"We all have to take the blame for it, and with that in my opinion, that is what put NASCAR in the position they’re in right now.  We all have to take the responsibility for it.  The facts show that the racing is better than it’s ever been.  It’s more competitive than it has ever been.  Everybody has gotten so spoiled over the last 10-15 years that we’ve all lost sight of what we’ve really got here. 

 

"Everybody sitting here and listening to this right now makes a living off this sport, myself included, and we’re all shooting ourselves in the foot because we’re convincing some of these people that this stuff is bad.  It may not always be perfect, every scenario may not always be perfect but every time we write something bad about it, or talk about it from our standpoint, all we do is break this sport down and it doesn’t deserve that.  We’re all making a pretty good living, and we’re lucky to have our jobs doing what we do.  In my opinion, I think what NASCAR is doing is very appropriate.

 

“I didn’t know.  I’m sorry I didn’t answer the question.  I did not know.  I think it was just between them and Ryan.” 

 

On the recent meeting among car owners at Hendrick Motorsports to find ways to cut costs: “Well it was a good meeting.  I’ll be honest; I was really overwhelmed when I walked in there.  That was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever got to do in my NASCAR career was sit in there with car owners and the different levels and years and knowledge of racing—that was very flattering just to be in that group. 

 

"I thought there were some really good ideas in there, I thought there were some ideas that will take a long time to sort details out, but I think that collectively the owners did a really good job at trying to look at all the aspects that we could in a short amount of time to figure out something that we can go to NASCAR with and try to make things better for everybody involved.  It wasn’t just about saving money for the car owners; it was trying to figure out how we can do things to make it better for the fans, and to make the sport better.  Hopefully some of those ideas are something that will be attractive to NASCAR too.” 

 

JIMMIE JOHNSON

 

On using the next 6 races before the Chase to get ready for it: "That's what it's all about. We're getting to that part of the year. I've had strong years where we've entered the Chase with a lot of momentum and have won a championship; and we've had years where we didn't have the best summer and have still gone on to win the championship. So I don't think there's a rhyme or reason to it. The 10 tracks in the Chase, a lot of them are much different than anything we run on during the summer and very special and unique into their own.

 

"So, I'm optimistic. I look at Loudon. I look at Dover. And both of those races were really good for us this year. Martinsville is typically good for us although we didn't have the best spring race there this year. I think we're getting smarter on the bigger tracks, the 1.5-mile and 2-mile stuff. We seem to be making small gains although we haven't really finished on one of those tracks recently like we should have. I feel like we're getting better there. Our team always responds well at the end of the year and especially under pressure. I'm excited and looking forward to whatever comes our way."

 

Tony Stewart was critical of media in reporting some negative issues of the sport, including the previously undisclosed fines, do you agree with him?: I think we all have the ability, if it's a driver or the media, what the stories are and what you report on; now I'm getting sucked into Tony's comments which I don't even want to begin to get sucked into that. But at the end of the day, it's not a bad idea for NASCAR to pull some guys aside and say, hey look, shut-up, okay?

 

"And (due to) the fact that you're being an idiot and saying things that are hurtful to the sport, we're going to penalize you. I don't see that as being a problem because now, we've uncovered something that has this whole negative impression that's going to hit and has been out there amongst our fans that there's something secretive going on. That's bad!

 

"At the end of the day, that leaves people with a bad impression of the sport and that's really what I was getting at. I think that whoever the drivers were, it would be great if they just didn't say anything and really listened to what was being told to them and the actions that were there, and moved on. It was supposed to be quiet for a reason, and now it's turned into something negative. And it's bad for not only those drivers, but for NASCAR and the sport and now the fans will have this question mark in their head (about) what's going on. In other sports, leaks, there are all kinds of things that go on where they're talking to their players. And this is no different than that."

 

JEFF GORDON

 

On crew chief Steve Letarte signing a contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports: I'm excited.  We've been talking about it for a while, you know, that everything is good there.  I'm happy with Steve.  We love having him at Hendrick Motorsports.  It's always nice to confirm that so it can put it to rest with everybody else. 

 

On Jeff Dickerson being his new spotter: We're always constantly looking for ways to improve chemistry within the team.  I'm hoping that's what he can bring.  He's got a lot of experience spotting.  Word has it he's one of the best spotters out there.  When a guy like that becomes available, then you got to take a serious look at it.  We did.  We ended up making a change.''

 

Seems like you were wanting more from your spotter then you were getting before the change: I mean, you want somebody that's watching what's going on right around you, but also taking a look out to see what else is going on.  If there's a guy that's fast on the track, he's making a different line work, you don't want to have to ask for that information.  It should be something that they're recognizing or telling.  Or if you do ask, they've been watching and they tell it to you right away.''

 

GREG BIFFLE

 

Does car owner Jack Roush's plane crash impact drivers with all the flying they do: “Guys are gonna race just to race.  I think we all have to travel.  We all know what we go through and take as many precautions as possible.  The planes are much safer today than when we had the last tragic plane crash in the sport, just like our race cars are almost.  You can almost compare it to that because the planes have proximity ground warning systems and lots of things, so our aircrafts are a lot safer.  You look at it and I think it’s an isolated deal.  I think the situation just arose and things can happen in a hurry.  I’m a pilot and things can happen in a hurry.”

 

KURT BUSCH

 

On how he looks at the 6 races before the Chase begins: “We feel comfortable with the point gap that we have on 13th place.  Where we are on the Miller Lite team, we’ll just go for wins.  We have to bring those bonus points with us into the Chase.  The thing to do is focus on what we have been doing this past month for setup and are they going to work at the tracks in the Chase.  Those are the important things – getting wins and staying focused on finding new ideas that will help propel us to a strong Chase.”

 

KYLE BUSCH

 

On his former spotter Jeff Dickerson (who is now with Jeff Gordon): “I think Jeff (Dickerson) is one of the best spotters in the business.  He’s really good at what he does, he’s very good with information and information is what a driver needs, whether you use it or not it’s up to you.  Will he make a difference for Jeff Gordon to be able to win races?  I don’t think a spotter can help you win races.  I mean, restrictor plate track, yeah I think there’s some help there.  Keeping you out of messes and keeping you out of the wrong lane and stuff like that.  Places like here (Pocono), it’s not going to help Jeff Gordon go to victory lane.”

 

On working with interim spotter Eddie D'Hondt: Things went fine.  Eddie did a great job.  He gave me a lot of good information.  The spotter worked well.  He’s back again this week.  There’s nothing set in stone on when we’ll become an ‘item’ I guess you’d say.  It might be next week that I say he’s the guy or it could be all the way until the end of the year, who knows.”