Dale Earnhardt, a seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion, is the only Chevrolet driver in the Top 13 after the first three races this season. The driver of the #3 Monte Carlo stands seventh, 73 points behind leader Bobby Labonte. Rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #8 Budweiser Monte Carlo, is the next best Chevy in 14th position; 121 points behind Labonte. Three other Monte Carlo drivers are in the Top 20 -- Terry Labonte (15th), Sterling Marlin (16th) and Kenny Irwin (19th).

Monte Carlo crew chiefs discuss the rule modification and how it could help at Atlanta this weekend.

"I just hope it doesn't mess up the balance we have on the car right now. We need more front downforce and that's what this should give us. I just hope it doesn't mess up the rear. You've got to have a tradeoff somewhere. If it helps one end, it usually hurts the other. Richard (car owner Childress) has been yelling for them to give us something. If this doesn't fix it, we'll work harder on something else to make it better. We need more front downforce, and you just can't turn around and get that.

"It'll work more for us during the race than qualifying. Anybody can go out there and hit it right with fresh tires and run one fast lap. We're just looking for some consistency. We got on the tight side the longer we ran last week at Las Vegas. More front downforce would have made us better there, that's for sure, but it's pretty complicated. It's a vicious circle really. It's not as simple as people think to get a chassis and aerodynamic balance. That's when you can really haul the mail. Usually, one end or the other suffers. When you can get the car to stick in the front and the back and have a neutral chassis setup, you can really mash the gas.

"We ran good at Rockingham, but it was a compromise. We ran decent at Las Vegas, but if you made one adjustment, it would really react one way or the other. We put half a pound of air in the tires on one pit stop and it got so loose that Dale couldn't drive it. I've been with a lot of different drivers -- good, bad and the best. I've worked on a lot of different cars -- Fords, Olds, Chevys and Pontiacs. I've had all of the makes with good bodies and bad bodies, and I've had them with good drivers and bad drivers. A good body and chassis can make a bad driver look good, and a bad body and chassis can make a good driver look bad. You've got to have the total package to win.

"Dale feels good about the race team this year. We've been fortunate to hit on some pretty good packages throughout the races. He can make up a ton for you on the superspeedways. His driving style was right at Rockingham for the conditions we were faced with, and if Vegas had played out, I think we had a shot at the Top 5. He's positive. He realizes we're at a deficit with the car the way it is right now, but he's focusing on what we've got.

"We just want to be equal with them. Look at IROC. That's as equal as you can get things. You put Dale Earnhardt in an IROC car and he shines. Just give him something to work with, and he'll drive the wheels off of it. If we were racing the same bodies every week, he'd beat their butts. I've never seen Dale this pumped up. I think he just feels good after the surgery. He has a positive attitude about his two teams, and he feels like they're making headway.

"I feel good about it, too. Before the season I was a little down and depressed because of the wind tunnel numbers I was hearing. Someone said people are afraid of the dark because they don't know what's in it. You've got to be careful not to race the wind tunnel numbers or the aero numbers, but you have to base something on the numbers you're hearing. Sometimes you are afraid of what's out there in the dark. When you hear the Chevy is better than the Pontiac in the wind tunnel, then you really scratch your head. Total downforce is the main thing, and Ford still has the advantage there.

"It's a tough deal for NASCAR. They hear the Chevys crying about what they want. They hear Fords crying about what we don't need and then Dodge is coming in next year. I think you've just got to look at the competition on the track and evaluate it. I don't think Jeff Gordon has forgotten anything. Robbie Loomis came over from a competitive Pontiac team, and it shouldn't be that big of a stepping stone for him. Mike Skinner and Larry McReynolds finished in the Top 10 in the points last year, and they haven't forgotten anything.