Ford 400 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48 Homestead-Miami Preview

Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday in the finale of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series’ 10-race “Chase For The Championship.” Johnson’s consecutive victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway, followed by a sixth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway and a victory Sunday at Darlington Raceway, moved him from ninth to second, just 18 points behind leader Kurt Busch. Johnson and his Lowe’s teammates tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway two days last week.

Jimmie Johnson:

On Your “Chase For The Championship: “Well, I think mentally when we had our points lead earlier in the season, trying to hang on to the lead for that five-point advantage into the off-season, I think we kind of took on the mentality of defending and playing some defense. I don't think that our team performs to its best with that mindset. In a sense, in my eyes, we were eliminated from the Chase early in the Chase For the Championship, (so) we switched gears in our heads and started playing offense, trying to win races, trying to finish up the season on a positive note. And if there were troubles, then we would be back in the middle of it. That's the way it's turned out for us. I think we have to go to Homestead with that same thing in mind, go out to win the race. Because if you look at the points, Kurt is in the lead, Jeff is right behind us. You're going to have to, you know, finish first or second to win this championship in my eyes.”

How Important Is Kurt Busch’s 18-point Advantage? “I guess it all depends on where we all finish Sunday. It's hard to say now. But, you know, there's a lot of pressure that I feel the (Busch) team is under. We've been in that position through this season. We've had bad luck with that pressure on our shoulders. I like the position that both Hendrick cars are in. We're very close to Kurt in points. We just have to go out, be aggressive, race hard. That's what both teams are very good at. So going down there to run eighth or 10th and race conservatively I don't think is going to win the championship. “

Should The Champion Be Determined By Points From All 36 Races? “I think from a purist standpoint, my comments earlier in the season, I still believe that in my heart. But, you know, I have to be a realist and realize that this points system has created a lot of interest, sparked a lot of new fans. There's a lot of hype around it. The sheer fact that I believe this points system is going to be in effect for, you know, many years to come, dwelling on the old points system is not going to do me a lot of good. With this points system in place, I think our team still is going to be very competitive, and it will work for us. But you know, in my eyes, I just have always wanted to be a champion under the old points system. That won't take anything away from, you know, the possibilities of this championship. But so if I look at it from a competition standpoint, I have that answer. And then from, you know, a fan standpoint or for the better good of the sport, I think what has been changed is very good.”

Crew Chief Chad Knaus:

WILL THIS WEEK BE BUSINESS AS USUAL? "It's actually going to be pretty easy because we're going to take the same race car that we raced (at Darlington) to Homestead. There's not going to be a whole lot of time to sit back and think about it or even enjoy this victory because we're going to have to get that car turned around and prepared to go to Miami. It's not going to be real hard. The thing everybody needs to understand is that this isn't really new for us. We've been chasing the championship in these final races for the last two years. This year is the third. We've always been in positions where we've had to chase at the end of the season. The guys go back and put their heads down and work and we get riled up and ready to go down to Homestead."

RACE INFORMATION

CHASSIS INFORMATION - Team Lowe’s Racing will bring car No. 4859 to Homestead this weekend. This chassis won at Darlington on Sunday and twice at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and at Atlanta in 2004 while also posting top-10 finishes at the first Atlanta race, Texas, and the first Michigan race.

STATS & FACTS

2004 Success