Jimmie Johnson:

“California is a great track for us. I think everybody likes it when you have a little bit more room – especially this time of the year. Everybody is just in crunch mode. Every point counts. I think that’s a common reaction from all the drivers.” “I’m excited about going to Fontana. We have the Busch race on Saturday, which is my second one of three. And, Lowe’s has been nice enough to let me run a foundation car, so we’ll have a Jimmie Johnson Foundation car out at the track, which will be really exciting for (wife) Chandra and myself. And then we’re excited about the Cup race because we finished second there earlier in the year. Even though Michigan looked like an up and down day for us, we still had a lot of speed. And I know that the things we had going on at Michigan are going to cross over and apply in Fontana. So hopefully we can get a win, or a nice solid finish and keep the momentum going into Richmond. So there are a lot of good things coming up.”

Dale Earnhardt, Jr:

“We’re going with the most optimism we’ve had in several years leading into a Fontana race. It was a sore subject for us for a long time. I felt we made big gains at that track in February, just missing a top-10. My guys are real excited and I’m following their lead. Hopefully once we get there, I’ll feel like I’ve known my way around there all along. Our finishes at Michigan this year (third and sixth) give us a lot to work with. We’re taking the same car we ran at Michigan, same motor, and probably the same set-up.”

Matt Kenseth:

“We’ve run pretty good at the two-mile tracks this year, and that’s largely thanks to this car, No. 323, that Robbie and the guys built. It’s been a good piece for us. We won with it at California earlier this year and it’s fresh off the win at Michigan two weeks ago. It’s not too far away from having three more wins, with two second-place finishes at Las Vegas and Atlanta, and a solid run at Chicago, although our results there weren’t too good. Right now, it’s all about momentum and it feels like we have a ton. We’re coming off of consecutive wins and going to a place where we’ve enjoyed recent success. There’s a lot of enthusiasm on this team right now. They’re getting the job done and we’ll be looking to do the same this weekend.”

Jeff Gordon:

“I don’t care how many laps we lead in an event,” said Gordon. “I only want to lead the last one. “It’s the same for the point standings. We don’t need to lead right now, we just need to get into the Chase – then have the lead after the final event.”

Tony Stewart:

“California is a lot like Michigan. I like to call it Michigan West. I’m not sure that it has the amount of banking that Michigan has, but it is a flatter track than Michigan. The way you approach the weekend is pretty much the same as far as setups on The Home Depot Chevrolet go. You just don’t have the banking to help you like you do at Michigan.”

Kasey Kahne:

“We can’t control what other teams do these next two races. Our focus is on the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger and how we perform. Our objective is to make the Chase. Two things must occur for that to happen. First, we have to have two good races — wins would certainly help, but we definitely need top-five finishes. Then, a driver sixth through tenth in the standings must have a problem. A 100-point swing can happen in one race. We still have two opportunities to get in the Chase. We just have to do our part to put the No.9 Dodge Charger in a position to take advantage of every opportunity. “This is a humbling sport. It’s about ups and downs. That’s what makes it so good. We’ve had great cars this year. We’re confident we have a car capable of winning at California. We’ve run well there, qualified on the pole, had a couple of top-five finishes and led laps. We’ve had success at Richmond. We need and opportunity and then take advantage of it.”

Kevin Harvick:

“It is really stressful because you don’t want to have a hiccup and lose a bunch of points in one race,” said Harvick. “We escaped Bristol and now head to California, which I feel is our worst track. I felt Michigan was our second-worst track. With the year that we have had, it would be a shame not to be in the Chase, but there is still that possibility that it could happen. But until it happens, we aren’t going to count our chickens before they hatch. It is just a lot of pressure on everybody to make it happen.”

Mark Martin:

“California has really turned into a nice place to race and we’ve had our share of success there over the years. We were always good there from the start, running out of gas the first year and still finishing 10th and going back the next year and getting the win. It’s really a track that fits into our strong suit and we are hoping for a good finish this weekend. “We had a really tough outing last weekend at Bristol, but that is not something that we can worry about now. Our task is to focus on the next race and that race is this weekend at Fontana, and we are going into the race needing a strong run and a good finish. The point race is really close right now, with only about 50 points separating 10th from fourth and we need to go there and beat all those guys around us and hopefully leave there one step closer to locking in our place in the Chase.”

Greg Biffle:

“I guess I’d consider California my home track. I love racing there and we’ve had a lot of success there so I always look forward to this race. We’re taking a car that we’ve won there with before. It’s the same car that we led a lot of the race with in the spring before we had a part failure. We’re probably not going to make the Chase this year but we can still go out and get a few wins before the end of the season.”

Jamie McMurray:

“I’m looking forward to going back to Fontana this weekend. Fontana is a really great track to visit for a lot of reasons, but this weekend I’m looking forward to a good finish. In the past, I’ve had a lot of success at this track. I don’t know what it is about Fontana, but I definitely enjoy running there. It’s a track where you have to hit your marks all day, have a fast car, and be there in the end — when it counts. Bob and the guys back at the shop built a brand-new car for this weekend, which we’re all excited about running. I’m looking forward to giving the Smirnoff ICE Ford Fusion a great run this weekend at Fontana.”

Carl Edwards:

“I love racing at California. It’s an awesome track, and we’ve done really well there in the past. We’re taking a new car this weekend, and I’d love to put it in Victory Lane. Everyone on the No. 99 Office Depot team has been working really hard, and I can’t say enough about my guys. They deserve a win, and California is definitely a place where we’ve got a good opportunity.”

Bill Elliott:

“I think we will be better at California Speedway, than we were at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Elliott said. “We gained a lot at Indy. I’ve talked to Michael (Waltrip) and Larry (Carter) over the last few weeks. We’ve got a better car for this weekend.”

Kurt Busch:

“I’ve loved racing at California Speedway ever since my first race there in the trucks back in 2000,” said the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion, who won the pole and the race in the October 2000 season finale for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at California Speedway. “It seems like I just immediately adapted to the place. I loved the fact that it was long and wide, with multiple racing grooves. Racing out in the West just always seems to always get me extra pumped.”