Sony HD 500 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48 California Preview

Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 race at California Speedway on Sunday night in the 25th race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Johnson trails Tony Stewart by 213 points in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup points race. There are two races remaining before the “Chase for the Championship.” Only the top 10 drivers and those drivers within 400 points of the leader are eligible for the “Chase.” Johnson, Stewart and Greg Biffle are the only three drivers to clinch spots in the “Chase.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON:

SINCE YOU'VE ALREADY SECURED A SPOT IN THE CHASE, DO THE POINTS MATTER MUCH NOW? "Everything counts. There is a mental aspect that counts. Last year we lost the championship by 8 points. Regardless of whether you're in the Chase or not, you've got to do all you can to win races and collect maximum points."

WHAT TRICKS DOES A DRIVER HAVE AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY TO CONSERVE AND MANAGE FUEL? "It's pretty tough to do. You can make sure you're rolling out of the gas early, or put yourself in a position to not use a lot of brake. If you drive in easy enough to coast into the turn and not use the brake, you can conserve some fuel there. But the track is so big and so fast, the way you run fast is by having the pedal down, so it is a tough place to save fuel."

WHAT IS YOUR SENSE OF RELIEF AT HENDRICK THAT JEFF GORDON CRACKED THE TOP 10 FOR THE CHASE? "It's a huge sense of relief in our camp. But there are two important races coming up. He's not out of the woods yet. Hopefully nothing will go wrong and he can get points and stay inside the top 10. We need as many Hendrick cars in that Chase as possible. It looks like there will be at least four Roush cars -- maybe even five if things work out for those guys -- so I need all the Hendrick help in there I can get. It just wouldn't be the same if Jeff wasn't in it, so I'm happy to see that team have some luck finally, and have a good race and make it into the top 10."

RACE NOTES

Chassis