Post race quotes - Indianapolis.

"We've been struggling all weekend in turn three, we've had a problem in qualifying and now in the race.

"It's my fault, I shouldn't have been running all the way back there with that decrepit old has-been, [Jimmy Spencer] I guess he was a never was. I should have raced him side by side into the turn, I knew what kind of dirty driver he was, I shoulda known better." - Kurt Busch

MATT KENSETH (No.17 DEWALT Ford) - finished 3rd "It was a great day for us. Our Dewalt car was pretty fast all day. We just struggled getting track position. So we made our way up through there early in the race. Every run our car was real fast except in the. I don't remember which run it was, but I guess the run before our last run, the car got real tight, and I couldn't really make up ground like I wanted to.

"We had a little bit of an off day in the pits the first couple stops. For them guys I'm used to gaining spots, and we'd lose a couple here and there. Then the last pit stop we needed, we got a real good pit stop, and we only came out one car behind Bill (Elliott). So we had the position, we just didn't have anything to run with that 9 car. We had a good top-five car all day, but we didn't have one that good."

RUSTY WALLACE (No.2 Miller Lite Ford) - finished 2nd "Yeah, I started the race, I had a real poor qualifying run. I got up to like ninth or 10th in like 30 laps, got up there pretty quick.

After that I four-tired it, and the car got a little tight on me, and then I kept chasing it throughout the race. I took so much wedge out of it and aired the right-rear tire up so much and did so many crazy things I would never do, pull spring rubbers out of the left rear and raise track bars. I couldn't keep up with the racetrack.

"Finally, at the very end there, we kept hovering around eighth, ninth the whole doggone day. I said, 'Let's two-tire it.' We put more air in the right rear tire and took more wedge out. When I went out there, it was like perfect. Then it turned really good. I passed (Tony) Stewart and got the lead and really checked out, and I thought with 10 laps to go, I said, 'Man, I've got this thing won. I think can hold him off,' and I went off in (Turn) 2.

"I just took so much wedge out and got it so loose, I got a little too free off of (Turn) 2, and he got his nose underneath me, and that was it.

RYAN NEWMAN (No.12 ALLTEL Ford) - finished 4th "For me, I got spoiled today. It was the first time I got to use the air-conditioner in my helmet. It was a little different. Talking about the heat, your adrenaline takes over so much, you can pretty much cope with it up to a certain point, and then it seems your body wants to start breaking down. Overall, you do everything mentally to try to avoid that. Definitely tough, definitely hot, but I guess that's why we get paid what we get paid.

BILL ELLIOTT - (No.9 Dodge Dealers Dodge) - finished 1st "I am so proud of my guys, it's unreal. They have worked so hard, so dedicated. We came here and tested and we ran every lap we could possibly run, you know, in the two days we tested. When I walked out of here, I was a whipped puppy at the end of the day.

"To come here and dominate like we did, you know, still wasn't as good as Dale Jarrett did a couple years ago, but at least we're chipping away as it. The 20 car was good early, 2 car was good at the end. 88 seemed like to have an awful good racecar, ended up having a little misfortune on the gas stop. Seemed like he was coming along the later part of the race. I was just proud of all the guys. They worked so hard, put all this dedication into it."

KEVIN HARVICK (No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet) - finished 5th: "We're happy with a fifth-place finish. It was real hot. It was a good run for us today. Our car was the best at the end."

MIKE SKINNER (No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet) - finished 36th: "It kind of killed our streak, didn't it? We've had an awful good record here at Indy. We lost a motor. Started losing a cam or something yesterday in practice. We had to change an engine, and the Kodak Max car was really good.

"We hit on something, finally. We put on four tires, and the car got a little bit tight. We felt like on the next stop, if we could put it back like we had it the stop before and the stop before, it was pretty fast. We were catching a lot of really good cars. It looked like maybe if we could get back, we'd get us another top-10 finish here, maybe top-15 if nothing else, but it wasn't meant to be. Something in the motor cut loose."

ROBBY GORDON (No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet) - finished 8th: "I had a good car. Track position is the key. Had a run on Kevin (Harvick), got by him and didn't want to wreck him, so I backed off. But it will be the last time I do that. The heat wasn't too bad. The car felt good. All the guys on the Cingular team did a great job. I had a really good car all day long. I thought we had a car to win the race at the end.

"The key was once Kevin raced me, four guys got by me at one time, and we were done from that point on. Hats off to everybody here at Richard Childress Racing. We did a great job, and the second half of our season is coming around."

HUT STRICKLIN (No. 23 Hills Bros Coffee Dodge) - finished 17th: "At the start of the race, we were pretty much out to lunch. The car was really tight, couldn't seem to get loosened up. Finally, about halfway through, we hit on a few things and started to get it loosened up and getting it better and better and better. The guys made a good call there at the end. We took on two tires, and a lot of guys took on four, and it gave us track position. Finally, the last stop, a lot of guys came in ahead of us, and we elected to stay out on old tires and were able to hold them off. All in all, it was a good day, considering where we started."

STEVE PARK (No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet) - finished 7th: "It's a moral victory for us. It was just one of those deals where you could race. If your car wasn't set up right, you'd lose the handling and jump back a little bit, but you could pass on the outside, and we saw some three-wide (racing) down the back straight.

"I just love Indy. I think it's a great track. We love coming here to race. The Pennzoil Chevrolet was running great today. It was a really good racecar all day today. Track position was key right there at the end. I don't know how the leaders felt, but as soon as I got behind the 24 car, I could roll with him, but I'd get too tight.

"We took four (tires) with 30 (laps) to go, and when everybody pitted for two (tires) right there at the end, we stayed out. We gained the track position we needed. Paul Andrews (crew chief) did a really good job of calling the race and calling the tires. We're just happy to be here and have a top-10 finish.

"Last week at Pocono, for the first time I saw people walking around with a their heads up a little bit and a little skip in their step, and we qualified good and ran good and then ended up on our roof. To come here and qualify and run so good is definitely a morale booster, not just for myself, but for the whole Pennzoil team."

JIMMIE JOHNSON (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet) - finished 9th: "Man, to finish where we did with all the trouble we had fought. I have to take some credit for it (the trouble). I just don't know my way around here. But we still had a pretty wicked car in qualifying trim, and then when we got into race trim, we started making gains on it, and I got more familiar with the track. I was able to get Chad (Knaus, crew chief) the information that he needed to adjust the car for me. We knew something was wrong, but we just didn't know how to fix it. So once I got into a rhythm on Happy Hour, we sat on it last night, and the guys and Chad did an incredible job getting a car that I could drive, and our guys on pit road showed up today. They nailed some 13-second stops, got us some great track position, and we were able to hold our own when we were there, so it was really good."

About the heat: "It was hot. I just tried to keep breathing. The guys do a good job at keeping the air moving through the car and stuff, so actually I don't feel all that bad."

DALE JARRETT (No. 88 UPS Ford) - finished 10th: "I don't really know what happened with that pit situation. We didn't get the catch can out for some reason, so I had to come back in. We had a great race car, just never right to the front.

"Bill Elliott had a great day, and I had a great car. I don't know, we were out in front of him there. If we hadn't made that mistake, I don't know what would have happened."

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac) - finished 11th: "I was tight, then loose, for the most part of the day. Overall, the car was decent. We got up to about 11th place, that was as close as I could get. Passing was a matter of getting a good run on someone out of a corner. The heat wasn't as bad as last weekend, for whatever reason."

JIMMY SPENCER (No. 41 Target Dodge) - finished 31st: "I was real glad to see Bill Elliott win the race. That's pretty cool. Bill had a real fast car all weekend, and I'm pretty proud to see him win it for Dodge."

About the contact with Kurt Busch: "I don't know if something broke on his car or what. He just slowed down immediately, and I bumped him. I sure didn't mean to do it, you know. I thought something broke because he just really slowed down. I think Kurt has a lot to learn, and some of that is to control his mouth."

JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge) - finished 26th: "It wasn't a very good day. We had a problem. We had a rear-end gear that wasn't locking correctly, and we had it right at the very beginning. I called in and told them, and they told me that they had to change it because I had a problem with the other gear. So it was disappointing. The car would just go left and right. It was hard to drive. You just put sticker tires on it and drive the hell out of it. Do the best you can and just hang on the rest of the way."

About the heat: "It was brutal. I'm a little guy, and it tears little guys up. It gets that hot."

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 21 Motorcraft Ford) - finished 35th: "We blew a right front tire, messed up the front end, and broke a sway bar. Very frustrating day here at the Brickyard. Not what we wanted to do, but that's the way it goes sometimes."

About the heat: "I was pretty surprised. The guys kept some ice water and some ice packs ready for me. I can feel it right now, but actually with the wind circulating, it's not too bad."

JEFF GORDON (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) - finished 6th: "It's been a good week for us. That's a good solid run, and we never gave up. We had good pit stops, good strategy, and making smart calls. Really pretty much came home about the best that we were all day. It was so hot out there. The good thing is, Indianapolis is not a real demanding track from a driver's standpoint, with it being flat and as big as it is. It was just so miserable hot, thank goodness for the cautions. I think the cautions allowed all of us to kind of cool down and get some fluids in us and not get dehydrated.

"My guys took good care of me in the pits. I knew we had a good car yesterday in the final practice, but I didn't know we were going to be that good. I think a lot of guys missed their set-ups at the beginning of the race with the heat. Ours was just awesome. We were just driving up underneath guys and driving to the front. It was fun. I had a great time. Unfortunately, we kind of lost the handle on a couple sets of tires, and toward the middle of the race we were fading. We regrouped, made smart calls, came back in, got four tires and got that car back toward the front.

"It was a real good run for the DuPont Chevrolet. It's great for Bill Elliott, it's great for Ray Evernham. I'm happy for those guys. They certainly deserve it. They wore us out today. There was no one even in their class, and we all have to get to work on getting better if we're going to keep up with those guys."

MICHAEL WALTRIP (No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet) - finished 16th: "I had a push all day long. We'd get the car really free on new tires, and we'd try to help it on old ones, and it was just a handful, so we weren't balanced very well. We don't know why. Steve (Park) did a great job. I'm really happy for the Pennzoil team."

JOE GIBBS (Owner, No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac): "I thought Tony (Stewart) fought his guts out. Our pit crew did, too. We gave it our best shot. I thought we had a chance to win. I know it's a bitter disappointment for everybody, including Tony. This is the number-one place he wants to try to win a race. I thought we had a chance today, but hey, some other people were better, that's all."

About Bill Elliott: "I thought he was very, very good. To be quite truthful, that one run there, he came out there like he was shot out of a gun. He must have went past four of us. For sure, he probably had the dominant car."

About Tony Stewart's run: "We had a really good car. So Zippy (Greg Zipadelli) and Tony are making small adjustments, because you don't want to make something big out of it. As the day wore on, we got better at one point, then I think we fell away a bit. He didn't say anything on the radio. I know he was upset. When he doesn't say anything, he's upset."

About Tony Stewart's relationship with the media: "I've never been a great athlete that has severe disappointments. It's hard for me to say. This is the number-one place that he wants to win a race. It's a bitter disappointment. I think when you get him in that situation, it's hard for him to even talk. Sometimes, I think he says things he wishes he hadn't said. So, to be truthful, we've kind of tried to say 'Tony, the best thing to do might be just to not say anything.' So maybe, partially, some of that is our fault. I think it's just the heat of battle. This year, we've worked real hard on doing a lot of things. I think it's a work in progress. He knows he needs to control himself all the time. It's just hard sometimes. I think, in total context, that's how I look at it. The guy's got a heart of a champion. He wants to win races. There are so many good things there."

Was there a post-race altercation between Stewart and a photographer?: "I talked to the gentleman, and I feel confident we don't have a problem there. We had a good discussion. That's all I need to say about it."

BRETT BODINE (No.11 Hooters Ford) - finished 42nd "I was trying to get by Mike Wallace. Mike Skinner and I were running together, trying to get a pass on him. It looked like he [Wallace] cut a right front tyre, he just came around there. I went to the left to try and avoid him but he cut back off the wall too quick and caught me."

MIKE WALLACE (No.14 Conseco Pontiac) - finished 43rd "I cut a right front tyre coming off turn two, pretty much wide open on the throttle at that point. It's a shame for Conseco and the whole AJ Foyt Racing team. Its disappointing for Brett Bodine, we cut a tyre, shot up into the wall and came back and tore him up for the day."

KURT BUSCH (No.97 Rubbermaid Ford) - finished 41st "We've been struggling all weekend in turn three, we've had a problem in qualifying and now in the race.

"It's my fault, I shouldn't have been running all the way back there with that decrepit old has-been, [Jimmy Spencer] I guess he was a never was. I should have raced him side by side into the turn, I knew what kind of dirty driver he was, I shoulda known better."

GEOFFREY BODINE (No.09 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Ford) - finished 40th "I almost missed the barrier, it hurt. It didn't feel any different, I wish I could say it did but it didn't, it felt like any old wall, hard. I haven't had a chance to look at the car to see if it made a difference there yet."

CASEY ATWOOD (No.7 Sirius Dodge) - finished 38th "We had a great car, we were coming through the field we just couldn't get track position. I got inside Dale Earnhardt Jr coming down the main straight, we were racing pretty hard and I had to lift. Then I got a little help from behind and it pushed me high and into the wall. We can't get any luck right now."