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[/media-credit]NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
POCONO 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
June 8, 2012
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed the how the cars are responding to repave, the faster speeds on the new surface, the difference in pressure this season verses last year, and much more. Full transcript.
TALK ABOUT THE TESTING AND WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE COMING INTO SUNDAY’S RACE.
“Definitely a lot of track time. It’s great for all the teams. It’s nice for us to get a feel for the track. Just watching the television now, a grove hasn’t opened up a lot yet and I hope that it does. It usually takes a little while for us to find a second and third lane, but I have to comment on the comfort of the cars around here at these higher speeds. As of now, I put a lot of credit into the asphalt mix that was put down. Charlotte, Phoenix, we go to some of these places with the new asphalt aggregate and we can’t get a tire to stick to it. We run fast, but the car is really on edge and isn’t all that comfortable. It makes us tentative in the car, and I don’t think we put on the best racing that we can.
“This track still has the characteristics it had in the past. It’s not perfectly smooth. There still are some interesting transitions in and out of the corners. We can see where some bumps will develop and I think those are all very good things for stock cars around this race track. I think we’ll put on a good show. Once this track ages we’ll move around some more, but from getting on the race track, feeling the repave standpoint, I don’t think it could have gone much better.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE WITH THE 400 MILES, SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS, THE NEW ASPHALT THAT POCONO’S REPUTATION COULD CHANGE?
“Yeah, I so appreciate the effort made by the race track. As far as the Mattioli’s and what they mean to our sport and who they are as people, I can’t say enough great things about them and how much I do enjoy coming here for those reasons. You know the track is so big and the straightaways are so long, it really wasn’t all that much fun to drive until we had that patch up in turn three and we all started chasing that patch and created a passing zone. I guess I probably favor short tracks more, a mile and below than I would larger tracks. Anything from a safety standpoint, the improvements that they’ve made its just needed and necessary. I know it’s not cheap, so I’m grateful they made that commitment to the track and us drivers to keep it safe. So, we’ll just see where the asphalt goes. Hopefully we can get multiple lanes working and put on a great show.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT THE COMFORT IN THE CAR, THAT DOESN’T ALWAYS LEND TO EXCITING RACES DOES IT? DENNY HAMLIN WAS SAYING THE REPAVE SORT OF TOOK HIS ADVANTAGE HERE AWAY, DO YOU STILL FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE WITH YOUR AVERAGE FINISH AND ALL THAT YOU’VE DONE BEFORE THE REPAVE?
“I know what you mean by that, but when I look back at Phoenix last November, granted I didn’t see the race for the lead because I was running like 10th or something, but we were so on edge we were afraid to really get side by side to race with each other. I don’t see that being the case here. That’s the part that I’m looking at. We’re more comfortable in the car to be willing to throw it inside of someone. Maybe try it on the outside of someone and take those risks and those chances where at Phoenix, you’re on ice. You wanted no one around you, didn’t want to run side by side with anyone, you wanted all the race track to control your own car.
“From an advantage standpoint, I experienced that at Charlotte when they repaved it. The old, rough, abrasive race track, we had something there that worked from a car standpoint and from what I did inside the car. Then the repave took that away. So, there is a chance that can happen to the No. 11 team. I think when the grip is this high, it bunches the field up. There’s more available grip for everyone to have and your setup doesn’t have to be as good. I do also know that certain tracks just fit certain drivers and teams so I still count on the No. 11 being one of the guys to race for the trophy.”
WITH POCONO BEING A FRESH REPAVE, DOES THIS JUST KIND OF FALL INTO THE NO. 48 HANDS BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE SO GOOD AT READING TRENDS AND SEEING TRENDS AND THEN DEVELOPING YOUR PROGRAM AROUND IT?
“I don’t know. I don’t think the track will change a lot from now until when we come back in a few short weeks. My last impression of the track is how we were yesterday, and we were probably a top-10 car. Some of my teammates were right at top-three, top-five cars so we have a little work to do yet today. So, I don’t have that warm, fuzzy feeling yet with my pace. I think we’ll be okay but we’re looking to today and hopeful to find a little more speed.”
AS FAST AS YOU’RE RUNNING HERE NOW, HOW RADICALLY HAS THAT CHANGED THE WAY YOU RUN A LAP HERE IN TERMS OF BRAKE POINTS, CORNER ENTRY, SHIFT POINTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT? BEING TWO SECONDS UNDER THE OLD TRACK RECORD ALREADY, WHAT DO YOU THINK ITS GOING TO TAKE TO WIN THE POLE HERE?
“It’s going to be fast for sure. Even though we’re going so much faster, the comfort is there in the cars and that’s why we are able to lay down these laps. Then the tire is holding up so then again I think it speaks to the tire/asphalt combination and how important that really is that those two materials agree with one another. You know you’re in the gas a long time. I’d say the corner that is most apparent for that is turn three. You’re in the throttle well before you see any part of the straightaway. We certainly are getting in the corners deeper and roll in the center fast, but the thing that stands out to me the most is how soon you are to wide-open. Then really if you are shifting, how quickly you need to grab fourth (gear). It’s a considerable from last year when we were shifting.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THIS YEAR, HOW IT’S GONE FOR YOUR, AND YOUR MINDSET COMING INTO THIS YEAR AND HOW IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER YEARS COMING OFF THOSE CHAMPIONSHIPS?
“The hunger doesn’t change, that’s been there my whole life and even through last year and this year, that doesn’t change any. That desire is there, and when that desire fades I guess it’s time to hang up the helmet. I feel less pressure than what we had last year. I sat up here and told everyone that I didn’t feel a lot of pressure trying to keep the streak alive but once the streak was closed out and I couldn’t keep it alive, I felt a lot different. So, looking back on it I was under a lot of pressure and I don’t have that pressure right now. One, we’ve been very fast and have fast race cars and won a few races this year here recently. So, that helps to. The pressure of trying to keep that streak alive was greater than I ever thought it was.”
OBVIOUSLY HENDRICK (MOTORSPORTS) IS ON A ROLL AND YOU’RE ON A ROLL, BUT WHEN YOU COME TO A TRACK LIKE POCONO THAT’S BEEN REPAVED, IS THERE AN EVEN SLATE FOR EVERYBODY SHOWING UP HERE?
“I think it’s pretty even especially when you get a couple of days of practice and everybody had their telemetry on the cars and worked on data files, sent them back to the shop, and everybody analyzed them and that kind of stuff. So, I feel like that open test sessions really create equality and give everybody a chance to make their cars better.”
CARL (EDWARDS) WAS IN HERE YESTERDAY TELLING US HOW ASTETICALLY THINGS FELT DIFFERENT TO HIM, WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IN TERMS OF YOUR VISUAL POINTS THAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT?
“I’m not one that uses those visual references unless we’re on a road course. I have a lot of young drivers that we work with and it always amazes me what they notice and see from a fence pole, to a cone hanging from a fence, or some other reference outside of the racing surface. I’ve never been one to look at those things. So, to me it is different because it’s black instead of that old lighter gray with all the cracks and stuff in it. I haven’t looked out and around as Carl has.”
THE ROLL THAT YOU’VE BEEN ON SINCE DARLINGTON, THE MOMENTUM THAT YOU’VE GATHERED, DOES THAT MOMENTUM BLEED OVER TO YOUR TEAMMATES?
“It does go through the organization. When any member of the team runs well or wins, all the other drivers, crew chiefs, and engineers focus on that setup and what in that setup worked for them and what can we apply to our car, or do we need to completely get rid of what we were using and go that route. It stimulates conversation and also direction. It only goes so far. I really think the most useful momentum is the momentum of your own team running well. It just builds confidence in all the people that make decisions, even the guys that go over the wall and have to perform. When you are able to pull into victory lane, it just reinforces everything you do and gives you the confidence that everyone needs. Luckily all four of our Hendrick cars have been running very, very well, so we’ve been reaping the rewards of both forms of momentum.”
BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THE CHASE STARTS, YOU’LL HAVE TWO RACES A POCONO THAT HAVE BEEN SHORTENED AND REPAVED, TWO AT MICHIGAN AT A REPAVE, AND ONE AT BRISTOL WHICH WILL BE SORT OF REPAVED, DO YOU THINK THOSE FIVE RACES WILL HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT ON THE SEASON THAN TYPICALLY DUE TO THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES?
“I haven’t thought about that. Yes, I do. Bristol, it’s kind of a wild card. I know there has been a lot of caution-free racing there of late, but stuff does happen and when somebody does get turned around it can take out a bunch of cars. When I think of Michigan and Pocono, there’s really three or four cars that are in the mix every time. I think the repave shuffles that up some and brings more guys into the mix, so it could have an impact.”
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