Rookies speak out about MIS.

June's Kmart 400 at the Michigan International Speedway was not particularly kind to this year's Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders with Andy Houston failing to make the field, Kurt Busch retiring on lap 16 and only Kevin Harvick and Jason Leffler finishing inside the top 29. Sunday's Pepsi 400 however will be very different if the 2001 rookie crop gets their way.

Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick currently leads the 2001 Raybestos Rookie of the Year points standings by a commanding 43 points over Roush Racing's Kurt Busch. Harvick started the Kmart 400 at the Michigan International Speedway in eighth place and finished tenth, the only rookie on the lead lap.

HOW MUCH HELP IS HAVING ONE RACE UNDER YOUR BELT GOING TO BE WHEN YOU GET BACK TO MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY?

KH"I think the biggest thing is knowing what the tires are going to feel like and knowing what the racetrack is going to do through the race. It is a wide enough racetrack where you can run either the top or the bottom. Michigan is a place that I look forward to going and racing. I think we can improve a little bit and hopefully be capable of winning the race.

"I think Michigan is the first race that we're going back to for the second time. I think it's going to show if we're going to get better or get worse. Sometimes you get worse when you go back. It will be nice to go somewhere that we've been to, been in the car and been on the tires, and understand how to get in and out of the pits."

SINCE THIS IS YOUR SECOND VISIT TO MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY, DO YOU HAVE HIGH EXPECTAIONS?

KH"I think so. We ran so well there last time. We had a car capable of winning the race and we got caught in the pits when the yellow came out. Knowing how good we were last time, I think going back this time we do have better expectations."

Kurt Busch started 11th in the Kmart 400 in the No.97 Sharpie Rubbermaid Ford and was set to post another strong result before being sidelined in an accident on just the 16th lap and being classified 43rd and last.

KB"It won't be too difficult to exceed our expectation from last time since we wrecked so early in the race. We brought at different type of car to Michigan and I tried to work with a set-up that was very unfamiliar with it. We went back to the normal basics after that and we've been able to put together some consistent runs.

"Going back to a track for the second time is always better than the initial time. When I ran there last year in the Craftsman Truck Series, we finished second and qualified well; it was more of a solid weekend for us. I've got the track experience and now I've got a Winston Cup race under my belt. With the draft at Michigan it's greater than I expected and that's where we got into trouble.

EXPLAIN HOW MORE LAPS ON A RACETRACK HELPS YOU AND IN WHAT AREAS.

KB"The biggest thing that you receive from race experience is what you learn with other cars: how to pass, what the draft offers as far as other passing zones, and the different racetrack conditions. Michigan is one of the tracks like Charlotte and Indianapolis that changes dramatically with cloud cover and temperature change. It gets back to being comfortable with racetrack so you can be aggressive with wheel inputs or throttle inputs or braking inputs to where you know what the car is going to react to when you do those types of things."

Following a distant 30th place finish in June's Kmart 400 after qualifying 34th, Casey Atwood will be looking for a dramatic improvement in Sunday's Pepsi 400 as he bids to salvage something from what has altogether been a disappointing rookie year for the Dodge driver.

WHY ARE YOU SO EXCITED ABOUT RETURNING TO MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY?

CA"I've never really cared much for Michigan Speedway, but I'm actually pretty excited about going back this time. We're taking that brand new car that we ran at Indy. It was real strong at Indy and we thought it had a shot to win. This is probably the first time ever in my career that I'm looking forward to going to Michigan. I think we're going to have a good shot."

WHAT HAS BEEN THE PROBLEM WITH YOU AND MICHIGAN?

CA"The first time I ran there I had a pretty bad wreck. That's probably the worst wreck I've ever had. That's probably most of it. I've never run well there. I've always run bad and took provisional there. It's just not one of my good racetracks."

IS MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY AN "EASY" RACETRACK AS TRACKS GO?

CA"It doesn't seem to be a hard track. You would think it would be one of my good ones because it doesn't have a lot of bank and it's pretty smooth. If you look at it you'd think that it would be a pretty good track for me but it hasn't been good to me. But, like I said, I'm really looking forward to it. We're taking a good car back that we know runs good and maybe we can improve our relationship with Michigan."

YOUR TEAMMATE, BILL ELLIOTT, HAS WON AT MICHIGAN SEVEN TIMES IN HIS CAREER. DOES HE OFFER ANY ADVICE ON MICHIGAN?

CA"He's been able to help me out with all of the tracks. Anytime I have a question about any kind of track I can go to him, especially about a track like Michigan where he knows a lot about it and has won races and a lot of poles there. We'll be talking a lot this week."

AJ Foyt Racing's Ron Hornaday was another rookie who struggled badly in June's Kmart 400 and has not fared well at several other tracks likened to the D shaped oval. After finishing 32nd at MIS in June both he and the No.14 Pontiac squad have been trying desperately to get a handle on getting the car into a competitive shape for Sunday's event.
RH"You can't compare racetracks. [MIS and Fontana] There's a difference in the banking and the way the asphalt is poured and stuff like that. You go to every racetrack with an open frame of mind and do what you have to do to get the car to go around that racetrack."

YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN IMPROVING EACH AND EVERY WEEK. WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD RUN FOR RON HORNADAY AT MICHIGAN?

RH"We need a good strong finish. We've been running well; we just haven't got good finishes. Anything from 15th on up that's what we're looking at and that's what we need to do to capitalize on it."

DO YOU HAVE HIGHER EXPECATIONS GOING BACK TO TRACKS FOR A SECOND TIME?

RH"I expect myself to do good every week. I'm probably harder on myself than anybody else is. The bodies are getting better and we're getting some good cars underneath us. We're buying some new cars and putting some standard stuff underneath it. We've raised the bar on our whole deal. We've got to crawl before we can start walking and that's what we're doing now: we're taking baby steps. If we go out there and make the race in a good solid effort in qualifying and go out there and run respectably and not get laps down. That's our biggest thing right now. When you start doing that it pumps the team up and the team starts doing their pit stops rather well. That's going to get you to where you run in the top-10 and the top-10s will get you wins. Right now, we've got to take baby steps and go out to these next couple of races and finish these races and finish them strong."

WHAT'S THE KEY TO GETTING AROUND MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY?

RH"I wish I knew. I've only been there a handful of times in a Busch car and I ran there in a truck. The only time I ran there in a Cup car we were terrible (in June). I think you've got to have the whole package of aerodynamics, motor, and everything else. Right now these tires take a spring combination and shock combination that we're still searching for."