Kevin Windham:

Q. How are the first couple of rounds going for you?

A. I knew going in I wasn't going to be quite as prepared as I needed to. I had a broken finger and wasn't able to ride like I wanted to. With the way the first to rounds have been going, everyone seems to be hit and miss. I don't think by any stretch of the imagination I am out of the game or hurting at any point. I know I am getting stronger and faster and I am riding a lot so everything is working for me. I think I missed an opportunity a little bit with the two guys that everyone was talking about not doing so well, but its a long season. We have a lot of time and I am building speed and strength fast.

Q. Were you surprised that Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath, since all the pre-season hype was talking about them, that they have had such a difficult time?

A. Yea, actually it does. Obviously they surprised everybody or they wouldn't be talking about them so much. There is a lot of pressure on those guys. Its good, there are a lot of fast guys out there and for the press to be just so into two guys, its a slap in the face. I know a lot of riders who think 'hey I know I can so this,' and I know David (Vuillemin) did and thought he could and Travis is coming off of a high right now. I feel like my season is strong too, I always finish stronger than I start. I think Ricky and Jeremy are going to get it down and they was just a lot of hype and a lot of pressure on them.

Q. Your supercross season have typically picked up after a couple of rounds. Do you feel ready to do that again?

A. With the way I was with my riding coming in, I knew coming in, and you don't really talk about it, but I knew that I hadn't spent enough time on the bike. At the rate I am increasing and the time we are spending at the practice track I really feel I am coming on strong. We had 14 rounds left. That is a lot of time. My rate of improvement is better than it has been.

Q. This are different for you this year. You are going to the races in a bus?

A. (Laughs) Yea the Love Bus, Magic Bus, whatever. I am joking. I think for me the biggest drawback to racing was traveling. In the bus it takes longer to do it than an airplane but when I am in it I feel at home even when I am on the road. I have a driver so I can still do everything I need to in the back. It's such a big bus I don't feel cramped or anything. When I get to a race I set up, I can wash my clothes, take a shower, watch TV or whatever. For me it is working out incredibly for the first two rounds. I know we have to hit the road in a little bit for the other rounds, but for me it has eliminated the biggest drawback to my career.

Travis Pastrana:

Q. What San Diego the race where things started coming together for you?

A. San Diego is more of what I expected. Everyone in the top 20 expects to go out there are win. That's not reality for most. The first weekend I felt really good. I got second in my qualifier here at Anaheim. In the main I was coming through the pack and got taken out and had a mechanical due to front spokes pulling out. Last weekend, second (I was) happy, I made the 20 laps strong. The last lap was actually the fastest lap anyone turned all night. My endurance is there which is something a lot of people had questioned. Second is good, it's a good start, but I want to win.

Q. Does it typically take a season for a 125 champion to get used to the pace in 250 supercross?

A. It takes some people their whole life and it takes some people a year. It depends on the individual. Usually when you move up you crash a lot in your first season. It's because the 250 enables you go go faster and you don't want to get beat. Basically you try to use the bike to it's fullest potential.

Q. You had a good race in your first 250 race here at Anaheim, fifth, what happened after that?

A. Yea my first 250 race was fifth place. In the second round I had ally bad concussion. When I came back here I ended up passing out halfway through the race.

Q. You passed out while you were racing?

A. I made it to the side. I got just really whoosy. When you have a concussion, now I know, then I didn't, I felt pretty good when I was sitting around I am like yea, my head is fine, nothing is broken. I might as well go out there. All the bouncing and shaking I guess (was the problem). I passed all the cat scans before I went out. It was nothing too serious I just came back too soon.

Q. How do you keep yourself tuned up for some of the fun stuff like freestyle? You can go and win the X Games ahead of people who do freestyle full time. You are doing this racing full time and you are spanking those guys. How do you do that?

A. People don't understand, racing comes first. I train. I ride. I pride myself on being if not the most fit, one of the fit, being able to ride the entire moto strong. After I have done my training, I will go out for 45 minutes to an hour every day and just have fun. I just playride and do freestyle.

Q. What is it like coming to Suzuki saying "I want to jump my bike into the Grand Canyon?"

A. No, you don't come to Suzuki and say 'I want to jump my bike into the Grand Canyon,' you say 'hey check out this picture!'

Q. Is that a case of it is easier to ask forgiveness than beg permission?

A. Much easier!

Q. How many grey hairs have you given Roger DeCoster?

A. Roger is actually the best team manager in the world. That's the honest truth. He is a five-time world champion. He understands what we go through.

Q. What about this weekend? Are you ready to do it?

A. I am ready to win.. I won't be happy with anything other than a first, but I will be satisfied with a podium. This series is going to take consistency. If I can stay in the top three every week, I will be pretty happy.

Q. Two weeks ago what was your goal for the series, and has it changed?

A. Before the start of Anaheim, my goal was to make top five every weekend. I didn't think I had a shot at the championship. I was hoping to win some races. After Anaheim, even the the finish wasn't that great. I went home saying, 'I can win this thing, I can win this championhsip.' Especially after last weekend, I know I have the fitness, I know I have the speed that it takes. If I can just stay on two wheels. I am my own worst enemy, basically.

Shane Bess:

Q. How is it going for you so far?

A. Round one was the worst weekend of my life and round 2 was the best.

Q. It is tough to make the transition from amateur racing?

A. Yea its a big transition, but it would be bigger if I didn't have such a great team. That has helped out a lot.

Q. What has the team done for you to prepare you for your rookie year?

A. A lot of testing, all the team riders are always at the track together. That's the main thing, solid riders getting to ride together.

Q. What helped Suzuki make the decision to hire you?

A. I think it was I have been with Suzuki my whole career and I didn't want to go anywhere else. They wanted to have me on the team also.

Q. Any surprises after 2 rounds?

A. I thought it was going to be harder to get the tracks down, but so far it seems pretty easy to get them down. Everything else I was ready for. The daytime qualifiers are pretty wild. I thought they were going to be easy but there are so guys out there that are pretty scary to ride with.

Danny Smith:

Q. How is the season going for you so far? Last year you had some really good rides and you got hurt.

A. Yes. Last year started out a little better than this year, but I still think I am a better rider this year, more polished, stronger. Last year I got a lot of good breaks, good gate picks and good starts. When it came down to it I really didn't have the experience. The first race this year I was riding really well but had a DNF from a first turn incident. Last weekend I had a first turn deal and had to come from the back. It was tough on that track last weekend, it was hard to pass. I am going to do better.

Q. So its been rough so far?

A. So far, its been definitely not what I wanted. There have only been two races and we have all year so I can't really get too down on myself. I just have to try and turn it around.

Q. How many years should someone race in the 125 class?

A. Now I think it depends on if you are competitive in that class. If you were to see maybe everyone do a year or two in 125s and go to 250 one class would be more lopsided than the other. As long as its good racing it doesn't really matter. There are guys like Mike Brown riding and he has been around forever, and I guess John Dowd I guess he is going to come back the 125 class. I think the fans would rather see good racing, sometimes the 125 class is so chaotic, people are just going for it because they are new. People know what to expect for 250s, in 125s people don't know what to expect.

Q. Are you working with Greg Albertyn?

A. Yes. What Albee has been doing is coming to the west coast races. He comes out to practice. He helps smooth things along, helps with training on the bike. He helps motivate the guys and keep us going. Suzuki has put a lot of guys behind us this year. Blimpie is our new sponsor, for us (125 team), and Sobe for the 250. It just ads to their effort.

Q. What's it like having a celebrity boss like Roger DeCoster?

A. Its good for me. Its an advantage. I think all the team managers do a really good job but Roger has been there. He is someone to look up to because he set the standard a long time ago. He is still to this day, in terms of development, going non-stop.

Q. Two weeks ago what was your goal for the season?

A. Definitely a championship. That's my goal. That is what I set out to do all last season, but I had my injury.

Q. A bad night in west 125 supercross does not mean the end of your championship hopes does it?

A. No. If I would be able to pull off a couple of wins, I would be right back in the mix. It's going to come down to Salt Lake City.