Quotes of the week

"It's just a Goodyear right-rear tire. So it's the same thing everybody has been talking about all week. It's the same stuff that we always talk about every year — the failures that Goodyear has. I think that's part of their marketing campaign. The more we talk about it, the more press they get. I think they forget that it's supposed to be in a good way, not a bad way. Don’t get them [Goodyear officials] anywhere near me. Don’t bring them anywhere close; don’t let them come close. I don’t want anything to do with them. I'm ticked right now. I'm not happy. I'm not cordial. I'm not nice. I'm not anything right now and I shouldn't be. If it was because two guys wrecked and it was a driver's mistake that's one thing. But a manufacturer that has the sole deal here; they don't have any competition and they can't give us something to keep us from having problems like this. So I don't know. I'm just amazed at how much everybody kisses their (rear ends) right now. I'm just tired of talking about them. Tired of them being an issue. And us talking about them right now isn't going to change anything because it falls on deaf ears and that won't change." Tony Stewart, NASCAR driver, Stewart-Haas Racing, reacting to Stu Grant, director of worldwide racing, Goodyear, offering to explain Goodyear's exploding tire issues.

"I won't even watch it [Daytona 500] on TV, that's what it's like. It's crap is what it's like." Petty also commented about Reed Sorenson posting the fastest time during Saturday's practice while driving the iconic No. 43 Dodge that Richard Petty drove to seven championships, "It means nothing to me. Let's be real honest. There's Richard Petty Motorsports or whatever you want to call it. But there is no Petty Enterprises." Kyle Petty, NASCAR driver, who has run the season-opening Daytona 500 race more than 25 times, but was usually a backmarker, lost his job when Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and was rebranded Richard Petty Motorsports

"It's going to be really wet out here, because I'm crying like a baby. I tell you what, after last year, winning a race means a lot to me. I've had a lot of great opportunities in my life — from my family getting me in racing and really … all the sponsors that we have that have stuck by us and made this happen in an up-and-down economy. Man, I don't know. Winning the Daytona 500 is definitely a dream moment. It's just an unbelievable feeling." Matt Kenseth, NASCAR driver, Roush Fenway Racing, after winning the rain shortened Daytona 500