NASCAR CUP SERIES
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DRYDENE 311
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 21, 2020
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the doubleheader at Dover International Speedway, the pressure and mindset that comes with racing on the Playoff bubble, thoughts going into Daytona as the last race of the regular season, and more. Transcript:
IN TALKING WITH WILLIAM BYRON YESTERDAY, I ASKED HIM HOW IT FELT TO KIND OF BATTLING WITH YOU FOR THAT LAST SPOT AND HE SAID IT WAS ‘ODD’. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT?
“Yeah, it is odd. It’s unfortunate, as well. But it’s the situation that we’re in. With Chad (Knaus) on the box there, you just think of the layers of how it’s odd and we’re all fighting for that last spot in the Playoffs.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS WEEKEND? YOU’RE GOING INTO A REALLY GREAT RACETRACK – A DOUBLEHEADER. THIS IS A CHANCE TO REALLY PICK UP A LOT OF POINTS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING IN THIS POSITION RIGHT NOW?
“I love the track, obviously. I’m very optimistic about how we’re going to run. Just overtime though, I’ve kind of helped my competition in some respect, especially inside the walls of Hendrick Motorsports. Chad Knaus is on the box for the 24 car, as we all know, and William (Byron) is a great student. He’s really increased his game at Dover, so I don’t think it’s going to be easy to get points on him or especially a lot of points on him. For all of us out there, Dover is a track where you can get caught up in stuff and have a lot of cars affected. And then we roll onto Daytona after that, which who knows how to even approach that. I think the first race – being smart, just kind of see how things unfold, see where things lay out – will get me a better mindset on how I need to race on Sunday.”
TWO QUESTIONS – FIRST, WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE OF ALL THE 11 DOVER WINS THAT YOU HAVE? DOES ONE STAND OUT THAT’S SIGNIFICANT, MILESTONE OR PERSONAL REASON?
“It’s hard to pick one, but what does come to mind is kind of a pattern that developed after my rookie year in how I grew to count on that fall Dover race to really give our team the shot in the arm by winning and running well. Which leads me to my rookie season, my second win there – we won the first time at Dover and then went the rest of the summer without winning and struggled. The start of the summer slump that happened for myself and Chad, that was like the first time we went through it and then we recovered. When I look back, I can of smile now and I had no idea the foreshadowing of that year, of that track and what that would mean. So, I kind of look back to that.”
I KNOW ON THE DALE JR. PODCAST, YOU SAID YOU WERE HOPING FOR 14 OR 15 INDYCAR RACES NEXT YEAR. IS ANYTHING AT ALL CONCRETE FOR NEXT YEAR OR, NO MATTER WHAT RACING SERIES IT IS, IS IT STILL HOPEFUL PLANNING AND TALKING?
“It’s still in the planning stage right now. When I look at the road and street courses IndyCar has, last year there were 12. So, when I say 15, I would love to throw in a few more races – if they’re sportscar races, NASCAR races, whatever they might be. But nothing is concrete. Kind of the planning cycle for corporate America is going on and budgets are being allocated, so I certainly hope here in the short term we’ll have some exciting news, but right now nothing is concrete.”
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ON WHAT NASCAR SHOULD DO IF A DRIVER TESTS POSITIVE IN THE PLAYOFFS AND HAS TO MISS A PLAYOFF RACE? OBVIOUSLY NOW, THERE’S A WAIVER, YOU’VE GONE THROUGH IT, YOU CAN STILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. SHOULD THE RELIEF DRIVER’S POINTS COUNT TOWARDS THAT PLAYOFF DRIVER? SHOULD THE PLAYOFF DRIVER WHO IS SICK BE ABLE TO GO TO THE NEXT ROUND? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION BECAUSE THIS COULD CERTAINTLY PLAY OUT IN THE COMING WEEKS.
“It’s been a big concern of mine since the beginning and something I’ve had talks with internally at NASCAR. Ironically, I ended up being the first guy in that situation. In my opinion, the precedence has been set and you’ve got to see it through. I haven’t had that luxury and although it might just be a few points I would have received, I didn’t get the points for the Brickyard and wasn’t under the impression that was ever an option. So, I think the bed has been made and they need to see it through the rest of the year.”
BECAUSE IN SO MANY CASES, SOMEBODY DOES NOT SHOW SYMPTOMS, DOES THAT MAKE IT EASY IF SOMEBODY KNOWS THAT THEY’VE TEST POSITIVE THAT THEY CAN DECIDE ‘HEY, AS A DRIVER, I CAN KEEP ISOLATED, I’M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND STILL RACE AND NOT COST MYSELF A CHANCE AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP’?
“Now you’re understanding all the frustration and agony that I went through in July. Again, there’s been a precedence that’s been set and I think it needs to stay the same and stay the course. I can add though that once you get a positive test, you’re in the system and I’m not sure how you hide that. Where you can hide that is if your symptoms aren’t too great, you’re asymptomatic, something in that department where you’re not ill – you can lay low, self-quarantine, just bide some time and wait out the quarantine clock. But once you have a positive test, it triggers state departments and a lot of other things start happening then and I’m not really sure how you hide that.”
WITH THIS TALK OF INDYCAR RACING AND YOUR INTEREST IN ROAD COURSES, IF NASCAR WERE TO ADD MORE ROAD COURSE RACES OR EVEN STREET RACES POTENTIALLY, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER DOING MORE NASCAR EVENTS NEXT YEAR?
“Yeah, I would definitely look at that. That would be really exciting. I think the idea of street racing is a really good one, could be a lot of fun and a great experience. Depending on the more natural tracks or road courses, if one would come about, I would definitely look at it. I feel like the Road America track, it’s so fun watching the Xfinity Series race there and that would be a great fit for a Cup car.”
DO YOU THINK IT GIVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE HAVING TWO RACES AT DOVER THIS WEEKEND, WHERE SINCE YOU’VE HAD NO PRACTICE, YOU CAN DEVELOP AT LEAST A COMPETITIVE BASELINE AND WITH ALL YOUR EXPERIENCE AND SUCCESS AT THAT TRACK, IT WILL HELP YOU HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE ON SUNDAY?
“I think so. The one caveat to that is the driver I’m focused on has Chad Knaus on the box, and he’s a student, friend, somebody I’ve mentored and kind of taught how to drive good there and be competitive there. So, it is a very unique situation to be in and I wish it wasn’t a Hendrick teammate that I was fighting for that last spot with.”
DID YOU TEST POSITIVE OR DID YOU TEST FALSE-POSITIVE FOR COVID? WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS RIGHT NOW AND THEM HAVING A BREAKOUT OF SORTS, HOW MUCH DO YOU COMMEND NASCAR FOR JUST REALLY PULLING THE REIGNS BACK ON THIS SITUATION?
“I feel like NASCAR has done an amazing job in creating distancing and these different compartments that don’t overlap so that we can control the spread. I think Hendrick Motorsports has done as great job as well. Once you experience a positive test in your circle – if it’s you, your family or someone through contract tracing – you really start to understand how quick this can move around and the impact that it has on your professional life and personal life. I feel that it was very well thought out and because of that, we haven’t had a spread or move around a lot within our sport and we’ve been able to go to the track week in and week out. As far as my testing, I don’t know if I will ever have an answer or conclusion. I do know that I tested positive and then I had two negatives quickly after. I had zero symptoms, so I could have been asymptomatic or I had a false-positive. But, I don’t know how to ever prove it one way or the other. I just don’t know.”
THE END OF THE SEASON IS FAST-APPROACHING AND THE END OF YOUR FULL-TIME CAREER. WINNING, IS THAT SOMETHING NOW THAT YOU’RE ANXIOUS ABOUT GETTING THAT WIN, ONE MORE WIN IN YOUR FULL-TIME CAREER? IS IT GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTING? WHAT’S THE FEELING NOW WITH THE END OF THE SEASON FAST-APPROACHING AND STILL TRYING TO GET THAT WIN?
“Yeah, it depends on the day and the experience. I never wanted to have a winless drought or have a winless season. But I’ve worked through so many of those emotions over the last couple of years and also understand that there are factors that I can’t control that have affected my performance. We haven’t had the performance that we’ve wanted as the 48 car and for our company. Again, depends on the day and when you run really well, it increases that desire to win. To run up front last week and finish fourth felt good, but at the same time, I really want to win and wish that I had a little bit more for 9 car and had a shot at it. With time running out, I feel like something that does help me is that this isn’t a hard stop for me in motorsports and I know there are wins still out there for me. That’s just the glass is half full point of view that I have and I guess maybe the way I manage some of the disappointment over the last few years, but I need to make the most out of each opportunity that I have ahead of myself and I will certainly do that.”
THE WILDCARD IN ALL OF THIS IS THE LAST RACE OF THE REGULAR SEASON IS THE SUPERSPEEDWAY IN DAYTONA. YOU MAY END UP GETTING INTO THE PLAYOFFS BECAUSE JUST OF THE NATURE OF THE DAYTONA RACING. OBVIOUSLY, YOU CAN NAVIGATE YOUR WAY AROUND THAT PLACE AS WELL PRETTY WELL. SO, ALL IS NOT LOST WITH EVERYONE THINKING WITH THREE RACES TO GO, YOU’RE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN. THERE ARE STILL PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES, CORRECT?
“There are plenty of opportunities. Of course, I would like to control things these next two races at Dover and not have to worry about Daytona. The reason I bring that up is somebody below the cutoff line or below where I am in points could win at Daytona. That’s not unrealistic and then it really complicates the situation. I really don’t want to depend on Daytona. If I do, I do and I’ll have to be smart and use all my years of experience to figure something out. But I don’t even want to think about Daytona yet (laughs).”
YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU’RE A VICTIM OF YOUR OWN SUCCESS, PERTAINING TO WILLIAM (BYRON) AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT DOVER. DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT SAME FEEL? HAVE YOU LOST A LITTLE BIT THERE? HAS EVERYONE GAINED A LITTLE BIT THERE? THE NUMBERS CERTAINTLY AREN’T WHAT THEY USED TO BE THERE. WHERE ARE YOU AT WITH DOVER WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE RACES THIS WEEKEND?
“I’m not sure that our company has lost anything at Dover. I think Alan (Gustafson) and Chase (Elliott) do a phenomenal job in really getting the potential out of the car week in and week out. Alan’s experience and the connection between those two has really made the difference and they’ve been very competitive and won a few times at Dover. The journey that I’ve been on over the last three or four years, the last year of Chad (Knaus) and I, we just weren’t bringing the best out of one another. A couple trips there with Kevin and then Cliff (Daniels) and I have been finding our way. We’ve been competitive every time we’ve been there, but to be great just takes something special. I think the potential is there and I feel really good this weekend. Cliff has been on the box for a lot of the wins that I’ve had at Dover and our relationship and connection is very strong. So, I’m optimistic about that. But when I look through the garage area, there’s been a lot of teams studying how we’ve gone fast around that track. You look at other drivers zoning in on their game and getting better and on top of that, it’s just a never-ending journey for a crew chief and these crew chiefs on other teams are getting stronger too. Long story short, the potential is there for us, I think we can do it. But the field has definitely gotten stronger.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
