MBNA RacePoints 200 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

JIMMIE JOHNSON
NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
NO. 5 LOWE’S / SHOP VAC CHEVROLET
DOVER PREVIEW

JIMMIE JOHNSON COMPETING IN TWO SERIES THIS WEEKEND: In addition to competing for the 2005 NEXTEL Cup Series championship behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Johnson is also driving the No. 5 Lowe's Busch Series entry in several events, including this weekend’s race. These races are in addition to the previously announced schedule of six Busch Series events in which Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S BUSCH SERIES HISTORY AT DOVER INT’L. SPEEDWAY: Jimmie Johnson has one top-10 qualifying effort in four Busch Series starts at Dover International Speedway. Johnson qualified seventh in the June, 2001, Dover Busch event. Johnson’s best Busch Series finish at Dover was an 18th-place result in September, 2000. Johnson has never finished on the lead lap in a Busch Series event at “The Monster Mile.”

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT DOVER INT’L. SPEEDWAY: The No. 5 team has scored a top-10 finish in each of the last four Busch Series races at Dover. Brian Vickers started third and won the fall race in 2003, while Kyle Busch scored a fifth-place finish in this race one year ago, and finished ninth here last September.

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 327 – This chassis is a new addition to the Hendrick Motorsports stable.

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF JIM LONG:

The team has struggled a bit this season. Was the win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway just what the doctor ordered, in terms of improving the team’s morale? “We needed (the win) bad. I honestly think this is the first weekend we’ve gotten back on Monday and not had a damaged racecar we needed to repair. We had three chances to wreck one this past weekend (Hendrick Motorsports fielded three Busch Series cars in last weekend’s event), and we dodged a bullet on all of them. It was a great shot in the arm for the entire team. They’ve been working their tails off, so it’s nice for them to finally get the result they deserve.”

What kind of momentum does this give the team heading into Dover International Speedway this weekend? “Well, we’ve got Jimmie (Johnson) in the car this weekend. He won the ‘600’ last weekend, so he’s got momentum, and we won the ‘300,’ so we’ve got momentum, so we’re really focusing on trying to make it two wins in a row for the team and for Jimmie.”

Dover seems to be a favorite of a lot of drivers and teams. Is “The Monster Mile” a favorite of yours? “I love the place. I call it ‘Bristol on steroids.’ It’s really fast, and I love the speed of the place. You usually struggle trying to get the car to turn in the center of the corners, because you’re carrying so much speed getting in. Once you get it to turn, you have to come up out of the corner, and the car has a tendency to get light and gets loose. With Jimmie winning the ‘600’ last weekend, we’re very comfortable heading into Dover, and I think we’ve got a really good shot at doing well there.”