your diploma, no matter what you get your diploma in.

I can't sit here and say I won the Daytona 500 because I'm a vehicle structural engineer, but I'd say it definitely helped.

BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT HENDRICK, GIBBS AND JUNIOR DID IT TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF AND LET YOU FOCUS ON THE RACE? “No, the pressure doesn't change anything. I've been on both sides of that. I don't think it affects the way I drive or the team's performance. I would definitely say, yeah, you're right. There was a lot of talk about Toyota. There was a lot of talk about Hendrick, the strengths that they had. I thought that we were extremely competitive in the Gatorade Duel on Thursday. Had a winning race car, just didn't get a chance to show it on that last restart. I thought that we were capable of beating half the field after Thursday. I didn't know what the guys were going to have. I thought 8 team was extremely strong today. He was stout. I think the 20 gave up a little bit. He played patience, a little cat and rabbit there. He definitely obviously showed up when he needed to. Either way, I don't look back after it and say, Hey, man, we just beat those guys. It was a team effort on our part to beat everybody. And most importantly, we didn't beat ourselves.”

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING DURING MOST OF THE NIGHT WHEN YOU WERE MIRED BACK IN 12TH OR 20TH? DID YOU IMAGINE YOU COULD DO WHAT YOU DID ALL NIGHT LONG? “In a way, yeah. I mean, I knew that we struggled for grip at the start of the race. We fell back. I think we fell back to like 18th or 19th at one point there. I watched the scoring pylon count the laps down. I knew where I needed to be at a certain time. Fortunately, the way strategy worked out, the way Roy called the shots, the car that we had with ALLTEL Dodge, we were capable of being in the right place at the right time. Yeah, there was doubt in my mind at the start of the race. Again, going back to what I felt on Thursday, I knew the car was capable of beating at least half of them. Just keep working with it, and we did.”

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU COME TO DAYTONA AS A FAN? WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME? “I remember my dad pulling me out of middle school. If you do the math...I'm not exactly sure of the year, maybe '90, '91, something like that. The whole deal with coming down here, my grandfather passed away. Instead of them coming down, we came down, my dad and I, with my aunt and uncle. We met them down here. We sat up in the Seagraves Tower, too. They let us stay at their motel we went to the New Smyrna every night ate peanuts and watched modifieds run. It was just awesome to be able to look at the Seagraves section after the checkered flags fell and realize where you've been and where you are. There's just so much honor that goes along with it. It will take a long time for it to set in.”

FIVE YEARS AGO YOU LEFT HERE LIKE A HIGHLIGHT REEL FROM YOUR CRASH. TOMORROW YOU MAY BE MORE FAMOUS THAN WAYNE KNIGHT. HOW DOES THAT FEEL? ARE THERE MORE TELEVISION COMMERCIALS IN YOUR FUTURE? “Yeah, they got their mileage out of that crash. Obviously it was pretty spectacular. I feel blessed to be able to walk away from it. I just can't wait to see how everything gets printed and played and taped and live shots and things like that. But just to be a part of it, just to feel it, just to see it, and to be sitting up here with Roger Penske knowing we won the 50th annual Daytona 500 is just awesome.“

IS YOUR MOM HERE? DID YOU PACK A SUIT TO LEAVE FOR NEW YORK? “My mom stayed home. She just spent some time with some friends out in Phoenix. One of our neighbor's husband passed away. She did the right thing, spent some time with her. Been traveling a lot. Had the opportunity to stay home and visit with my sister and her two grandbabies. So she was bawling in Victory Lane when I talked to her. I had to talk to her later because I couldn't understand a word she was saying. What was the second question? Oh, the suit. Oh, I was actually prepared for both. I had my clothes sitting out ready to go on the airplane, on my bed, in my bus. I was ready to go home if we had to go home. I figured if I didn't have my stuff ready we wouldn't do it. I'm kind of backwards and opposite when it comes to that stuff, so I don't have a suit with me. But I'm sure that the plane can stop someplace in New York on the way.”

YOU WON $1.5 MILLION. I THINK YOU CAN AFFORD A SUIT. “It's not about affording it, it's just like wearing it. I don't necessarily like wearing 'em.”

DID YOU ALWAYS DREAM YOUR BIGGEST MOMENT WOULD COME AT INDIANAPOLIS? “Well, I'd hope to. I mean, we had great runs at Indianapolis back in '03 and '04. It was just a place we went to. We were always hooked up. The car was fast. We've had poor finishes the last couple years there. We hopefully can get back on the freight train to speed there and have a better run at it. I know a lot of great things happen after you win the Daytona 500. A lot of history is based around stat-wise winning the Daytona 500, then going on to win the championship. That would just be a dream come true.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THE PUSH FELT LIKE ON THE BACKSTRETCH? HAS THERE BEEN ANYTHING THAT STOOD OUT ABOUT THIS WEEK AND THE HISTORY SURROUNDING IT? WAS TEHRE ANYBODY YOU ENJOYED SEEING? “The push itself, Kurt and I talked yesterday after practice. We discussed, along with Sam, how hard it was to actually push here compared to Talladega. Talladega, it was cake to push each other around for the entire lap. Here, even down the straight-aways, it could be pretty iffy. There were times tonight where I got pushes. I was like, Man, ease off a little bit. I'm on the floor here. You know, Kurt did a great job holding me straight, which makes a difference. You can wiggle around and shake the guy in front of you loose. He did a great job with it. What was the second part again?”

ON THE HISTORY: “The history, yeah. Like I said, sitting in the drivers meeting, the drivers that were up there, A.J. Foyt, Junior Johnson, even Pete Hamilton, guys I'd never seen before, I just heard of. I got their die cast at home. The little die cast of the wing cars, I've got them all. To see those guys in person, to see Mario Andretti sitting elbow to elbow with A.J. Foyt, picturing those guys, the way they used to run, the dirt miles, things like that, it's all part of it. I felt that when Ken Schrader came up and gave me a hug in Victory Lane. Never said a word, just gave me a hug and walked off. I know how much he appreciates the history of the sport. That said a lot for him there, as well.”

BUDDY BAKER HAS SAID YOU ARE AS CLOSE TO A THIRD SON AS HE’S EVER HAD. HAD BUDDY HELPED YOU COPE WITH YOUR DRY SPELL UP UNTIL NOW? “Absolutely. Buddy was my teacher when I first started at Penske Racing in the ARCA series. Even the Busch and Cup Series. We used to go to every test together. He would ride along. We'd get in the rental car, drive around the racetrack the right way. We'd turn around and drive around the racetrack the wrong way, gives you different vantage points. He likes to let you see what you can do coming off the corners and the way you enter the corners. He was a great friend. He was a neighbor. We lived on the lake together. Now we're living up in Statesville. Either way, he's an awesome guy. It's really an honorable, as well. My dad and Buddy hit it off really well, even when they were spotting together. They spent a couple nights this week this week, this past weekend, eating dinner together and hanging out. That's just awesome. I mean, to know that I was sitting in the Seagrave Tower and I watched Buddy Baker running in the Crisco car, and to see now my dad going out to dinner with him and see him being honored in the 50th running of the Daytona 500, it's just a dream come true, as well.”

HOW MUCH MORE SATISFYING IS IT TO ENJOY THIS WIN WITH FAMILY, BUT THEY WERE ALSO THERE TO HELP YOU AND ROY IN HIS HARD TIMES AS WELL? “Absolutely. My family was my crew growing up racing in quarter midgets and midgets, even the Silver Crown series. Up till '97 was when I got a full-time ride with somebody else. They were still part of the crew, they weren't responsible for getting into the racetrack. My sister, I talked to her on the phone. She's my biggest critic. She had a few choice words. She told that she didn't think I could actually even do it on a restrictor plate, restrictor plate track. So, it was, you know, I guess to prove my sister wrong either way is cool at the same time.”

ON WHAT RYAN NEWMAN HAS GONE THROUGH SINCE HIS LAST WIN: “It was tough last year knowing that we were that close so many times. Going back to even Charlotte, when the track bar mount broke. It's like, Man, what do you got to do? I've told a few people, I just hope when I get back to Victory Lane it's a big one. Honestly, actually it was. It's great to do it as a team, to have a rebounding year like we did last year. Everybody, Michael Nelson, the guys on the team that helped get the team back on pace, you know, they're here today, too. That's awesome. Just all the hard work and the effort that all the Penske organization puts into it, it's all played out tonight.”

ON HAVING THE ONLY GOLD DAYTONA 500 TROPHY: “I just assumed they were all gold. I didn't really pay attention to it. It's neat. It's awesome. We both get one, Roger?”

ROGER PENSKE (Team Owner, No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) “I hope so.”

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)

“I hope so. Me, too (laughter). No, it's a team win. It's an organizational win. I'm just Happy to see it and touch it and feel it. I mean, I drove by Daytona, U.S.A. and saw the statute of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. with that trophy in his hand, and that meant a lot to me. I won't have a statute made of me today, but hopefully that is something I can look forward to.”

ON PUTTING HIS HANDS AND FEET IN THE CONCRETE: “That was pretty wild. The crazy part was you'd only do your right foot and then both hands. I guess they assume the left foot does nothing to get you in Victory Lane around here. It was pretty cool. That's the first time I've ever done it, so I'm not sure where my casting is going. I'm not sure if I get a Walk of Fame or a square on a sidewalk someplace, but it was definitely cool.”