NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FEDEX 400 BENEFITING AUTISM SPEAKS
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 29, 2015
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PRO SERVICES CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media and discussed going for win number 10 at Dover, the penalties issued last weekend after Charlotte, what he likes about racing at Dover and many other topics. Full Transcript:
TALK A LITTLE ABOUT THIS WEEKEND. GOING FOR WIN NUMBER 10 HERE AT DOVER AND YOUR CONFIDENCE HEADED INTO THE RACE ON SUNDAY:
“I feel good about it. I’m excited about this race track. It’s been such a great place to me over the years and certainly a place I’ve loved to drive at. I have probably told this story way too many times, but I go all the way back to my first trip here in an ASA (American Speed Association) car and it was love at first site. It’s been great to me and look forward to another strong weekend.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW TOUGH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HAD YOU NOT APPEALED AND HAD TO TAKE THE LAST PIT SELECTION AND HOW MUCH A DIFFERENCE IT WILL MAKE THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT?
“Yeah, I mean I guess there is that part of it. My qualifying record of late hasn’t been so stellar. We won’t know the implications of that until after qualifying, obviously. We will find out then and I guess the stories will run wild then.”
HOW DIFFERENT IS IT ENTERING A TRACK LIKE THIS KNOWING THAT UNLIKE A CHARLOTTE WHERE YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT KIND OF LOOSING THE FEEL WHEN THEY CHANGED THE RACE TRACK? DOVER HASN’T CHANGED. IS IT A DIFFERENT TYPE OF CONFIDENCE COMING HERE KNOWING YOU ARE GOING TO BE IN THE BALLPARK OR HAVE THE CAR TO WIN?
“Yeah, it is a different mindset coming here. It’s very serving and works well for us, but rules package change, tire combinations change and we do still need to chase the balance of the racecar. I find that the moments when we are off, we are probably a little more anxious than we would be at other tracks, due to the fact that we have been so good here. There is this level of expectation that we have amongst ourselves that we don’t even realize, until we are in that challenging moment. I think last fall we ran third here, but a distant third to the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) who was in control all race long. Man it was like we finished 35th when we finished the race and the demeanor on the team. There are many pros to it, but then some cons do show up down the road.”
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT MAKING A LAP HERE?
“I guess to generalize it, it would be the intensity required to run a lap here. Corner entry has a whole series of events that are fun at both ends of the race track. You land in the corner, the steep banking and the speed and force you carry in really gets your attention. And then trying to get the power down is always challenging too. You finally commit to the throttle and you are nearly airborne again up onto the straightaway. It’s hard to say that there is one aspect that I enjoy the most, but just the set of corners from straightaway to straightaway you kind of work up your bravery, you make it through the corner, you get on the next straightaway, you smile, ‘like wow that was pretty cool, I’m going to do it again, here with go.’ And you fly through (Turns) 3 and 4 and you just end up with that mindset around the racetrack. It’s a ton of fun.”
WERE YOU GUYS SURPRISED BY THE PIT STALL SELECTION PENALTY AND I ASSUME THE ISSUE FOR YOU GUYS IS MORE THE WARNING ON THE SIDE SKIRT THAN GOING THROUGH TECH?
“We definitely don’t agree with what has happened and getting the letters. That is why the appeal has taken place. I look forward to the appeal process running its course and respect it. I certainly hope for a different outcome once everything runs its course.”
IF YOU GET YOUR 10TH WIN HERE THIS WEEKEND, YOU WILL BE ONE OF ONLY FIVE DRIVERS THAT HAVE TEN WINS AT A RACE TRACK. THE LAST GUY TO DO IT WAS DALE EARNHARDT. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT YOU ARE PUTTING UP IN ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE TIMES IN NASCAR AND WHERE IT IS PUTTING YOU AMONG THE GREATS?
“Yeah, it’s crazy for me to have this reality. It’s nothing that I thought would happen. I’m certainly enjoying the moment while I’m here. My mind has had to switch over to a different role in certain scenarios, and the championship scenario, obviously. At this race track, and at Martinsville; there are a few tracks where I’m in a really neat position to chase history. Again, it’s not a situation I ever thought I’d find myself in, but now that I’m here it’s certainly in front of me. It’s on my mind and it’s something I would love to do. If I was able to accomplish it, I’d just be honored to be in that same situation that had been done by Dale Earnhardt, Sr. I never had the chance to race against him. It’s one big empty void that I have in my career, I feel, is that I never had a chance to be crashed by him or have a tire mark put on my car to pass (laughs), or to be passed by. That whole experience, I didn’t have that opportunity and I so wish that I did.”
WE ARE COMING UP ON THAT HALFWAY POINT IN THE SEASON IN A FEW WEEKS. HOW DO YOU STAND NOW COMPARED TO HOW YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE AT THIS POINT?
“Race days, I think we’re on par. We’ve been comparative. We’ve won three (races) and been in contention for a few more. We’ve just got to cleanup Fridays. That’s really been the weak spot and it just creates so much more difficult for us over the course of the weekend. So, I’d give myself a different grade for race day than I would for qualifying. And it’s somewhere that we’re focused to really get right.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THIS STRETCH IN THE SCHEDULE? 600 MILES AT CHARLOTTE, 400 MILES HERE, 400 MILES NEXT WEEK AT POCONO….IS THIS STRETCH MORE GRUELING THAN MAYBE SOME OF THE OTHER STRETCHES ON THE SCHEDULE?
“The summer stretch is always grueling. I think the mileage at most tracks, not the 600, but the mileage is just something we’re seasoned to and conditioned to perform at. As the humidity comes up and the heat kicks in, it’s a big challenge for everyone. When you think about the guys turning wrenches on the car from when the garage opens to when it closes, the guys jumping over the wall, the guys and gal in the cars, it’s definitely a tough summer stretch for us and one that I really look forward to. I love the physical aspect. I also think that the race tracks change and get slicker and more difficult to drive and that’s something that I look forward to as well.”
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