Advance Auto Parts 500 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48 Martinsville Preview

Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday in the sixth race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Johnson holds a 94-point lead in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup points race. Johnson won on the half-mile Virginia track in October.

Johnson on Martinsville: “I have to admit that my first test before my first couple of races, I was totally lost. I dove deep inside myself. That’s the track I had to work the hardest at to figure out and understand. I studied Jeff’s (Gordon) data and talk to him and really try to understand what he was doing there. That’s been the hardest track for me to figure out. To win there last year was one of my personal moments in saying that I had buckled down and worked hard at this and got it done.”

WHAT MAKES IT SO TOUGH? “There is just such a unique way to drive the track. There are a million options when you end at the turn on your line how you’re using your brakes and where to get back in the gas. But there’s only one sweet spot on that track. But until you realize that you just have to let the track have the advantage and just drive the track how it wants to be driven, you’re going to fight it the whole way through. That’s where some people have trouble. Your eyes tell you the car should be able to drive in real deep and there should be a lot of grip through the turn. But until you just slow down and realize that hey, this track has been here forever and it’s been the same all these years. You just need to drive it like it wants to be driven.”

CREW CHIEF CHAD KNAUS:

IS THE TEAM MORE PATIENT THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF MINDSET OR MATURITY? “I think we’re definitely maturing as a team. The guys on the team have really come into their own. They understand their jobs and roles and are taking leadership roles with their responsibilities. That’s something you can only get with maturity and time. The majority of our team has been together since 2002 and I don’t think there are a lot of other teams out there that can say that. That’s incredible. These guys have really been able to take it upon themselves to show the new guys how we do things here with the Lowe’s team and how we work together. Nobody gets brought on this team unless they’re kind of agreed upon by everybody. So everybody feels like they’re really part of this team right now. We all have a common goal of going to the track and running competitively each week.”

RACE NOTES

Chassis – Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates will bring chassis No. 48-278 as the primary car this weekend. Chassis No. 48-154 will serve as the backup. The primary car won at Martinsville in October.

STATS & FACTS

Martinsville ·