KEVIN HARVICK:

California has been a little bit of a struggle for us as a race team the last couple years. It’s probably been one of our worst racetracks, to be honest with you, going in there. We want to go in there and have a solid weekend and see where we fall with everything.It doesn’t get any bigger than the Daytona week. Finding the focus to race the car is usually not a problem for us.

CLINT BOWYER:

“I really like California Speedway. I qualified well and finished third there last fall and I’m looking forward to getting back there this weekend. We’ve really stepped up our intermediate program at RCR and I feel like we still have room to build on what we have and be even better this year.” I felt like toward the end of last year we were right where we needed to be. We were in position to win a race or two. That’s all you can do. Once you start running consistently in the top 10, you open the door for top fives and once you do that, you’re going to win a race.”

TONY STEWART:

“What you do at California is solely based on what you and your team can do with your race car, not what drafting line you’re in or how the car behind you is going to affect your next move. Once we get away from Daytona everything kind of settles into a groove. We’re back in the weekly grind. I enjoy going to California because I really feel that’s where our season starts. That’s a track where you don’t really worry about what everybody else’s car is doing. You worry about what your car is doing. You’re racing the race track. You’re not racing everybody else. It’s a good opportunity to get back into the swing of things. Once you leave California, you feel like the season has officially started.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON:

With the Daytona 500 being a restrictor plate race and then the bulk of the season being based on downforce tracks, there is a little loss of momentum. The No. 29 (Kevin Harvick) team is definitely going to be on a high coming into Fontana as will be the No. 01 (Mark Martin), but outside of that, the season — in some people’s minds — starts this weekend. So out attitude will certainly adjust after the race at California Speedway.”

JEFF GORDON:

“This track has widened out since the inaugural race in 1997,” said Gordon. “Initially, it was a one-groove track, but recently we’ve been able to run three and four-wide through the corners. That’s what you like to see as a driver. It gives us the ability to search for lines that work for our car. “And I’m sure the fans love to see that, as well.”

MATT KENSETH:

“I’m definitely looking forward to getting out to Fontana. It’s just such a relief to get back into a normal routine at the track. Daytona is so different, in the practice and qualifying schedules and you’re down there for so long, that it just seems to drag on. Then there’s so much build up for the race, you just can’t wait to get it started. This weekend will bring a little normalcy back into our race weekend. “Fontana has been a good track for us recently. Last February was sort of a weird deal. We didn’t have the best car, but we had it good at the end. Then the two best cars had engine problems and the next thing you know, we were leading when it mattered. I really like this type of track. It’s smooth and wide with plenty of room to try some different lines and set up the pass.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR:

“I think we’ll do well there again. (Crew chief) Tony (Eury) Jr. found some things last year in our set-ups and we really improved on all of the intermediate (1.5 to 2-miles in length) tracks. We had our career-best finish at that track last fall, and we were better than we ever had been before. We’re going back with our favorite chassis (#039) that we finished second with. We had six top-five finishes in it last year, and seemed like it was a top-10 car every time we rolled it on the track. It’s kind of like going out wearing your favorite jeans and t-shirt– it’s hard to explain, but you just feel better and more relaxed and it makes the girls look prettier and the cold Bud taste better. With this chassis, the whole team knows we’re going to be fast as soon as we roll off the trailer, so everyone seems more confident and focused. It makes that long trip out there seem a lot more worthwhile.”

KASEY KAHNE:

“We overcame the adversity we encountered last week and had a great finish in the Daytona 500. It reflects the commitment of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team and everyone at Evernham Motorsports. They rose to the occasion, just like all good teams do in the face of adversity. Kenny (Francis, the team director) deserves a lot of credit. He built this team. We’re looking forward to California. We have great racecars for the mile-and-half and two-mile tracks. We’re prepared for this race as well as the next three. Keith (Rodden, the team engineer) stepped up last week to fill in for Kenny and did the job. The No. 9 team is ready. We’re motivated.” “We won the last race at California, and we’ll go back there feeling like we can win this weekend. Our team is very strong. We had a good finish at Daytona and I think we’ll have another good race at California.”

ELLIOTT SADLER:

“To be in a position to challenge for the win in the Daytona 500 is awesome. We had the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger in that position Sunday. Ray (Evernham, who filled in for Josh Browne as team director and called the race from the pit box) made some great calls. I’m very proud of my team. We’re ready for California. All three Evernham Motorsports cars should be very competitive this weekend as our speedway program is solid. We had a great test at Las Vegas and will be taking that same car to California. Getting off to a good start this season was a priority for our team. Just like last week, we’ll all pull together and utilize our strengths — determination and dedication.”

SCOTT RIGGS:

“We have some great tracks for the No. 10 Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge coming up on the schedule, beginning with California. This will be a great way to put our Daytona Speedweeks behind us. We were looking forward to starting this season off with a clean slate, but that did not happen. Adversity is nothing new to this No. 10 team and I feel like we will just rally together like we have in the past. We are locked into the first five races and that’s going to help us stick to our game plan in practice. We have notes to go off of from last year, at these tracks and with these chassis. I think Kevin Kidd did an excellent job in the team director role last weekend. We have a lot to look forward to.”

RICKY RUDD:

“I’m actually looking forward to it after our Las Vegas test. California seems to be very similar to this brand new configuration that we tested in Vegas. If we can pick up where we left off with the testing we had in February, then I’ll be really happy with the outcome.”

DALE JARRETT:

“It’s a great track for racing and we’re obviously anxious to get there and see where we are with our down force program. Going into this year we knew we had a lot of work to get ready and that the down force program was going to be important for this team because it is a new team. We feel like we learned some things at the Las Vegas test that will help us. The biggest thing is that we came out of that test with a direction we felt like we needed to go down as far as setting up the cars for this type of racing. I know that Michael (Waltrip) and his team are trying a different direction and that is going to be good for us from an informational standpoint. If we or one of our other teams figures that maybe we need to change the way we’re setting up our cars we have the ability to do that as the season continues so that is another benefit I think we’ll see with this three-car operation.”

DAVID GILLILAND:

“This is my favorite type of racing, running on the intermediate tracks. California is a track I’ve got some laps on. I feel very confident after the Vegas test with where our intermediate program is heading at RYR. We are bringing the same car to California that we ran in Homestead last year and tested at Vegas this winter, which is a great car. We had a good top-five run going there (in Homestead) but we had an accident ending our chances for a good finish.