Nick Hayden's crewchief Merlyn Plumlee on current events.

On the 'is it the bike or is it the kid' question:

"I'm not going to lie to you, Nicky is 99% of the deal. He' so focused and doing such a good job. The new bike is really good and he's doing a good job, and really comfortable with it. Ultimately, he went faster on the old bike, but I think had we been able to use the new bike, with a qualifying tire, we certainly would have gotten in the 1:47s.

On the 2002 HRC RC51:

Nicky is far more comfortable on the 2002 bike than the 2001. The bike is mostly just an update. It's got much better grip from the rear, and much better front end feeling. The current 2001 bike has never been confidence inspiring, but from the first time Nick rode the new bike he was happy, he felt like he could attack the corner better than the 2001 bike. I don't know that it has more power. It probably does, but even if it didn't he would go faster just because he would be able to get off the corner better than he could on the old bike.

HRC has done a really nice job on the new bike; it's a really nice piece.

HRC had a very detailed test program for the bike and they wanted one guy to do it. Nicky is the one who drew the straw.

It was mostly testing of bits and pieces, so we really never really got a chance to make the thing work as good as it can. We're feeling good right now. I would not say confident because only a fool is confident when you come to Daytona.

On winning the last four races and breaking the track record at Daytona:

We're just hoping to continue with what we had at the end of the season. Nicky is a pretty special kid to work with. He's on the go.

On his relationship with Nick Hayden:

We've worked good together from day one.

He's far better today about telling us what the bike needs than he was a year ago; he's really advancing. Every time he learns a little something more, it just gets a bit easier for him to tell us what the bike needs. He's coming along really well in his communication skills.

I'm glad he stayed here for the years he did, because it'll pay dividends for him whenever he does finally run away.

From last year: Mr. Merlyn Plumlee is interviewed here..