NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
BANK OF AMERICA 500
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
OCTOBER 9, 2014
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway and discussed racing at Charlotte, past success here, season to-date, performance in the Chase, Jeff Gordon and other topics. Full transcript:
TALK ABOUT YOUR MINDSET AS YOU HEAD INTO CHARLOTTE, A TRACK WHERE YOU HAVE HAD A TON OF SUCCESS: “We are ready to go racing. I love competing at this race track. I look forward to a great race Saturday night. The mindset is really to come in and try to take a trophy out of here. That really solves our problem in the points that we have right now. If we can’t, we still need to focus on finishing as high as we can. And, the reason that leaves a little bit of hope is that if you miss the big ones in Talladega, you could assume that some of the Chasers will be involved in one or two of those, and you might have another chance. It is a fading chance, in the position I’m in I believe, but it is still an opportunity and it is something for us to consider. We’re here to try and win the race, but if we can’t, we still need to finish well, and hope we have some luck down in Talladega.”
WHY DO YOU THINK JEFF GORDON IS SO COMPETITIVE AT THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER? “I firmly believe that the speed of a race car is due to the chemistry and connection between the driver, crew chief and team – that whole environment. Engineers; mechanics. If you walk into the No. 24 truck, or you go around their pit stall and you see the interaction and the energy that is created by that group of guys, to me it is evident where it is coming from. It is communication; it is a connection. Those guys are getting it done. Hats off to them I’m really happy for all those guys. They have been working really hard to get to this point. It is Jeff Gordon. I’ve always had the utmost respect for his abilities and the car. I think through the years, even though he hasn’t had the championships to go with it, he’s had a lot of momentum at the right time, and something freak has happened. If it’s been a mechanical, or a tire issue, or a crash, or something. I think last year, he entered the Chase hot and rolling. Had some bad luck, and wasn’t a factor in the end. I think he has kept us all on our toes, and then this year they’ve been able to execute and continue to back it up week-in and week-out.”
WHAT IS GOING ON SINCE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN LEADING THE LAPS LIKE WE ARE USED TO SEEING YOU DO? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO FIX IT? “We are just not where we want to be. Bottom line. We’re working very hard to get there. This sport is not forgiving. What you have accomplished in the past doesn’t buy you a damn thing for the present. You have to go out there and earn it, and make the most of it. We’ve been a third to fifth place car, and we can finish there and run there, but we haven’t been a dominant car. We are certainly hoping that when we come to tracks that have been very good for the No. 48, that we’re able to find that little bit. Find that extra 10th that put us in that position and get our mojo going the right way.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE THE CAR WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE TO BE IN CONTENTION TO WIN HERE ON SATURDAY NIGHT? “We feel like if we came back with the May setup in the car, we’d probably be two or three more tenths off. It seems that we are taking track records down by a couple of tenths, even from a spring race to a fall race. I would imagine that would like of show true again here today. You don’t have a chance to sit still in this sport. You have to keep moving and progressing your race cars.”
WHO ARE YOUR HEROS IN RACING? “Growing up I grew up on the dirt, and had a lot of influences and heroes that I looked up to. Motocross was my starting points, so a bunch of names from that 80s – 90s era of dirt bikes. Most of all Rick Johnson from a motocross standpoint. I worked my way into off-road – trucks and buggies – and Ivan Stewart, Walker Evans and again Rick Johnson made it from two wheels to four and was still my hero and a family friend. As I was tuning in watching the big time auto racing taking place, Al Unser, Sr. It was awesome to see such a young guy out there racing with his Dad. Rick Mears came from off road, and went on and was probably the one I focused on the most in that era in time. Then as I started looking at four wheels thinking I might have a career in motorsports, there is a guy racing on Thursday Night Thunder with a terrible mustache and a cool mullet names Jeff Gordon. That was the guy. When he left midgets and sprint world and made it to the Baby Ruth Busch car at the time, it was very difficult on the West Coast to stay connected with a sport that was so regional at the time, and the media wasn’t like it is today. But I tried to keep up. Once he made it to Cup, it was much easier to follow along. A couple of other names to throw in would be Cale Yarborough and Davey Allison at different points in time that I kept and eye on.”
LAST TIME YOU WERE DOWN AND OUT IN THE CHASE, YOU WENT OUT AND WON FOUR IN A ROW AND WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP. DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT COMING INTO A WEEK LIKE THIS; AND DOES THAT TRIGGER ANYTHING IN YOU TO KNOW THAT MAYBE YOU CAN DO IT?
“I haven’t thought about that specifically, but I know what our team is capable of. And I know we can find that last stone and flip it over where the speed is at and what’s holding us up, that we can go. We’re eagerly waiting for that moment in time to happen. I feel like good tracks are going to help promote that and help us find that way sooner. At Dover, although we didn’t lead a lap, we were still very competitive and ran third. We’re here at another great track. Martinsville is around the corner. So, we’re hopeful to getting on our way.”
YOU HAVE SOME COMPANY AMONG OTHER DRIVERS TRYING TO DIG THEMSELVES OUT OF A HOLE. HOW DOES THAT IMPACT YOUR APPROACH AND YOUR CHANCES?
“Yeah, that does change things and it ties back to my opening comments, where we need to have a great finish here and obviously, winning fixes our problem. But if we don’t have an opportunity to win and we’re in third, we need to make sure we finish third. This can be a track that creates similar issues to what we saw in Kansas with the tire failure situation and even from a crash standpoint. We run really hard around this track and it’s kind of narrow once you get up to speed and you’re going really fast. And then with Talladega, gosh; anything can happen over there. Points are still on my mind, although I think that’s a closing door or a fading opportunity. My real opportunity is to win here or to win at Talladega to advance.”
IF YOU DON’T WIN HERE, BUT FINISH IN THE TOP 5 OR TOP 10, WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH AT TALLADEGA? IS IT ALL-OUT FOR THE WIN THERE OR JUST HOPING FOR A SITUATION WHERE HALF THE FIELD WRECKS AND YOU CAN GET THROUGH?
“You just can’t predict what’s going to happen. That’s the wild thing about Talladega. You don’t mind crashing if there’s five to go; you do if you’re trying to get into the championship, but it’s just such a risk versus reward management exercise because if you don’t have much to lose, you can try to race all day long and try to stay at the head of the pack and out of trouble. But you cycle to the middle of the field at some point; that’s inevitable. And if you cycle into the middle of the field at the wrong time and you’re in the big one, then you’re kicking yourself for racing. So, it’s a tough race to figure out what to do. There is no easy route except for Joey Logano right now. And then whoever wins this weekend, will have an option to go to Talladega with.”
USUALLY CHAD KNAUS IS THE SEVERE-LOOKING ONE AND YOU ARE THE OPPOSITE IN WARMING UP THE TEAM. WHAT IS YOUR FEELING? HOW ARE YOU AND CHAD DEALING WITH THE EXTREME FRUSTRATION THAT YOU HAD LAST WEEK AT KANSAS?
“I definitely wasn’t happy to be sitting there (in the garage) tore up; especially something that wasn’t of our own doing, to be clipped off of Turn 2 and taken out of the race in the position of racing for a championship. It was difficult to process at that point in time. But, I guess I just didn’t have anything to do. I tried to get involved a few times and picked up the mess and changed some blades on the saws and those guys were all busy working. I guess that’s probably what helped Chad stay occupied and loose. But we’re managing well. We’ve been very fortunate to win six championships. And we know we’re not going to win every championship we show up for. But we’re going to try. We’re going to keep digging and we’re not going to stop digging. That’s what this year is about, and that’s what our team is talking about. We’re not giving up. We’re continuing to try. Reality is that we’ve been looking for speed. But if Kansas didn’t happen, I still think we could have made it to Homestead and had a shot. We still have a shot. The situation has changed some and we’ve got to win. But this team loves adversity. This team thrives on it. And there is no quit in us, so we’ll keep digging.”
DOES IT SURPRISE YOU THAT WE ARE IN CHARLOTTE FOR A PRETTY BIG RACE, BUT A LOT OF THE TALK SEEMS TO BE MORE ABOUT TALLADEGA?
“I guess maybe it’s been like that. Maybe the format has heightened that some because you only have three races to advance here. From my own standpoint, I’m just thinking through the years of being in a good situation coming to Charlotte, I still always knew Talladega was out there. And I believe I’d come in here and say I’m going to wait until we get to Talladega before I start getting my hopes up or think about anything. That one has always been lurking. It’s just hiding out there waiting for us.”
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