Sirius at the Glen - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48 Watkins Glen Preview

Jimmie Johnson will be available for print and electronic interviews after practice on Saturday at the Lowe’s hauler in the Nextel Cup garage.

Lowe’s Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 visit Watkins Glen International Raceway on Sunday for the race on the road course. Johnson leads the 2004 points race by 97 points over Jeff Gordon. He has held the lead for seven consecutive weeks.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:

THE #24 AND #48 BATTLING FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE FINAL RACES: “In a way, it’s a good problem to have and we hope we’re put in that situation. I’ve been thinking about this a lot myself. In Jeff and Robbie’s (Loomis) positions, they’ve been here before and won championships. Jeff has obviously won four and Robbie has won one and they know what it’s like to be in that grind and that environment and they know – especially in this point system – it’s not over until the last race. They’re going to probably be the calmer of the two. Chad (Knaus) and I are fighting for our first one. Right now we have a points lead. If that continues, we’re going to have a little more energy and be a little more revved up over things. That’s what I think the differences will be between the two (teams). We may be a little more on edge and wound up for those final 10 races, but I don’t see it being a problem. We’ve been able to compete for wins and have finished one-two quite a few times. Unfortunately, I’ve been second in those situations. I hope here at the end I’m number one and he’s number two. I just don’t see it as a problem. At Hendrick Motorsports, the way Rick runs his operation and they way our teams are structured, they’ll be heated times. But we’ve had heated times (before) and I don’t see us crossing the lines and having it be an issue.”

ON WATKINS GLEN: “I think being comfortable in the braking zone is the biggest key to Watkins Glen. The track is a lot more forgiving than Sears Point (Infineon.) So I think the main areas where we will focus are the braking zones just making sure you have good brakes and that you can stop safely and get the passes made.”

DOES BEING UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS THE #24 PUSH YOU TO RACE HARDER? “I think so. We know exactly what each other has under the race cars. Even at Pocono, we had an open book as far as our set-ups and we both tried something totally new and compiled the No. 24 stuff with the No. 48 and came up with a decision on what we were going to do at the racetrack without any race practice. So we’re still close together to make our stuff strong. Our motto in the shop is to just make them equal and let it be settled on the race track between pit stops and the racing.”

CREW CHIEF CHAD KNAUS:

ON WATKINS GLEN: “I’m excited about it. It’s a neat racetrack. It’s difficult don’t get me wrong. We’re going to have our hands full with Jeff Gordon and some of those other hot shoe road racers out there. But I think we’ve really stepped up our program. Jimmie has a lot better understanding of the road courses. Watkins Glen is a little bit easier than Infineon is – especially in qualifying. That makes it tighter. It puts more emphasis on qualifying because obviously it’s difficult to pass. You need to have track position and start up front. But I think we’ll do well.”

WATKINS GLEN AS THE ONLY RACE WHERE THE CREWS PIT THE CAR WITH THE PASSENGER SIDE TOWARD THE PIT WALL: “We have been working on that for about a month and a half now. It’s not really anything that different. The guys are basically in the same positions. The car just comes in backwards and that’s a little bit more difficult. There’s nothing we can really do about it. We have to pit the car that way and it is a little bit more difficult, but ultimately the good pit crews will adapt and they will do a fine job at it.”

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