Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnsonis an American professional stock car racing driver and a six-time champion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the No. 48 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDriver
Date of Birth17 September 1975
CountryUnited States of America
blast complaints drove earlier fading five found four gas ground hit inside kept laps line outside passed short surprised three time track trying wheels worked
I was fading so I don't really have any complaints with the way that he raced me. I passed him two or three times earlier in the day and found another line and worked my way around the outside of him. I was a little surprised that he continually drove it in and kept trying to blast me in the center. I think he probably hit me for four or five laps and the time that he got by me, he really had my wheels off the ground and I couldn't get in the gas and he got inside of me and from there drove on and drove away from me. This is short track racing.
positive pump sure team trying
I'm not sure what was being said. But being positive and trying to pump your team up, sometimes things are said on the radio....
energy good guys positive pumped smiling spirits stick trying
But I'm just trying to be around for the guys, too, and keep the spirits up. If I stick around and keep the guys pumped up and smiling and keep positive energy rolling, everything's in good shape.
car guy trying
The No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) broke the pace car speed, which you aren't supposed to, but, they aren't calling guys on that so I need to start trying that in the future.
blast drove ground kept surprised time trying wheels
I was little surprised that he just continually drove in and kept trying to blast me in the center. The time that he got by me, he really had my wheels off the ground and I couldn't get to the gas.
benefit chiefs compare crew engineers together
Our (Hendrick) engineers and crew chiefs all get together and compare notes. That's when you really see the benefit of a four-car team.
defended knew outside past soon tires
I thought if I could get to the outside of Matt, I had a shot. But as soon as I got outside him going into the first turn, the tires started chattering and I knew I could have a problem. Once I knew I couldn't get past him to the outside, I defended second.
bit chance finish force front gas maybe outside quarter soon stayed tires tried turn turned
I thought if I could get to his outside, I would have a chance to force maybe a three- or four-wide finish at the end. But when I tried to go to his outside in turn one, as soon as I turned ... the front tires started chattering. I stayed on the gas a little bit and tried to get to his (rear quarter panel) and I couldn't.
cars chance enjoy happy races victory winning
I'm happy for Chad, especially because he hasn't had a chance to enjoy Victory Lane. His cars have been winning races but he was, unfortunately, at home.
happen normal
Just not a normal thing to happen with our engines.
alone anyone bump changes drafting game
We can't play the game of bump drafting like we do at other tracks. That alone changes the race. Here, you don't want anyone around you. At Daytona, you want everyone with you.
chatter guys worry
There are a lot of other guys to worry about, ... I'm not going to let all this chatter get us something to worry about.
accepting cleared days few followed gone happy inspection last people time understanding week won
You know, there's nothing I can do about it, so I'm accepting it. I'm happy to see that as these last few days have gone by, a lot of people are understanding that it was a qualifying infraction, and there was a whole week that followed ... that we then cleared inspection and won the race. It's time to look ahead.
car great guys inside loose top
We were inside the top 10 for most of the day. We were doing a great job, and the guys made a lot of adjustments and did a lot of work. But just there at the end we couldn't keep up with the track, or the car got loose for some reason.