NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CROWN ROYAL PRESENTS THE JEFF KYLE 400 AT THE BRICKYARD
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 24, 2015
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and discussed what it means to win at the Brickyard, his contract extension, the new aerodynamics package and many other topics. Full Transcript:
DO YOU GET ANY SENSE OF THE DIFFERENCE OF WHAT WINNING THIS RACE MEANS BETWEEN YOU VERSUS JEFF GORDON?
“For me it’s a special track for me. My whole world was the Indy 500. I wanted to be here and race in an open wheel car. Growing up in Southern California NASCAR just with the television package and media coverage then it wasn’t all that popular, especially in the 70s and 80s when I was coming up through. My whole direction and kind of guidance from Chevrolet was to move from off road trucks, to Trans Am, to Indy Lights to IndyCar. They came to me one day, I think it was at the Long Beach grand prix or at a Trans Am race meeting some owners and they said ‘hey we are pulling out of IndyCar next year. If you want to have a future in motorsports you need to move to North Carolina. You need to figure out this NASCAR thing.’ So it wasn’t long after that I bought a one-way ticket and was living in Charlotte trying to figure things out.
“To be here, to win here, granted it’s in a different vehicle, but it still has so much meaning to me because I sat on the couch watching it for years the 500 with my dad and my grandfather and it really was THE race for me growing up. Clearly I learned about Daytona later on and have been very fortunate to experience both. It’s hard to pick one. I could say that Daytona you feel like it’s a bit more out of your control for a win. Other’s decisions really lead to you staying at the head of the line or getting the push you need to finish in the lead. Where here it’s much more car/driver oriented and decisions you make really have an outcome. It’s a little bit more offensive of a win here and a little different feel.”
WHAT IS THE LATEST ON YOUR CONTRACT EXTENSION AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT CHAD (KNAUS, CREW CHIEF) TO BE BACK NEXT YEAR?
“We still have, is it next year on our contract? I don’t even know. We are obviously not concerned. We have been getting things buttoned up with Lowe’s, with Hendrick, with Chad and myself, all of that. Like I said, I think last week, I’m home it’s just a formality at this point to get everything kind of finished up and done.”
WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE COMING IN TODAY AND WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU ARE GOING TO BE THINKING ABOUT AND EXAMINING WITH THE NEW PACKAGE AND DIFFERENT GEARING?
“From my standpoint, it’s just how much throttle are we going to run around here? Is it flat in Qualifying; Turns 3 and 4 seem to be a little bit more forgiving than (Turns) 1 and 2. So do you run flat in (Turns) 3 and 4 and have to lift a little in (Turns) 1 and 2? With these vehicles, especially on the XFINITY side, we often hear that somebody ran wide-open around the race track and they’re a little bit slower. So, is it better to do a slight lift and not overload the chassis and have too much steering wheel input in the car and drag speed out of it? So, I’m excited to get on the track and figure out what the effort level is going to be. The driver’s inputs have such an outcome on the set-up of the race car, that from there, once we all get a rhythm, on the race track we can start making good changes. So, I know the team has lots of questions about power band and how we go about working this car. That tail section on the back of the car that we run on the superspeedways, that creates a lot of drag, so the ride-height of the vehicle is going to be real crucial and there’s varying theories on where that needs to be. So, today is going to be a very busy day and I’m not sure we’ll get all the answers we want, but we’ll at least get going in the right direction.”
AS FAR AS NOT KNOWING THE GEARING, HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE FROM YOUR POINT?
“It’s a big difference and I didn’t realize how sensitive the engines were until they reduced the power. I think with less power a couple hundred rpm is a massive difference in acceleration rate. And especially the starting point because the engines perform, if you pit a random number it’s 7500 is where they start to build. At 7300, there’s nothing there. So, if your minimum is 7500 on new tires, and then you have a second or two seconds of falloff, that just keeps moving down and the car is so doggy up off the turn. So, it’s not easy to get it right. And obviously with these long straightaways in the draft, you can get a lot of rpm. So, it’s not going to be an easy target to hit. And I would assume NASCAR’s is going to side on less gear to try to take care of the engines, if I was to guess.”
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO HERE, PROBABLY THE REST OF YOUR CAREER IS PROBABLY, IT’S ‘JEFF GORDON’S’ TRACK AND/OR ‘JEFF GORDON’S’ EVENT. IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU? ARE YOU PROBABLY GLAD TO SEE HIM GO IN TERMS OF COMPETITION AT THIS EVENT?
“No, I’m not glad to see him go. I’ve been so excited to watch Jeff win here and the success that he’s had here. Even how crazy this place has been when (Tony) Stewart has won here, it’s cool to see the fans get behind their guy. And I’ve been able to experience that at Fontana and just admire the experience that Jeff and even Tony have had here at the track with winning and watching this place go nuts over them winning.”
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