Four Chevrolet Drivers Will Start Sunday’s Race in the Top-10MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 5, 2013) – Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, set a new track record with a time of 19.244 seconds and average speed of 98.400 mph in the first race at the 0.526-mile Martinsville Speedway short track for the Gen-6 Chevrolet SS race car. This was the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s first pole of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season, and 30th of his career through 405 races. It is his third pole at Martinsville. Johnson also holds a track record at Kentucky Speedway.
Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, and Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS, will start fifth and sixth respectively. Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman, No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, will start Sunday’s STP Gas Booster 500 from the 10th position.
Other Chevrolet drivers who qualified in the top-20 for Sunday’s event were: Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet SS, qualified 13th; Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS will start 14th; Paul Menard, No. 27 Menards/Pittsburgh Paints Chevrolet SS was 16th fastest; Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS, will start 17th; Regan Smith, No. 51 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS qualified 18th; and Kurt Busch, No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet SS will roll off 19th.
Marcos Ambrose (Ford) qualified second, Brian Vickers (Toyota) was third, and Joey Logano (Ford) was fourth to round out the top-five.
Sunday’s STP Gas Booster 500 from Martinsville Speedway is on Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 1:00 PM EDT on FOX and Sirius XM Channel 90.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – POLE WINNER
YOU POSTED A NEW TRACK RECORD. TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP:
“I just heard that. That’s the icing on the cake. That makes the day even better yet. Track records are hard to come by, so I’m very proud of that and happy to have that. My first run out, we were in q-trim and we made two or three laps and we just knew right away that we would have a great shot at it today. At that point, I just needed to do my job and not mess up. So I’m very proud of that. It’s very easy to do at this race track, especially once practice ends. You’ll sit and have lunch and relax for a couple of hours and then have to do it all over again. It was a great day across the board for the team, driver, the engine, the car, and everything. We got the car dialed-in.”
HOW DID YOU FEEL DRIVING IN THE CAR TODAY WITH SETTING THE RECORD? DID YOU HAVE THAT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND WHILE MAKING YOUR LAP?
“I didn’t know what the record was and honestly didn’t know that we were below it in practice either. We ran a .21 in practice so I was unaware of that altogether. I just heard about it as we were taking photos with the Coors Light backdrop and everything. Great news. It was something again, I didn’t know about but am very happy to have.”
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST ADVANTAGE TO BEING ON THE POLE HERE IN MARTINSVILLE?
“That pit stall. If you get behind or if you’re off-strategy or if you have any reason that leads you to lose track position, that pit stall is worth three to five positions on the race track. It’s a big, big advantage from that perspective.”
DURING PRACTICE, DID YOU DO ANY LONG RUNS? DID YOU GET ANY SENSE OF TIRE HEAT AND BEAD HEAT AND DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WHERE YOU ARE CONSIDERING THE PROBLEMS YOU’VE HAD EARLIER THIS YEAR?
“I didn’t do any race runs at all. And I know the No. 88 (Earnhardt Jr.) did. I think our teammates all started in race trim but we were just strictly in qualifying trim. I know that they saw some high wear, which is very common to have here. Until we get into the Cup practice tomorrow, the track just doesn’t take rubber for some reason. It usually stays pretty green an abrasive.
“But I don’t feel like we’ll have a lot of beading issues here based on conversations I’ve had with the team and understanding the Bristol tire and what tire they bring here. You can eventually get them too hot and have it be a problem, but the problem I had at Bristol was not a bead problem. The bead might have blown out, but it wasn’t from heat around where the tire and bead meet. If you have a good-driving race car, I don’t think you’ll see any melted beads from brake temps.”
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR SEVEN GRANDFATHER TROPHIES ARE?
“Yeah. Six are at my man cave, my warehouse, and then one is in my office.”
DO YOU HAVE A PLACE FOR NUMBER 8 IF YOU WIN IT?
“Oh, I’ve got a big warehouse. I’ve got a lot of room. I call it the warehouse, but it’s really my man cave. I’ve got everything from when I was a kid on dirt bikes that I’ve saved, that my mom has saved, all the way to stuff now. So, I have a pretty good collection.”
DO YOU KNOW WHAT OTHER TRACK RECORDS YOU HOLD?
“I think I have one in California? No? Okay. Um, this could be a fun game (laughter). Kansas? No. I’m terrible with stats. There are a lot of stats given to me whenever I’m in here (Media Center). I’m always playing dumb. I’m not really playing dumb, I’m just dumb. I just don’t know. Kentucky? I was on the pole in Kentucky? Awesome. Heck, that was recent, too, and I don’t even remember that (laughs). Those were the only two? Now I know the stat.”
INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I feel like when the track is resurfaced, that brings in an opportunity. I feel like this car will give us a better chance at a lot of tracks that might have an older surface on it, because of all the extra downforce we have with it. Again, I think it’s a moving target because of the age of the surface on every track.”
ON SETTING A NEW QUALIFYING RECORD:
“I didn’t know I was on a new tire until after practice. My car felt awesome. Since we unloaded, I knew I was going fast. I’m just trying to understand. We have a little bit lighter car here. The weight is in different position, basically. I knew my stuff was fast. I didn’t know where the mark was. I’m surprised with it being this sunny. I remember when Ryan (Newman) set the pole, it was a very cool day with a lot of fast times and he blasted off a quick one. So, the track record today was not in my mindset at all. I just didn’t think it was there. But I knew I had a great driving car.
YESTERDAY, WE HAD EVERYTHING FROM RAIN AND SLEET AND SNOW. TODAY WE HAVE SUNSHINE AND A SOMEWHAT GREEN TRACK. IS THERE A POINT DURING THE RACE WEEKEND WHEN A GREEN TRACK CAN BE A DISADVANTAGE? IS THERE A PARTICULAR TRACK WHERE IT CAN BE MORE OF A DISADVANTAGE?
“Yeah, green tracks are tough to manage. I’d say concrete tracks, in my opinion, are more difficult ones to sort out. The tire wear is really high on green tracks. For here, in the Cup race, a third of the way or the halfway point, the track changes and you’ll see where we lay down right-side rubber. In the set-up you worked on Friday and Saturday is now kind of out the window and the car drives totally different because of the right-side rubber laying down. That’s the biggest challenge here that we fight. In my opinion you have a green race track until the race starts, so you’re guessing what the balance needs to be in the car and you’re hoping that the rear tire wear you see is because of the green track. Experience does help teams here to realize that hey, the track is just not there yet. Let’s stay the course. We had a successful race with whatever set-up, and fall back on your experience because a green track here, and even Dover and Bristol, can play some games with you because the balance changes pretty dramatically.”
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