When we first talked about (Loomis leaving), Steve's name was the first and only one discussed. He's a talented young man and we're looking forward to a bright future with him as crew chief.

Ricky and I talked about it and designed a shop and put our offices in there. We got Brian Whitesell, who was the architect, really, of the 24 and 48 coming together and made him team manager. When we put the two teams together 5 and 25, we promised him a bonus when they won their first race.

When we run like we ran [Sunday], we don't need to be in the chase. It won't make any difference. If you can't be in it and win it or have a shot at it.

I've talked to a lot of teams, discussed myriad types of offers. Some are player for player, some involve first-round draft picks, some involve savings, some involve a combination of those things. I'm encouraged by some of the things we were offered.

When I talked to evacuees, one of the things that struck me was that so many of them were saying, 'As terrible as this was, this may have given me the opportunity to reassess my own life and to think differently about what opportunities are available to me,' ... That, to me, is the great untold story.

We weren't surprised by what we got when he was a ninth-grader. We knew he was a talented young man. We just focused on getting him polished, getting him stronger.