Team 48 Daytona International Speedway Preview

Lowe’s Monte Carlo driver Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 travel to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for Saturday night’s 400-mile NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Johnson leads Matt Kenseth by 101 points in the season point’s race. Johnson won the Daytona 500 in February and the series’ only other Superspeedway race at Talladega in April.

Johnson will bring a new car to Daytona Saturday. The car that won the 500 in February is on display at Daytona U.S.A. The No. 48 will sport a special Shamu paint scheme this weekend. The paint scheme is part of SeaWorld’s introduction of its new Shamu show, “Believe,” open now at all three SeaWorld parks.

DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:

DAYTONA: “I think we will have a great race Saturday night. We don’t have the car that won the 500 but we have the car that won at Talladega. I think our day setup will work really well for the night race. Daytona in February was pretty exciting and the Talladega race was probably one of the best restrictor plate races I've been a part of. The competition was intense and tough but everybody seemed to really do things in a cautious manner. I'm not sure what everyone else saw, but it was an awesome, awesome race. The thing I have learned in restrictor plate races is patience. That has worked twice this year and I hope it works again Saturday night.”

GOING FROM A ROAD COURSE TRACK TO A RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACK: “We get so used to it that it doesn’t matter. I think I’ve had trouble going from Talladega to Martinsville if I remember right. The first couple laps at Martinsville going that slow and using the brakes - that much is a little bit of a wake-up call. From Sonoma to Daytona is pretty easy so I don’t really think it challenges you that much.”

ARE THINGS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT FOR YOU RETURNING TO DAYTONA AS A DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: “I think so – not only the 500 Champion but we’ve won both plate races. We feel great about our plate program and feel very confident in driving the car. It’s what I’ve been looking for so I am definitely excited for the 400 coming up.”

DO YOU BELIEVE IN SUCH A THING AS PEAKING TOO EARLY? "I think it does happen in our sport. Our season is so long. The crazy thing is that none of us can plan on when we're going to peak. So you just kind of roll the dice. We've been known to peak early and then again late. But it's been a little too late. Hopefully we can adjust that around a little bit and peak at the right time."

SHAMU PAINT SCHEME: “All kids love Shamu. I know I did growing up in San Diego. Saturday night, I’m bringing Shamu to the beaches of Daytona and hopefully introducing him to Victory Lane.”

Race Notes

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