Letarte and Knaus on their replacements

STEVE LETARTE, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 24 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET: (ON THE PENALTIES IMPOSED BY NASCAR.) "It's been a great season so far and we have a really strong, championship-caliber team in place. The penalties are unfortunate and severe, but we'll put the situation behind us and focus on winning a fifth championship for the No. 24 team."

LETARTE: (ON INTERIM CREW CHIEF JEFF MEENDERING.) "Jeff is my go-to guy. We have similar backgrounds and we've both been here (with Hendrick Motorsports) a long time. This is a tough pill to swallow for me, but he'll do a great job leading the team and keeping things moving in a positive direction. We'll rally and Jeff will get more support from the organization than you can imagine."

CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 48 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET: (ON THE PENALTIES IMPOSED BY NASCAR.) "It's definitely disappointing, but we have a very capable and committed team. For whatever reason, we seem to thrive on adversity. We've overcome challenges in the past and I know we'll get through this as well. I didn't feel like we were outside the box in Sonoma, but that's NASCAR's call and they made it."

KNAUS: (ON INTERIM CREW CHIEF RON MALEC.) "Ron is the only car chief I've ever had on the No. 48 team. He knows the guys better than anyone and they all have a ton of respect for him and what he's accomplished. Ron has been our backbone from the beginning and he'll do a terrific job. It's not the way I wanted to see him get an opportunity, but he's ready and more than capable of getting it done. I'm grateful to have talented guys like Ron and Lance (McGrew) available. It just goes to show how deep this organization is."