NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOOD SAM 500
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 11, 2016
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PRO SERVICES CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the new rules package, the tire, his opinion following last week’s race in Las Vegas, athletes on pit crews, and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
ON THE NEW RACE PACKAGE, WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW GOING INTO THE START OF THE SEASON?
“From inside the car, I feel like I can get closer to cars around me and not have my car kinda bug-out in traffic; and I feel like this is going to create more passing opportunities. I think some tracks might show that a little bit easier than others, but I feel like riding in traffic the car is a lot more in control deep in the pack and I can get closer to cars in front of me. From the rules package standpoint, that’s what we’re trying to create. And I think we’re on the right track.”
NEXT WEEK, YOU’RE RUNNING THE SUPERMAN PAINT SCHEME, WHILE DALE EARNHARDT JR. IS RUNNING THE BATMAN. HOW DID YOU GUYS DETERMINE WHO WAS GOING TO DO WHICH ONE, AND WERE YOU A BATMAN-GUY OR A SUPERMAN-GUY GROWING UP?
“I didn’t have a say, but I was very happy to end up with Superman. I think Mark Martin called me that years ago, and some have used that reference in a nickname from time to time. I feel like it was much more fitting than Batman. Superman is going to kick Batman’s butt, bottom line.”
YOU TALKED IN JANUARY AT THE LAS VEGAS TEST ABOUT THE SPEEDS THAT YOU FOUND AND WONDERED WHETHER IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT. WAS THERE MUCH CHANGE BASED ON THE TIRE SELECTION, THAT YOU SAW LAST WEEK? AND, DO YOU THINK MORE STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN BASED ON WHAT YOU SAW LAST WEEK?
“I really feel it’s a learning process. The conversations that myself and the drivers’ council and the drivers in general had with NASCAR and Goodyear, we all understand that every surface creates a different challenge. At the test session, I commended Goodyear for coming in with the softest tire, the highest wear tires that they have kind of built in the last period of time. It worked fantastic at Kansas and I still think it worked well at Las Vegas. Just as a reference point, I think we were maybe at least a second, if not closer to a second and a half slower in the race weekend than we were in the test. So, temperature has a big impact on the top speed of the cars and the tire fall-off. I guess we all kind of knew, but it was one of those moments for me that I had to remind myself of. So, it’s a moving target. This tire and downforce package is new. I think as we get into the summer months, this package is really going to shine and the soft tire is really going to create the racing that we want. At the same time, Goodyear and NASCAR and the drivers’ council and everybody involved is continuing to make it better and better. All the drivers that I spoke to following the Vegas race, sure the speeds were a little high; they weren’t as high as the test, which was a great step in the right direction. But everybody loved driving the race cars. There was a lot of positive feedback from the competitors.”
THERE WAS A STRETCH A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN NOBODY COULD BEAT YOU AT THIS PLACE. HOW HARD IS IT TO BEAT KEVIN HARVICK RIGHT NOW?
“It’s tough. There’s no way around it. I was probably one of the few that was screaming and yelling, don’t change this place, don’t repave it, don’t reconfigure it. I feel like we’ve had some good showings here. But coming to this track, I definitely put that No. 4 car as my number-one pick. I think we’re closing the gap some. The Penske cars usually shine here, so I expect those two to be pretty good. I just heard the tail end of Kevin’s conversation and you start thinking it through and you look at Kyle (Busch) and his success here, which then opens up the JGR cars. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I guess if I’m forced to, the No. 4 car is the one that we’ll all be paying close attention to.”
A GROWING TREND IN NASCAR IS HIRING DIVISION ONE ATHLETES ON YOUR PIT CREW. DO YOU HAVE ANY? AND, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT’S SUCH A GROWING TREND IN NASCAR?
“To find speed, agility, strength in individuals isn’t the hardest thing to do. There’s lots of fit people around the country. The hard part is when you take somebody that’s so physically talented and put them in pit stop practice, they usually perform well. And we’ve learned that when you pull down pit lane and you’re crewing Dale (Earnhardt) Junior’s car or Jimmie Johnson’s car, the pressure that comes with that is pretty high. And what we’re finding is these athletes that are coming out of college that have been there in those pressure moments can’t handle that situation better. And, they also bring a lot of other assets to the team. Racing in general has really been a group of people that kind of liked each other and all loved racing, but found a way to work with one another. And the locker-room environment that I know our No. 48 team is bringing and that our over-the-wall guys bring is something special. And they’re creating a bond and a relationship internally that I don’t think would have existed otherwise. So, sure, the pressure and the physical fitness that they have and their ability to perform is one major role. But the locker-room affect is really big, too.”
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