NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

FORD 400

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

November 21, 2010

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3^RD IN RACE AND 3^RD IN FINAL POINT STANDINGS:

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

KERRY THARP:  Joining us is our third place finisher in points and also third place finisher in today’s Ford 400 and that is Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

            KERRY THARP:  Kevin Harvick, certainly a gutsy effort, gamey effort out there, had a super season, as did the 11 car.  Your thoughts about today.

            KEVIN HARVICK: Well, we just had a good car today and we did almost everything that we needed to do.  We put ourselves in position to run up front, and we ran up front and you know, in the end, we just got beat there on that last restart and they just out ran us.

            All in all, we went downswing and that’s all you can ask for.  They did a great job.

            Q.  Kevin, did you get a thorough explanation on your pit road speeding penalty, and are you settled with it?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  I don’t think that penalty will ever settle in my stomach.  When you read me off of my pit road times of 49.6, 49.4 50.8 and then 49.6; and there’s only a handful people that get to see them, I won’t ever settle for that.

            I don’t know how you can be speeding when you’re on the bumper in front of you if the other guy is not speeding.  So that’s about it. 

            Q.  Kevin, can you reflect on from where you guys came from a year ago to where you are now?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  Well, it’s a 180 for us.  Last year at this time we all wanted to    we all wanted to put a gun in our mouth.  Didn’t know what we needed to do to fix it, and we were running better but we didn’t know if that was going to continue into next year.  The guys, we came out of the gate strong.  We ran strong all year.  And in the end, we came up a little bit short but from where we were last year to this steppingstone, for us to build on is a whole lot better than where we were a year to go to be consistent racing for championships. 

            Q.  Just as a follow up, for Kevin, you mentioned that your team went down swinging but so did Denny’s.  When you are swinging away and he still comes out with the title, do you step away with some degree of not only respect but awe for the fact that he’s done it five times in a row?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  I think you have to respect it for sure, knowing how hard it is to do this, I think that you have to step back and look at it and realize what they have accomplished is pretty remarkable.  But for us, I think you step back looking at they are also vulnerable.  This is the first crack at it.  They have obviously done a great job but there’s a few chinks in the armor and I think everybody has caught up to being more competitive to them.  I think hopefully this is something that    they are going to be competitive going forward, and hopefully we are as competitive going forward as well.

            Q.  I know this is difficult, but the guy    because you wanted to win it but the guy who just won it has won five championships in a row; can you put that in perspective at all?  Do you guys think about where Jimmie Johnson is going to be ranked after this championship?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  I don’t think it’s difficult.  I mean, this is what you race for.  You race for championships and we have raced for the championship week in and week out.  There’s only one winner and there’s a whole bunch of losers.

            We put up a valiant effort and what they have done, I just saw the list of the couple of seven time champions in front of him, so I think that one is pretty easy to put into perspective how much they have accomplished.

As far as the 18 incident, he raced me like a clown all day:  Three wide, on the back bumper, running into me, and I just had enough.

            Q.  For both of you, is there one moment that you could change over the course of the Chase, if you could take it back and do it over again, one moment or one race; you were so close.  Any little thing could have made a difference.

            KEVIN HARVICK:  For me I would take the first five back with the pit crew that I had the last five.

            Q.  You mentioned this earlier, when you look back on the season as a whole, you talked about what a 180 degree turnaround it was from last season.  Do you think you will remember or appreciate that more or coming so close to winning a title?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  No, I remember where we sat when I left this race last year.  You always want to win but I’m not going to be sit here and be disappointed.  We raced as hard as we could race this year, with everybody putting up every piece of effort that they had, week in and week out, and I know what it feels like to run like we did last year.  So I’m more excited about looking to be consistent and racing this way than I am    I’m not going to look back.  This is going to make us stronger.  We have got a good race team that’s going to stick around for a while, and you know, I’m just happy to be a part of it right now.

            Q.  You said just happy to be a part of it, that’s sort of what I wanted to ask you.  You have enjoyed these last few weeks, your personality, you seem like a completely different person and you said you enjoyed a press conference much how much have you just been thrilled to be a part of this?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  This is the easy part is getting to this point.  Last year we weren’t in the Chase.  We got that accomplished by a bunch.  And you know, once you get to the last week, you’re supposed to enjoy that part of it.  You’ve got a shot and that’s really all you can ask for.  How the circumstances play out from there is really kind of    there’s a lots of things in your control but there’s a lot of things out of your control, too, especially with the position that we were in today.

            So you go out and you race as hard as you can and you try to put yourself in position to gain points and do the best you can with that team, and I just wasn’t going to get caught up in worrying about where the 11 or where the 48 was.  We needed to go out and win and put ourselves at the front of the pack to try to do that.

            I have enjoyed it.  I always tell people I would much rather do    I’ll do any press conference you want away from the racetrack because when I get to the racetrack, the switch flips, and it’s not really the first thing on my mind.

            But away from the racetrack, I’ll give you guys all you want.

            Q.  Just about Gil, the changes that they made, what has he meant to you?  You guys have been together earlier in your career and then you wanted changes, but how has Gil really pulled that group together this season?

            KEVIN HARVICK:  That group has been together for a long time, except for my part as a driver.  They have been together for a long time and Gil, he’s very good with the people, which can be my short falls a lot of the times during a race weekend.  So he rallies the troops and keeps everybody upbeat and keeps me upbeat, and really, he’s that guy that is going to wait for somebody else to try different things as they go through the progression of the car.

            So he’s an aggressive racer but conservative on a lot of things.  He’s very smart about what he puts on the car and when he puts it on there and how we go to the racetrack and race.  We may not have the fastest car every week but he’s very confident in the parts and pieces on the car; that they are going to stay on there but he’s definitely the leader of the team, that’s for sure.

            KERRY THARP:  Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, thank you so much for putting on such a great show in 2010 and we’ll see you soon.  Thank you.

            FastScripts by ASAP Sports …

About Chevrolet

Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly” solutions, such as the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco model that is expected to deliver up to an estimated 40 mpg highway, and 2011 Chevrolet Volt that will offer 25-50 miles of electric driving and an additional 310 miles of extended range with the onboard generator (based on GM testing).  Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

FORD 400

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER RACE NOTES & QUOTES

November 21, 2010

Jimmie Johnson Wins Fifth Consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Title

Homestead, Fla. – Team Chevy driver Jimmie Johnson is the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, overcame a 15-point deficit in the season’s final race to win his fifth consecutive driver’s title. No other series driver has ever won more than three in a row.

“What Jimmie Johnson has accomplished is, quite simply, amazing,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “An unprecedented fifth consecutive championship is a testament to the single-minded focus of Jimmie, Chad Knaus and everyone associated with Hendrick Motorsports, as well as the leadership of Rick Hendrick. For years to come, Jimmie Johnson and the 48 Team will be at the center of conversations whenever sports dynasties are debated.”

To win the championship, Johnson overcame the second-largest points deficit entering the final race since NASCAR went to its current points setup in 1975. Johnson was 15 points off the pace heading into Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400 and responded with a solid second-place finish, his series-leading 17th top-five finish of 2010. Johnson, who also scored six victories this year, has never finished outside of the top five in the standings in each of his nine full-time seasons.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, finished a career-best third in the standings following a third-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team Chevy placed six drivers in the top 12 of the final standings.

With his eighth place finish today, two-time champion Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, finished the season seventh in the final point standings.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, suffered the only engine failure of the season for Hendrick Motorsports and was relegated to the 37th finishing position. The four-time champion finished ninth in the standings.

Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, finished 12th today and secured 10th in the season-ending standings.

Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, made hard contact with the wall that sent him to the garage for repairs and netted him the 31st finishing position.  He ended the season in the 12th points position.

Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, finished seventh in today’s race.

With a 16th place finish today, Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, is 13th in the final standings, the first driver not in the Chase.

Carl Edwards (Ford) was the race winner. Aric Almirola (Ford) and A.J. Allmendinger (Ford) completed the top-five finishers.

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season will kick off on February 20, 2011 with the running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES & QUOTES:

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND TODAY AND IS THE 2010 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES CHAMPION, HIS UNPRECEDENTED FIFTH CONSECUTIVE CROWN:  FROM IN CAR POST RACE AUDIO: “Unbelievable! Unbelievable! WOOHOO! You guys are the best. I can’t believe that we did this. Unbelievable!”

YOUR THOUGHTS ON WINNING A FIFTH CONSECUTIVE TITLE: “I’m so proud to be in this position and so thankful to have my great race team and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports giving me great race cars. I think this year we showed what this team is made. At times we didn’t have the most speed, but we proved it here at the end of the Chase and especially here today. I am just besides myself. Four was amazing. Now I have to figure out what the hell to say about winning five of these things because everybody is going to want to know what it means. I don’t know! It is pretty damn awesome I can tell you that.”

YOU WERE BEHIND FOR A LITTLE BIT IN THE RACE, BUT YOUR COMPETITORS WENT THROUGH PROBLEMS TOO AND IT REALLY WAS ANYBODY’S RACE.  TELL ME WHAT YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT ON THE RADIO DURING THE RACE AND WHAT YOUR EMOTIONS WERE INSIDE THE CAR:

“We really didn’t talk about much on the radio, but I could see in the mirror where the guys were—where Kevin was and where the 11 was.  When he got in front of me and was two spots in front of me, I thought, ‘Man, it’s going to be tough now.’  I expected them to be there, but we had restart or two and we went forward and they went backward and off it went.  Chad made some great adjustments on the car and we were up there chasing Carl around and put in a great finish there in second.”

THE POINT WHERE YOU CAME OFF PIT ROAD AND YOU WERE RIDING AROUND IN SECOND, DID YOU DECIDE THAT YOU WERE OK THERE AND YOU WERE JUST GOING TO RIDE AROUND, OR WERE YOU AFTER IT ALL THE WAY TO THE FINISH?

“I was after it pretty hard.  Chad told me with about 10 to go to be smart and save our tires in case there was a green-white-checkered, and I definitely backed off a little bit at the end.  I don’t think I had anything for the 99.  This Lowe’s Chevrolet was awesome when it was up front and had clean air and we knew if we got up there that we would stay there and it really worked out that way in the end.  Just an amazing day for the team as I mentioned earlier.  I have to thank all my fans, all the employees at Lowe’s, and the fans of our sport—the people that may not be fans of the 48, but I think you saw something special today.  We’ve got an awesome sport and I’m proud to represent it as our champion again.”

THE WAY IT STARTED AT NEW HAMPSHIRE, THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED AT TEXAS—AT ANY POINT WAS THERE A DOUBT THAT YOU COULD BE HERE?
“Yes, there was at times.  I’m human.  I don’t think that we’re invincible.  I knew coming into this that at some point somebody is going to beat us and the 11 did an awesome job all Chase long, and the 29 for that matter.  So I knew there was a good chance.  I knew that if I left this season and I gave 100% and so did my team, that we could sleep at night.  And I know we may not sleep tonight but we’re going to sleep sometime soon!  We made it through and gave 100% every race and showed what teamwork was all about with this Hendrick Motorsports car.”

TAKE US THROUGH YOUR DAY TODAY: “We really didn’t talk about much on the radio but I could see in the mirror where the guys were, where Kevin was and where the 11 (Denny Hamlin) was and when he got in front of me and was up there, two spots in front of me, I thought, man it is going to be tough now. And, I expected them to be there. We had a restart or two and we went forward and they went backwards and off it went. Chad made some great adjustments on the car and we were up there chasing Carl (Edwards, race winner) around and had a great finish in second.”

CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND IN THE RACE, CAPTURES 2010 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP: CONGRATULATIONS, WHAT A DRIVE TODAY: “It was awesome. We definitely knew what we had to do. We did it. It was great. We weren’t able to get the trophy. We would have liked to have won, but to be doing donuts here this afternoon is just a fantastic testament to Hendrick Motorsports, everybody that works at the 248 shop. It took a lot of team work to get this done. We had to mix up some personnel to make it happen. I couldn’t be prouder and happier for this team. Jimmie will definitely get his just rewards now.”

AFTER THE BIG MOVE AT TEXAS—THE PIT CREW STRUGGLED TODAY, BUT THEY GOT YOU HERE:

“It’s a lot of pressure man; it is.  Those guys did a heck of a job and I couldn’t be prouder of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.  This is definitely a team effort to win the championship this year.  It took all of us; it took everybody at HMS and everybody in the 24/48 shop.  I can’t thank everybody enough for all of the extra effort and hard work that they put into it.  Steve Letarte is a great teammate, and Alan Gustafson and Lance McGrew—they put us ahead of everybody this week to make sure that we brought the best piece here that we possibly could.  It was a really good racecar.  I couldn’t say enough about what Jimmie did.  I think finally, finally after being able to pull this off that he’ll get the rewards and respect that he needs.”

YOU WERE MORE EMOTIONAL AFTER THIS THAN I’VE SEEN YOU THE LAST FOUR YEARS; WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
“It was awesome.  I’m a competitor.  I love to compete and knowing what we had to do, and how we had to come down here and beat them; and we beat them

RICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING THE NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET: 10 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS, IT TIES YOU WITH PETTY ENTERPRISES: “I never thought I would win one of these deals. I thank Lowe’s and Chevrolet and everybody that has helped us. These guys have worked hard. This was a hard fought deal. I thought we lost it three times in this race. It is unbelievable. We appreciate all the fans. I don’t know if anybody will ever win five of these things in a row again, they’ll be going for six next year, so here we go.”

HOW NERVE WRACKING WAS IT FOR YOU TODAY? “It was really, really tough the last 20 laps or so because you really didn’t know where anybody was, you know. When Denny pitted, then Kevin had a problem, you knew we could fix ourselves if we could win the thing, but it didn’t look like we could do that. Man, it has been a crazy day.”

IT’S LIKE YOU’VE GONE TO ANOTHER LEVEL—I’D SAY WITH FIVE THAT’S PRETTY ACCURATE.  WHAT WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE THIS ONE AND TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE?

“I mean I had no idea. This race has been so up and down all day long.  Denny had a problem, then Denny came back; we had a problem and then Kevin had a problem—it was like who is going to screw up the most?  I’m really proud of these guys.  It’s really hard to win one of these deals, and for Jimmie and that team to do it five times in a row it’s just unbelievable.  It gives us 10 of these things—I don’t know what to say.  This has been one of the hardest fought championships I can remember.  We lost one in 2004 [to Kurt Busch] by eight points, and I feel for Denny [Hamlin] and Kevin [Harvick] because they ran well all year long.  Somebody has got to win it and I’m glad it was us.” 

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3^RD IN THE RACE AND THIRD IN THE FINAL POINT STANDINGS:

CONGRATULATIONS ON AN AMAZING YEAR: “I just want to thank all the guys on this team and everybody at RCR for everything they have done. All the fans for all their support throughout the last couple of weeks. We came here and did exactly what we wanted to do and that was go down swinging. I am just really proud of everybody for doing that.

“We got a penalty there in the middle of the race and that set us back a little bit but we overcame that almost immediately really. Two runs and we were right back where we needed to be. In the end, those guys kind of out-ran us on that restart and we got beat. But, we didn’t go down without trying.”

YOU DIDN’T GIVE UP TODAY, GOOD CAR TODAY: “We had a great car today. For us hopefully this is the beginning of something that we can race for a championship year in and year out.”

THE INCIDENT WITH KYLE BUSCH, GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT: “Kyle raced me like a clown all day and cut me off and ran up in front of me. The last time I just didn’t lift.”

YOU DIDN’T WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT TALK ABOUT THE DAY YOU HAD TODAY

“We went down swinging. That’s what we came here to do was to go as fast as we could and do everything we had to do to try to win and those guys just outran us on that last restart there by just a little bit at the beginning. Then it would taper off and we’d come back a little bit better. But all in all, I’m proud of all my guys. Want to say ‘hey’ to big Mike  back at RCR (Scearce, suspension & brake specialist, whose mother passed away right before Happy Hour on Saturday; Kevin & DeLana Harvick flew him back to NC on their personal plane).

“I’m proud of everybody at RCR and everything they’ve done from last year to this year. We did everything we wanted to do today except win the race. I’m just really thankful for all the fans and all the support that we’ve seen over the last several weeks and this is a great spot to start building for consistent championship runs going forward.

“I’m just proud of everybody for going down swinging. That’s what we came here to do was to fight to the last lap and we did that; and we had a car capable of running up front and we did that too. So, in the end, the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) did what they needed to do; the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) made a mistake and we just came up a little bit short from the No. 48. All in all it was a strong performance from our guys and we’ll be ready to go, come Daytona.”

WAS THE PENALTY ON PIT ROAD TOUGH TO STOMACH?

“Well, it’s just tough to stomach when there is just a handful of guys that get to see those penalties; they read the times off, it’s 49.4, 49.6, 50-point-something and then 49.6 again. So, I just find it hard to believe that you can be speeding if the guys in front of you aren’t speeding. It’s just too bad that all those times don’t show up on the scoring monitors and somebody has to read them off to us.”

DOES THIS MAKE YOU STRONGER?

“Whether we won or lost today, we’re a better team going into next year because we know how to race up front and we’ve done that all year and that’s what you have to do to be in contention for championships. For us it was a good year.”

WITHOUT THE PIT ROAD SPEEDING PENALTY, DO YOU THINK YOU HAD A CAR CAPABLE OF WINNING THE RACE?

“It’s hard to tell. The No. 99 (Carl Edwards) was pretty good on the restarts and that was probably our weak points. We had a top three car and how it all shook out, I don’t know. But they seemed to get by us on the restarts there, but all in all it was a good day and what can you do?

WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE INCIDENT WITH KYLE BUSCH?

“He raced me like a clown all day. He was driving all over me and ran all over my back bumper and cut in front of me and I didn’t lift.”

ON THE INCIDENT WITH KYLE BUSCH, HE SAID HE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING

“Well, he raced me like an idiot all day long. He cut me off and ran into my back bumper and he cut me off that time and I just didn’t let off.”

GIL MARTIN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL CHEVROLET

“They did what they had to do and they won it today. What can you say? We did what we thought we could do. We was wanting to try get up there and win the race. We raced for it early and the penalty I think took our shot away from winning, but it still I don’t think would have made the difference on the championship, but who knows?”

FOR NOT WINNING, THIS IS STILL EMOTIONAL

“It really is. One of our guys (Mike Scearce) lost his mom yesterday before practice and him not even being here and being a part of it; that part is emotional. That was kind of a bummer for everybody yesterday and had everybody kind of upset. Mike is one of our road guys and he got the word his mom passed away right before Happy Hour started. It was just one of them deals.”

WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY IN THIS CHASE?

“Man, I mean where they threw the caution at Talladega with 15 points; I see our biggest stumbling block was Dover. At Dover we didn’t finish like we should have. We didn’t finish like we should have. I think we finished 15^th, which probably cost us. We still probably had the best average in the Chase. It has to be very close. Man, I don’t know what else you can say other than our Chevrolet has been strong all year and I look forward to next year with Budweiser and I think we’ll come out of the box swinging. They’ll have to deal with us again next year.”

RICHARD CHILDRESS, OWNER RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING: REGARDING THE PIT ROAD PENALTY: “We thought it was a glitch.  You can’t have that many forty-nines and then a fifty.  But anyway that is history and we had a good year and congratulations to those guys and that is all I can say. We had a good year and Jimmie had a great year.   The guy that wins the championship has a great year but we are proud of everything our guys did.  We raced hard and gave it a shot and gave it all we had.   If we didn’t have the penalty I think we would have had a good shot at winning the race in clear air and who knows….we just raced as hard as we could and I wish congratulations to Jimmie and Rick and that whole organization.”

ARE YOU GOING TO LOOK FOR ANY JUSTIFICATION OR VERIFICATION ON THE PENALTY FROM NASCAR? “No, its history and now we have got to look at next year and go do our deal for next year and try to win that championship next year.” 

OBVIOUSLY JIMMIE FINISHED SECOND SO THE PENALTY MAY NOT HAVE MATTERED? “The whole role would have played different.  Nobody knows how it would have played if………..I mean we may not have won the championship but winning the race would have been a good day.  I am not saying that it cost us the championship, but you never know what happens without it.”

WERE YOU MAD ABOUT HOW KYLE BUSCH RACED HARVICK, NOT WHEN THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED BUT BEFORE THAT? “We knew going in that the Toyotas were going to race us hard as they could and that we were going to race them and it’s just one of those deals.”

COMPARE RCR NOW TO A YEAR AGO

“It makes us feel good about our whole organization and with what we’ve got going on I think we can come out next year; we don’t want to be overconfident like we were in 2009 but it’s really a turnaround really and it goes to all the people.”

 RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH: ON TODAY’S RACE: “We had a good U.S. Army Chevrolet – it ran strong all day,” said Newman. “I am proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for how we finished the season. We’ve had a lot better finishes at the end of this season than we did at the end of last season. We have something to build on for next year and that’s a big positive. I am going home now to my two women and five dogs and see how much fun we can have during the off season.”  

Note: Newman became a first-time father Friday (Nov. 19) when his wife Krissie gave birth to a baby girl — Brooklyn Sage.

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/OLD SPICE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH IN TODAY’S RACE AND 7TH IN THE FINAL STANDINGS:

ON JIMMIE JOHNSON’S FIFTH STRAIGHT TITLE: “He’s the best that’s ever been. Five straight championships, in this era, that proves it.”

ON HIS RACE: “We worked really hard today for an eighth-place finish. I think it sort of mirrors our season. We worked hard all year long – everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing did. We really had a phenomenal year last year, and we knew it would be hard to maintain that this year. Sure enough, we faced more adversity this year than we did last year, but no one ever gave up, no one ever quit. We all just kept digging. We did that all day today. We went a lap down twice, worked our way back onto the lead lap both times, and ended the day with a top-10. Nothing spectacular, but a solid result nonetheless.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – Sidelined with first engine DNF this year for Hendrick Motorsports:

“We haven’t had many engine problems but it’s just been one thing after another that has kept us from getting to victory lane and kept us from being a threat for the championship. But you know what? I couldn’t be more excited going into this off-season and get ourselves prepared for next year. (We have a) new sponsor as well as having DuPont and Pepsi back on board. Whew! Man, I’m kind of glad the season is over and we’re going to watch this championship. It’s certainly exciting and we’ll see what we can do for ourselves for next year.”

About Chevrolet

Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly” solutions, such as the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco model that is expected to deliver up to an estimated 40 mpg highway, and 2011 Chevrolet Volt that will offer 25-50 miles of electric driving and an additional 310 miles of extended range with the onboard generator (based on GM testing).  Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

EDWARDS MAKES IT TWO STRAIGHT WINS TO END 2010

• Carl Edwards captured his 18th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win with today’s victory.

• Ford has now won 7-of-12 NSCS races at Homestead, most among manufacturers.

• The last time a Ford driver won consecutive NSCS races was last season when Matt Kenseth won the first two races of 2009 (Daytona and California).

• The win was the 120th all-time NSCS win for Roush Fenway Racing.

• Today’s win was the 599th all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win for

Ford Racing.

CARL EDWARDS – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “This is unreal. This is a great way to finish the season.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson – five championships in a row, that’s unreal. I think the way we’re going here, if we could start like this our Aflac team could have a shot at them next year. I’ve just got to thank Scotts for the great lawn products, Aflac, I think I hurt my foot on that backflip, so that’s a good time to do it because I’ve got Aflac coverage. John Force was here and gave me a little motivation on those restarts. I’m just so proud for Ford, Aflac, Scotts, Vitamin Water, Kellogg’s, Valvoline – everybody that’s been behind us all year. To finish like this is unreal.”

HOW DO YOU GO 70 RACES WITHOUT A WIN AND THEN WIN BACK-TO-BACK? “It’s just these guys not giving up. We don’t give up. My guys are unreal and we just had an unbelievable run towards the end of this season. I’m truly blessed. I’m so excited. Last week, my wife and daughter weren’t here and today they are, so I’ll get Victory Lane photos with them.

It’s just a great way to end the season. I can’t wait to go to Vegas.

I can’t wait to go home to Columbia, Missouri. I’m kind of hungry, I’m gonna go get a Subway sandwich and go celebrate with my guys.  This is unreal.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE LAST FEW LAPS? “You know I was really fortunate that Jimmie was racing for the championships because I think he was taking it easy there in the last minute. Our Aflac Fusion was great. I can’t believe this. Two wins in a row is just really great. We are finishing the season like we need to. I am excited to go into next year and go into Daytona where hopefully we can be one of the people lining up to knock Jimmie off his throne. That would be nice.”

THE WAY YOU GUYS ARE PERFORMING DOWN THE STRETCH, ARE YOU SAD TO SEE THE SEASON END? “It would be nice if we could line up tomorrow morning at Daytona but it will come soon enough. I am going to enjoy the off season. I have a beautiful family and they are here with me today and that means a lot. I am really excited. We will go to the banquet tomorrow and then the banquet in Las Vegas. I am sure we will see some fans there. Once again, Ford Motor Company stuck behind us. Aflac, Scotts, Kellogs, Subway and all my fans that I see every week out here supporting us. We are back on track and I am really excited. It is fun to drive these race cars when they are like this.”

JACK ROUSH, Car Owner – No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion — “As hard as it is to let Ford people down when they are not at the race track, when they all show up it is even harder yet. The guys just really got themselves up for this and it is a good race track for us. We have great notes for it and the new FR9 engine ran wonderfully. It is a great day.”

JAMIE ALLISON, Director, North America Motorsports – “Oh my gosh. You know they say how you finish is how you start, so we hope this foretells a great 2011 season. For now we get to celebrate this victory and an amazing two in a row for Carl. We are very proud of what Jack has done in the second half of this season.”

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion (Finished 10th) – “It was a pretty good day. We were off just a little bit with this car. I think our other car was faster. We had to go to a backup car. It was a good day for us, but I just wish we could have finished up there a little higher. That last caution hurt us because I thought we were better than that and guys got to start behind us with new tires. I’m happy Carl won two in a row at the end of the year and we’ve got our program turned around. It’s good for us.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT NEXT YEAR NOW AFTER THIS REBOUND? “I think we’re gonna be five spots better, and I think we can win two or three times as many as we did this year – maybe four, five or six wins.”

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion (Finished 9th) – “I was frustrated at the very end. I was happy that we performed better, but I was too loose all day and just couldn’t keep up. We worked on it and tried hard all day, but we just couldn’t find that right adjustment.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion (Finished 20th) – YOU RAN IN THE TOP 10 ALMOST THE ENTIRE RACE, BUT THE CAUTION THAT CAME OUT DURING PIT STOPS REALLY HURT THE TEAM. “It was just unfortunate the yellow came out when it did. Drew [Blickensderfer] and everyone was doing such a good job and our UPS Ford was fast, but we’ve got to keep working on the pit crew. We had a few mistakes that hurt us and that is probably the difference between being on the lead lap and not when that caution came out. We had a good car, we just didn’t have the luck on our side and that seems to be the way of how a lot of our season has gone. I’m proud of the way our cars have been running and it’s great to be able to qualify in the top 10 and run in the top 10 the whole race, but we just did not get the result that we wanted here.

Nevertheless, looks like a good offseason for us and we have some good things to look forward to.”

DONNIE WINGO, Crew Chief – No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion (Bill Elliott finished 15th) – “We got the right-front fender knocked off of it and then on another restart somebody came down on us and got on the left-front, so we had to pit under green and lost a lap. We took the wave around and got that back and just fought hard and dug all day.

We kind of waited there at the end to pit as long as we could and it paid off for us.” TWO TOP-20 RUNS TO END THE YEAR. HOW DO YOU FEEL?

“I think everybody has done well with all the transition we’ve gone through the last two or three weeks. I hate that we had issues at Charlotte because I think we had a pretty good car there, too.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion – “This is awesome.  Working with Kenny Francis and all the guys on this Budweiser team has been a pleasure. They have fast race cars. Really fast race cars.

Richard Petty Motorsports should be very proud of themselves. I know they are going through a lot, but they are going to get this race team turned around. They have great equipment, great people and they are going to be successful.”

WAS IT NERVE RACKING RACING AROUND THE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS? “Oh my gosh, it was. I was so conscious to not make a mistake. I made several today and we were able to rebound.

It felt like we had a car capable of winning. All in all it was a great day and I am proud of all my guys on this team to step in and let me fill in on this team has been fun. I have learned a lot and it has been awesome.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, No. 43 Insignia/Best Buy Ford Fusion – “That was pretty wild. We were pretty good in the beginning and then about the third run in we got so loose it was almost like something broke on the race car. We were so loose and we tried everything to fix it. We basically flipped this thing upside down. I give all the credit to Mike Shiplett who kept me calm and pep talked me. I was frustrated and it was tough out there but he kept working on it and throwing things at it and finally we hit something at the end. It still wasn’t great but we got it raceable and we got a little lucky with that yellow to get us track position and a top five.”

THAT IS A PRETTY EXCITING WAY TO END YOUR YEAR ON WHAT HAS BEEN A BIT OF A CRAZY SEASON FOR YOU ISN’T IT? “Yeah, all the credit goes to my race team and all the guys back at the shop. Credit goes to Ford, Insignia, Best Buy and Valvoline too. This team could have easily fallen apart and fought and just dismantled itself, but I feel like we became stronger and when we figure this stuff out back at the shop we will get this race team back where it needs to be and I think we will be that much stronger for having gone through this.”

CARL EDWARDS POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE – “First, congratulations to Jimmie Johnson and those guys. I was telling him in Victory Lane that this means it’s gonna take us six years to beat that. It’s just unreal what those guys have been able to do. For our team, to finish like this and be on the upswing that we are, this is as good as it gets. I can’t remember who asked the question, but somebody asked a really good question on Friday in here about how I felt this compared to 2008 going into 2009. I feel a lot better right now going into

2011 than I did going into 2009 and that’s because I feel like we’ve got a lot of momentum, things are getting better, we’ve got a new engine that we’re working on that just keeps getting better. This is the best performance down the straightaway that I’ve had in a long time today, so we’ve just got a lot of good things going. I can’t tell you guys how much it means to finish the season like this. It’s spectacular for us.”

BOB OSBORNE, Crew Chief – “First of all, I’d like to say congratulations to Chad Knaus and the entire 48 program. It’s a phenomenal feat and hopefully we have the opportunity to surpass that at some point. There’s not really any one specific piece, technique, process that we’ve changed to turn the corner here. It’s just a lot of little things that seemed to have built momentum for us and has gotten us back to Victory Lane.”

JACK ROUSH, Car Owner – “I want to start off by congratulating Rick Hendrick and that entire organization as well. What they’ve done has just been awesome. As far as coming to Ford Championship Weekend and not winning in a Ford with all the support that we’ve had for all the years, I would be embarrassed to go home and not have made a really good showing, so I can sleep better tonight than I did last night based on the way it worked out today. With Bob, they have the dual celebrations going on here and I look forward to being able to do it up on the stage with the championship group and at the same time in the background with the race win as well, so maybe we can get both of them next year.”

CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED – IS IT ODD TO BE IN VICTORY LANE CELEBRATING AND KNOW SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON? “First thing is I can tell you it’s a lot more frustrating to not be in Victory Lane and be watching somebody out there doing their donuts and all that stuff. I’ve been in this position before when we’ve won this race. Whoever wins this race is usually watching somebody else celebrate out there with the

championship. I think I have a good perspective on the season and

I’m able to look at what we’ve done, look at these two race wins and fourth in points and say, ‘Hey, if you would have told me 10 races into the season that this is how we’re gonna wrap this thing up,’ I would not have believed you. This is beyond the comeback that I expected. It’s really beyond what I hoped for. This is very good, a good finish to the season. This victory is very, very important to us and those guys celebrating their championship, they earned it.”

DO YOU WISH THE SEASON WAS JUST STARTING? “Heck yes I wish the season was just starting. That would be nice to start the season with these two wins, but we’ll go for three in a row at Daytona. That would be a heck of a place to get three in a row. We’ve been close at Daytona in a couple races. That would be nice. We’ll go there with guns blazing and I think we’re gonna be better than we’ve ever been starting next season.”

CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED – WE MADE YOU THE FAVORITE IN ’09 TO DETHRONE JIMMIE. “Don’t do that again. That didn’t work with a damn (laughing).” DO YOU FEEL SO MUCH BETTER THAT YOU THINK YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING FOR THEM NEXT YEAR? “I think that’s the question everybody is gonna themselves when they go home. How do we beat those guys? I believe that our slope, our gain is a little steeper than theirs right now. The question is, ‘Can we keep that going?’ Because on average they’ve just been better than everyone else. They’ve proven that.

We’ve been better at times. Other people have been better at times, but when I look at the two cars sitting next to one another, you understand that those cars are made with shocks and springs and the chassis and the body and the engine, and I look at all those parameters and where we’re headed with ours, I feel like we’re making really good progress. I feel like we’re making our slope steeper than theirs. With that being said, we just have to hope that we can continue that and, regardless of how we stack up with them, I still feel like we’re on more of an upswing than 2008.”

CAN JIMMIE BE CONSIDERED THE GREATEST EVER? “No, I feel like I’m better than him.

I mean, everybody feels like that. That’s why we race. If you get a driver out there right now that’s driving that says, ‘Oh no, Jimmie is a lot better than me.’ You don’t want that guy on your team.

Obviously, they have proven that they are able to win more races and more championships than the rest of us, we just have to figure out how to do that. There’s a reason we call each other by our car numbers, it’s because we’re all humans. I don’t want to think about Jimmie Johnson, the person, or so-and-so as a person. I think of them as just a car, a guy that I have to beat on the race track, and I think that’s how we all deal with one another the best. That 48 was sure good this year, that’s for sure.”

COMPARE AND CONTRAST A 70-RACE WINLESS STREAK TO A TWO-RACE WINNING STREAK? “Let me think. A 70-race winless streak – no offense Jack – but it’s like a sharp stick in the eye. It’s bad. It’s really bad.”

JACK INTERJECTS. “Actually, he and Bob both lined up on me and got me in the eye with their champagne before I realized the battle was on today.”

CARL CONTINUES – “I’m sorry about that. That was bad. I was just having a little fun there, but a 70-race winless streak is very difficult and it’s difficult because Jack owns this team, he goes to bed and wakes up every morning, I’m sure, thinking, ‘How can we make this better?’

I go to bed and wake up every morning thinking, ‘How can I be better?’

And Bob does the same thing, and when you don’t get the results that you want, you first look at yourself and you say, ‘Hey, how can I do better?’ And it’s very easy to start looking around and pointing fingers at everyone else. I think our shop and our guys, I’ve said this before, but I really believe we’ve done a very good job of working together. I’m very proud of Bob. When we ran in 2008, Bob kind of stood alone and did his own thing and we ran very well. And then when things weren’t going so well, Jack and I ganged up on Bob and said, ‘Hey, you need to look around and come up with some other ideas.’ He was a little defensive at first, but then he’s transformed into a guy that can take the best parts of every car out there that he has access to and make our car the best. Myself, I feel like I’ve worked very hard on some shortcomings that I have as a driver, and all of us have worked really hard. That process is very painful, not quite as painful as the analogy I used earlier, but it sure seems like it and a two-race winning streak is a lot better. It’s like doing a loop in Jack Roush’s P-51 Mustang. Is that better?”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – “Last night, I was trying to help Mike Beam and help Carl win that Nationwide race last night. Carl had a little wreck and he finally got aggravated enough with it that he suggested I go help somebody else. Did you mean that?”

CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED – “We give each other a hard time. You guys know Jack and that’s another thing that I’d like to say before we leave here is when Jack got in his accident – the fact that we can joke around about it says a lot about Jack – but when he was in his accident I think all of us, I know myself, Bob, all the people I’ve talked to said, ‘What are we gonna do with this company here? What if something is really wrong with Jack and he can’t come back and lead us? What are we gonna do?’ The fact that you came back to the race track two weeks later, something like that, and never missed a beat, he never talks about himself, he never complains about anything. He’s the guy you want to go to war with and we’re just proud to have you, Jack.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – DO YOU WORRY ABOUT CARL GOING INTO THE STANDS OR DOING BACKFLIPS? “I certainly questioned the backflips and whether he was skilled enough to do that, and he assured me that he practiced that art when he had a girlfriend that was a gymnast in college and that he’d worked his way through it and I should relax, it would be alright. As far as him going into the stands, that does pose a certain risk. Depending on who you are as a driver, you may not want to go up there after a race, but Carl is pretty well thought of. I thought that this won’t be a problem for him. Mike Helton will put his ore in and he’ll lock the gate and won’t let him up there. The first time we saw Mike after it happened the first time, Mike was cheering him on and bragging on him for it, so I don’t know what we’re gonna do. Maybe we can get the security organized to help out with that, but there’s a crowd of folks that are anxious to see the winner when the winner is Carl and the fact that he recognized that’s something he could do to improve the sport and give the fans something back really says a lot about Carl.”

CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED – WAS THERE RELIEF KNOWING YOUR CAR WAS SO GOOD YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO RACE THE OTHER THREE GUYS IN TITLE CONTENTION?

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone wanted to be out there racing those guys too hard, just because of the potential disaster you could be a part of. We thought of and we joked about it, we said, ‘Hey, it would be nice to watch that whole thing out of the rearview mirror,’ and that’s what we did almost all day. That was very nice. I talked to Bob and Jack both after the race, that car was very, very good. Our car was very fast and it was nice to have a car that is that fast. He did a really good job today. I had fun racing with him. That was pretty neat.”

YOU TOLD BOB TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE 11 AFTER THE HAMLIN INCIDENT. YOU SAID THAT COULD BE YOU NEXT YEAR. ARE TRYING TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR TEAM ABOUT NEXT YEAR ALREADY? “For me, personally, I don’t like to get into a situation and have it be the first time I’ve been in that situation, even if it’s just in my mind. What we were kind of discussing is you just don’t ever want to look back and say, ‘Man, I wish I would have thought about that harder.’ So anytime you get a chance to really look at a situation that is a high-stress one, in my mind to figuratively kind of place myself into it, it’s good practice so that’s what we were talking about – just look at them, see how they’re dealing with this high-stress situation and maybe we’ll have thought about it one time. We’ve all been in situations where something happens and you’re like, ‘I wish I would have thought about that because now I’m surprised and I can’t react the right way or the most productive way.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED — WHAT IS GOING TO TAKE TO DISPLACE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? “You have to make fewer mistakes than they do and you’ve got to be better at spending your money. There is enough money to do what you need to do here, but the main thing is spending money on the things that you have enough time to affect a good result and a good solution to the problems and challenges that you have. So that’s what we’ve got to do. Last year as we made our plans for 2010 we dared to be great as it related to our simulations and we didn’t get it done right. That put us behind this year for six months before we got it fixed and got the confidence in it. We’ve got to do a tear-up as all the teams do over the winter this year to try to make things better, otherwise you get passed behind.”

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE RACING TODAY AFTER HAVING RACED ALL THESE YEARS? “Today, to watch Bob win his first championship and Carl win his first championship and the pit crew to win their first championship — to watch all the people that are realizing the success and their goals is really what keeps me up and keeps me going. I know when I have had my problems, I have thought, ‘Is this really the way I want to be spending the rest of my life?’ And it is. To enjoy the drama. To enjoy the competition. To enjoy the personalities, the challenges and the solutions to the problems are things that really keep me as young as I am and keeps me interested in carrying on. A long time ago, after I’d won enough championships and won enough races to say that I felt that I had done enough for me, but to be a part of everybody else’s success that has followed me is what really keeps me going.”

CARL EDWARDS CONTINUED — YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD SOME PAIN IN THE FOOT ON YOUR BACK FLIP. WAS IT THE SAME FOOT YOU HURT BEFORE? “Yeah, I kind of stubbed my toe a little bit on the ground. I was just kind of over-excited there. It is okay though. I was a little nervous there for a minute but it is fine. I do have my Aflac coverage paid up and that is good. If something does turn out to be broken I will get paid and I have plenty of time to heal, but I think it is fine. Thanks for caring, I appreciate it. (Laughter)

IN A YEAR WHEN SO MANY PERCEIVED THE 48 TO BE VULNERABLE, WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THAT TEAM TO STILL COME OUT ON TOP? “They are spectacular. I am not certain, you guys saw the race from a much different perspective than I did, but it just looked like they didn’t make any mistakes today. They steadily made their car better and they let the other guys make mistakes. I think that if you really look from the 10,000-foot view, that is probably what they do best. They toe the line and keep progressing forward without too much emotion or too many mistakes. I think that is the thing that all of us are trying to do is to be that good. They have done it, it is just spectacular. I believe we really are all witnessing something that is nothing short of spectacular.”

Kasey Kahne (seventh) was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.    

Denny Hamlin finished 14th in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 FedEx Camry.  He ended the year second in the final Chase standings — 39 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson.  

Martin Truex Jr. also finished in the top-15 with an 11th-place result — leading the field six times for 62 laps (of 267) at the 1.5- mile oval.  

Other Camry drivers in the field included Scott Speed (23rd), Marcos Ambrose (26th), Kevin Conway (30th), Kyle Busch (32nd), Casey Mears (33rd), David Reutimann (38th), Joey Logano (39th), Landon Cassill (40th), Joe Nemechek (41st) and Mike Bliss (43rd).  

Busch finished the season eighth in the Chase standings.

KASEY KAHNE, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position:  6th How did your car handle during the race? “I felt like we didn’t have really that good of a car throughout the race.  Jimmy Elledge (crew chief) had good pit strategy right there to finish where we finished, but we didn’t have that good of a car at all.  We’ve got work to do in the off-season — everyone here does.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position:  11th

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position:  14th What are your emotions right now? “Obviously I’m disappointed.  Our car just wasn’t the same.  Our car was lightning fast up until that wreck.  When we hit the 16 (Greg Biffle) it just knocked the toe out and the car just didn’t drive the same for the rest of the day.  We did our best to try to repair it, but it just wasn’t as fast as it was before.  We were right around the top-10 when that happened.  It’s just circumstances.  But, you know, we had a great year.  This is a year where we won the most races that we’ve ever won, we contended like we’ve never contended before and just circumstances took us out on this last one.” What was it like pushing Jimmie Johnson for the championship this year? “I didn’t think that they (Jimmie Johnson) showed the strength this year that they had in years past and that opened up the door for teams like myself and a few other teams to win a lot of races.  Not only that, we really stepped up our program over these last couple of years and obviously with all of the wins that we had it’s a good feeling to go to the race track and know you can win on any given week.  My job is to work in the off-season to do everything I can to be better.  I know every year that I’m in the Cup Series that I’m going to be better than I was the previous year.  We’re going to take this FedEx team and we’re going to keep working and go get them next year.” What happened early on in the race? “We were just — we handicapped it.  That spin really hurt us.  It messed up the front splitter and knocked the toe out of the car, and it just didn’t drive as well as it did at the beginning.  At the beginning I thought we were in really good shape.  Our car was flying through the pack.  It was unbelievable.  And, just had that incident and it kind of took us out of it.” What did happen in that incident? “I didn’t see — the 16 (Greg Biffle) came down real sharp into the right front.  I’m guessing somebody probably suck him three wide at the last minute.  That’s part of racing.  Those kind of things happen.  We can’t control that.  We gave it our best shot trying to fix this car.  Mike (Ford, crew chief) and the guys kept working on it.  Ever since that wreck our car just did not drive the same.  It showed up in the end.” What can you take away from your team’s experience this year? “We got better as a team.  I feel like I got better as a driver, but we got better overall as a team.  For me, that’s all I can ask for is to show up at a race track any given day, and feel like I can win a race and this year I did that every track I went to so that part of it is encouraging.  The flip side of it is to have a championship slip away so close.  I just knew our day was going to be a tough one after we got in that wreck and the car got banged up.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued) What is it like coming so close to a championship? “It’s tough, trust me.  These years don’t come by too often in anyone’s career.  I was privileged enough to be part of the closest championship in history and give it my best effort, but it wasn’t enough today.  Our car got banged up and we just couldn’t overcome that.” How hard is it for you to come so close to winning a championship? “We came close, but close doesn’t cut it.  Those guys stepped up and performed at the end of the race like they needed to.  Our car just had too many Band-Aids.  There were so many Band-Aids on it to try to fix it.  We just didn’t have it there at the end.  Caution just came at the absolute wrong time when the 29 (Kevin Harvick) spun the 18 (Kyle Busch) and trapped us a lap down.  Those are circumstances I just can’t control.  There’s not much I can do about it.” What emotions will you take into the off-season? “Well, it’s going to be fuel for me.  I’m just going to try to get better.  There’s things that I can improve on as a driver.  I’ve got to work on qualifying.  I’ll study that in the off-season.  I’ve got to work on my outright speed on the short go’s, on restarts.  Those are the things that I’ve got to get better at and as a team I’ll debrief with them and tell them the things that I feel like our cars need to be to be better in the future.  I can assure you we’re going to hang our heads high because we came close this year.  We had a great year.   Just was a little short at the end.”

JOE GIBBS, team owner, Joe Gibbs Racing What was it like today watching Denny Hamlin going for his first championship? “This is obviously a huge disappointment.  I thank our guys though and everybody.  I was proud of them.  They fought their guts out.   Denny (Hamlin) even at the end there fighting his way all the way back to wind up second (in points) was a huge deal for us.  And then I think everybody here will hopefully handle this the right way.  We realize that it was hard fought all year.  Congratulations to the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the guys for winning the championship.  I’m really proud of FedEx and Toyota — our big partners here.   I’m proud of our team — they fought hard all year.” What difference did you see in Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team this year? “I just think that it’s a maturing process.  Denny (Hamlin) and Mike (Ford, crew chief) have an unusual feeling for each other.  Their team here is very solid and the pit crew.  In pro sports you can’t win if you’re missing something — a pit crew, a crew chief or whatever.  I feel like they’re a very solid team and I think they proved that this year.  And, of course, Denny is maturing.  He’s still young so hopefully we’ve got a lot of good years in front of us.”

SCOTT SPEED, No. 82 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position:  23rd

MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 47 Clorox/Kleenex Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Finishing Position:  26th

KEVIN CONWAY, No. 7 Extenze Toyota Camry, Robby Gordon Motorsports Finishing Position:  30th

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position:  32nd What happened to take you out of the race? “I don’t know.  (Kevin) Harvick pulled a slide job on me earlier in the day and I crossed over and passed him clean, but apparently it wasn’t in the time of day in order to do that.  I don’t know.  My guys work way too hard to be in this position and fight hard all day long to be put with a wrecked race car at the end of the year.  We wanted to come out here and finish strong.  We felt like we had a top-four or top-five car.  It just means so much to me — to those guys — that we come out of here with a good run like we were having.   It’s very unfortunate.  It’s just a guy that doesn’t have his head on straight apparently today.  I thought everything was good.  I talked to him in the pre-race in the driver’s meeting and all of that, but he’s such a two-faced guy it just doesn’t matter.”

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Finishing Position:  33rd

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 38th What happened to your race car? “It felt like we’ve had a pretty good Aaron’s Dream Machine — got loose while I was getting in a little bit there and got in the fence a little bit.  It ended up ultimately blowing out a left rear (tire) and got us into the wall and pretty much destroyed the car.  I don’t know if we had a left rear (tire) going down because a lap before the car had been good and then all of a sudden right after that it started getting really, really bad loose.  It looks like we blew a left rear tire and caused a ton of damage.  Not exactly the result we were looking for.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position:  39th What happened to take you out of the race? “I have no idea.  It’s unfortunate.  It stinks — I don’t know what happened.  We came off the corner there three-wide and the 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) got loose in the middle of the turn and kind of put us three-wide there.  I don’t know — I was down.  I gave him plenty of room.  I just felt like I got hooked.  That’s two times with him this year so we’ve got to figure that out.  I don’t know what the deal is.  We’re going to get it fixed and get back out there and try to save a spot in points.”

LANDON CASSILL, No. 64 Empire Steel Toyota Camry, Gunselman Motorsports Finishing Position:  40th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 Young Eagles/HeatRedefined.com Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Finishing Position:  41st

MIKE BLISS, No. 66 Toyota Camry, PRISM Motorsports Finishing Position:  43rd

Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

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BRAD KESELOWSKI (NO. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) Finished 13th

“We came up just a bit short today, but it wasn’t from lack of effort. It was up and down, but we got a solid 13th out of it. It could have been a lot worse than that. I though at times it was going to be and at other times, I thought we had a shot at a top-10 finish. We dug hard, made improvements on the car and got a decent finish. We had a segment there with about 60 to go where we drove up through the field pretty good. We’ve had our high points and a few low points this year, but we made progress. We’re already looking forward to next year.”

JAY GUY (Crew Chief, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) “It was a long hard-fought day for everybody with this Penske Dodge. The guys had phenomenal pit stops today and kept us going forward even when we had the pit road penalty. We’ve got a lot to build on in 2011. The whole Penske organization and all the folks at Dodge, they keep supporting us every week and we’re slowly making progress. I’m pretty optimistic for next year. We didn’t accomplish everything that we wanted to do, but there are growing pains involved. We had a lot of decent runs, but we also had our share of accidents and things happening that were out of our control. We persevered and kept digging. The guys never got down one time. That’s what it takes to be a team. You’ve got to keep everybody together and keep focusing on the big picture.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished 18th “It was just a tough day for our Miller Lite Dodge team. We really had running the high line around this place figured out in yesterday’s final practice and it showed at the beginning of the race. We started 15th, but blasted up to eight before the 00 (David Reutimann) got out of shape and up into the wall. We had nowhere to go and just plowed into the rear of his car and side swiped the fence. That took our entire aero package away and ended our chances of having another great finish here. Before the run-in, the car was a little bit loose, but as fast as the leaders until we got all bent up. Then we fought a tight condition for the rest of the race. It was just so bent up that all the adjustments did little to help. With about 100 laps to go, we stayed out and took the wave-around to get back on the lead lap. Then under yellow with 80 to go, we were able to put it up on plates and get the tow-in straightened out. That really got the car running better. We made a run back up into the top 15, but the 9 car checked up and the 98 blocked us. We caught a break when the caution came out for Kyle’s (Busch’s) crash and the leaders had pitted, but it was too little too late. We really wanted to have a great run here in our final race in the “Blue Deuce”, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

SAM HORNISH JR, (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Finished 24th “I’m proud of everyone on this Mobil 1 Dodge team. I got us behind a bit early in the race. I saw Kurt (Busch) check up and into the wall in front of me and had to slow down a bit. As soon as I did, the back end came out from under me. I couldn’t win for losing on that deal. I tried to do the right thing and make sure that I didn’t get into the wall. With just a little bit of lift, the amount of pitch it gives theses cars getting into the corner makes a big difference on how it handles. It’s unfortunate that we got behind. We got our car decent there for a while, but it just wasn’t enough. I’m proud of all these guys who worked hard every week. Knowing all year long that 2011 looked grim, it means a lot to me how hard they worked all season. I’ve got a lot of friends that work on this car and I hope that I have a chance to work with them again sometime down the road.”

10TH TITLE: Hendrick Motorsports now is NASCAR’s all-time leader in NASCAR Sprint Cup owner championships with 10 after Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team earned their fifth consecutive series title Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports previously was tied with Petty Enterprises, which earned nine Cup owner championships.

THE OTHER GUYS: With its fifth straight championship, Hendrick Motorsports becomes one of just four teams in major American professional sports to have scored five or more titles consecutively. The Boston Celtics posted eight NBA titles in a row starting with the 1958-59 season and ending in 1965-66. Hendrick now is tied with the New York Yankees, which earned five World Series rings from 1949-53, and the Montreal Canadiens, which scored five Stanley Cups from 1956-60.

COMPARISONS: In the major American professional sports leagues, Hendrick Motorsports’ 10 total Sprint Cup owner championships are tied for eighth behind the New York Yankees (27 World Series titles), Montreal Canadiens (24 Stanley Cups), Boston Celtics (17 NBA titles), Los Angeles Lakers (16 NBA titles), Toronto Maple Leafs (13 Stanley Cups), Green Bay Packers (12 NFL championships) and Detroit Red Wings (11 Stanley Cups). The St. Louis Cardinals own 10 World Series titles.

ALL-TIME CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2010 Sprint Cup car owner championship is the 13th for Hendrick Motorsports across NASCAR’s three national series, extending the team’s all-time record. Richard Childress Racing ranks second among owners with 11 combined titles. In the car owner category, Hendrick has won 10 titles in the Sprint Cup Series and three in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Hendrick Motorsports also has won a NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship, which came in 2003.

KNAUS SETS THE STANDARD: Chad Knaus is the only crew chief ever to win more than two consecutive Sprint Cup titles (he now has five in a row), and his championship total (also five) ranks him second all-time among crew chiefs in NASCAR history. Only Dale Inman (eight titles) has more.

FIVE-PEAT: Johnson is the first driver in NASCAR history to capture five straight Sprint Cup titles and the first champion in the Chase format to overcome a points deficit going into the final event. Johnson, however, is not the first driver ever to come back and win a championship. Most recently, Alan Kulwicki rallied from 30 points down going in to the 1992 season finale to win it all.

TWO TO GO: With a fifth title, Johnson breaks a tie with teammate Jeff Gordon to become the Sprint Cup championship leader among active drivers and third all-time. Johnson is two titles shy of NASCAR’s all-time leaders, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, who scored seven apiece during their Hall of Fame careers.

DRIVE FOR FIVE: Winning five straight championships is a first for Hendrick Motorsports, which previously was the only NASCAR team to have achieved four titles consecutively. In addition to Johnson’s 2006-10 run, Hendrick scored four in a row with Gordon (1995, 1997 and 1998) and Terry Labonte (1996). No other team has won more than three Sprint Cup championships in consecutive seasons.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Johnson isn’t the first driver in motor sports this year to come back from a points deficit and capture the series championship in the season finale. John Force (NHRA Funny Car), Sebastian Vettel (F1) and Dario Franchitti (IndyCar) join Johnson in coming from behind to capture their series championships in the final race of the season. Force trailed first by 37 points going into the Nov. 14 finale, when he rallied to win his 15th Funny Car title. Vettel made up 15 points in F1’s season finale on Nov. 14, while Franchitti overcame a 12-point deficit on Oct. 2 to capture the IndyCar championship in the last race of the season.

WINNING PERCENTAGE: Hendrick Motorsports is the most efficient team in major American professional sports, earning 10 titles since its inception in 1984 for a 37.04 all-time title-winning percentage. The Celtics rank second with 17 titles in 65 seasons (26.15 percent), while the Yankees are third with 27 World Series championships in 107 seasons (25.23 percent). Hendrick has won 10 of the last 16 Sprint Cup championships (1995-2010), putting the team’s title-winning percentage during that span at 62.5.

SINCE 1984: No other major American professional sports team has earned more championships than Hendrick Motorsports since 1984, the organization’s inaugural season. In that time, the Los Angeles Lakers have earned eight championships and the Chicago Bulls have collected six titles. The New York Yankees and Edmonton Oilers have scored five titles apiece.

STILL ROLLING: Hendrick Motorsports never has run a Sprint Cup campaign without winning a pole position (1984-2010). The team scored five this season, including two from Johnson.

APPROACHING 200: Hendrick Motorsports has posted at least one Cup-level win in 25 straight seasons (194 victories from 1986-2010), the longest active streak in NASCAR. The streak began Feb. 16, 1986, when Geoff Bodine won Hendrick’s first Daytona 500.

ANOTHER ONE FOR CHEVY: Chevrolet captured its 34th Sprint Cup manufacturers’ championship this season after winning 18 races. Johnson led all Chevy drivers with seven victories.

*When referencing “major American professional sports,” the following have been factored in: Major League Baseball, NASCAR, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and the National Hockey League.