NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Federated Auto Parts 400

Topics:  Federated Auto Parts 400

Greg Biffle
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Denny Hamlin
Kevin Harvick
Matt Kenseth
Martin Truex, Jr.
September 8, 2012

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

Q.  Denny, the momentum that you guys carry in with such a strong run this evening, and the two wins you had previously, four wins total, what kind of attitude do you have as you look ahead to the next ten?
DENNY HAMLIN:  I'm going to try to be very positive this interview, but man, that's a tough one, when you have a car that's that fast and that dominant, and, you know, once we made our bed to try to make it, you know, then we had to save, back off and once the 24 got around us, I mean, we were just another car between him and the 18.
So you know, we feel bad for our teammate.  I know those guys worked really hard to try to make it.  You know, it's just a tough day all around for JGR because they had obviously a dominant car today but this is something we can take into the Chase because right now, just our cars are lightning fast and we have got a good thing going.

Q.  Greg, what did you learn tonight that will make you stronger in the Chase?
GREG BIFFLE:  We actually ran really good here tonight.  We have not been that great in the past and to finish ninth, and we really stayed out way too long on that one run, trying to catch a caution, so we were just experimenting a little bit gambling.  But we have not been in the Top‑5 so we are pretty excited about that.  We learned a little bit I think, and should help us at loud on.

Q.  Sixth Chase appearance for Kevin Harvick but more importantly two back‑to‑back solid finishes for the team.  How does this set you up for the next ten races?
KEVIN HARVICK:  Well, you know, it's been a good really three weeks, at Bristol we just don't get the gas mileage we need to get and that showed up here again tonight.  All in all our Budweiser Chevrolet was solid tonight.  We didn't have a winning car, we probably had a fourth place car.  We kind of stayed out there for the rain, and I knew that we had to have tires.  I came down pit road and those guys did a pit stop not even knowing I was coming.
All in all it was a solid night for us like you said, the last three weeks have been really good and we'll see what happens.

Q.  Two weeks in a row, Martin Truex Jr., woulda, coulda, shoulda; you had a car that could have been in victory lane but now you're in the Chase.  What do you know about this team that you guys will be a factor in the championship?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:  We have the speed, that's for sure.  Our strong suit is going fast.  What we have to work on is pit strategy.
But you know, we were not the only ones that screwed that up tonight, so just in the wrong place at the wrong time there, and our radar on the hip box was not working when we got that little shower and we were not sure if it was going to rain or not.
So we stayed out and we paid for it.  But you know, that's the way it goes.  We can hang our hats on the fact that the Toyota has been really fast lately and the guys have done a good job of making it fast.  We just have to take advantage of it more often.

Q.  Deal, all four Hendrick cars make the Chase, how good does it feel to be back in the Chase?
DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:  It feels great.  We felt like we could do it all year long to make the Chase, and we are pretty happy, we had a good run tonight.  We are going to give Steve a lot of heck for gambling like he did at the end, because I think we all wanted to pit.
But you know, he wanted to win the race out right and that was our only shot.  I've had an awesome year, and I want to thank everybody at Hendrick for all of the hard work in the off‑season, they have got us at the speed we have had this year, we are a much better program overall, a much better company this year, and all of the guys at the shop really deserve all the credit.  These cars are a lot of fun to drive, and I'm just proud to be part of the team.

Q.  Matt, the Chase is a week away, how strong do you feel the 17 team is tonight?
MATT KENSETH:  I think the team is good in shape, we have been having great, great days on pit road, pretty good adjustments, made something out of, I don't want to say nothing but we didn't have a great car and Jimmie and them guys did a great job on pit road, strategy and adjustments and got us a Top‑5.  So we've had a couple decent weeks.  Can't wait to go to Chicago and race there.  We definitely know we need to win some races to have a shot at this thing so hopefully we can have a shot next week.