Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48 Atlanta Motor Speedway Preview

Lowe’s Monte Carlo driver Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 return to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday for the seventh race of the 10-race NASCAR Nextel Cup “Chase for the Championship.” Johnson trails points leader Tony Stewart by 15 points. Johnson tested at Atlanta earlier this month.

ATLANTA: “Out test went well for us at Atlanta. We went down for a day and it was a little bit warmer than we would have expected it to be, so I feel since the car drove good in the hot conditions, it will be better in the cooler conditions. There was a lot of rubber down, so I feel it was a well-used test for us. It's a rarity when - in turns one and two - the groove all the way to the wall was worked in. The #8 car (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) was down there and worked it in and spent a lot of time and got it worked in at the top. We were actually able to run a race line there which is pretty unusual for testing at Atlanta.”

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT WHAT YOU LEARNED THERE? “Really, things change so much during the season and the first race is so early during the season, there's been a lot of things that have come along since then. Just to go down and rebaseline and find out what that track wants is helpful. The track, as it ages, is much more difficult to get a hold on. In some ways it reminds me of Darlington by how hard it is on the tires and the way you have to drive the car. I think those things are going to help the #48 team.”

TIRE WEAR AT ATLANTA: “Well, we definitely had tire wear which is different from what we had at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The tire wouldn't wear (at Lowe's), and it held all the heat so we had problems. We were wearing tires down pretty fast there at Atlanta, which is a good thing. When you back off, manage your car, and manage your tires I think it promotes better racing. I'm hoping-that there aren't any changes since we've been down there testing on that tire but I haven't seen any big issues.”

OUT OF THE TRACKS STILL ON THE SCHEDULE IN 2005, WHICH DO YOU FEEL WILL BE YOUR STRONGEST? “I really look forward to all of them. I think the one question mark is Phoenix. The rest of the tracks-I feel good at all of them. I think that we've got a chance of winning or running in the top five.”

RACE NOTES

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