Aaron's 499 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48 Talladega Preview

Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 race at Talladega International Speedway on Sunday in the ninth race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Johnson holds a 173-point lead in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup points race.

JIMMIE JOHNSON:

TALLADEGA THOUGHTS: “The key to Talladega is surviving until near the end of the race then go racing. So first, my goal is to get to the finish. Second, you have to stay out of trouble and then have something at the end of the race to race with. Hopefully we will have a race car that drafts well at the end of the race so we can put up a good fight. At Daytona there seems like there was a pretty even mix of teams with cars at the front of the field. I don’t think there is one team whether it’s Hendrick or DEI or Roush that is going to dominate at Talladega. I think the Dodge teams have had more time to work on their cars and I think you will see them up at the front as well. I think this race will be a lot more competitive than Daytona.”

DRIVING TALLADEGA: Talladega is pretty comfortable driving by yourself at 180 mph. But when you get in with all the other cars and the air is moving around it’s a lot different. Think of a boat and the wake coming off it, then imagine driving a boat with 42 other boats in front of you with their wakes coming off them. That’s really what goes on in the race car. But you can’t see it. You don’t know where the wake is coming from or where it is going to push you. You just have to rely on your instincts and experience to end up in the right spot. It’s tough. It’s really tough when you don’t know where you are going and you can’t see. Just all of a sudden your car moves.

RACE NOTES

Chassis –. Team Lowe’s racing will bring car No. 48308 to Talladega as the primary car. This car raced for the first time in October at Talladega.

STATS & FACTS

Career