Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS
Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS answered questions from the media today at Martinsville Speedway during the weekly "Behind the Hauler" Q&A session. Johnson won the fall race here in 2004 and has posted seven straight top-10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway. He is currently third in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings.

ON PRACTICE: "It was good. We fought a loose end condition through most of practice. Finally there the last change we made we found out what was causing that problem. We also had that problem a little bit yesterday when we were in race trim. We did a qualifying trim just running one or two laps. The condition went away and we felt really good about things. We didn't expect to have that problem today. The majority of the first two practices we spent trying to get the loose end out of it. Right there at the end we hit on it. I feel very, very good about it. We jumped up the board to third at the end of that practice and had really good lap times."

ON HIS TEAMMATES: "They do (look good). I'm excited for all of them. This is such a tough track and I know it's been a very challenging track for myself to learn how to drive it and be patient with it. I'm excited for Brian (Vickers) and Kyle (Busch) for finding that rhythm and doing what they need to do out there. Of course Jeff (Gordon), his track record speaks for itself here. With all that in mind hopefully we have a real strong Hendrick performance tomorrow."

WHO IS FAST OUT THERE? "The track is really changing right now. I think the Truck race is going to get it back to where it normally is come race time. The rubber really hasn't been going down that fast. There was a lot of grip and almost an easier condition on the track for everyone. Mid-way through the second practice the track started to rubber up. You could see where the right sides were really laying down a lot of black. The conditions were getting tough and I saw a lot of guys struggling. The only car I've really ran with at the end when I felt like I was good was the 9. I wouldn't expect the 20 to miss the set up or the 24. I think the typical Martinsville guys will be up front but the 9 will be strong as well."

ON THE TRACK CONDITION: "I think the best racing we had was when they roughed up the bottom in an attempt to make it smoother, and it gave us a second lane. Since then it seems like it takes a while for the tires to give up and once the tires give up, then we can start passing each other. Until then it's really single file so around 20, 25 laps on the tires on a run, then everybody starts having their handling characteristics show up and you can really start passing people. So we're focusing on having a strong car on the short run. We felt like last year that we couldn't pass and the run didn't go long enough. We didn't have 50, 60, 70 lap runs to utilize the good handling and set up in the long haul so we're trying to make sure our performance is better on the short run."

ON OVERDRIVING THIS TRACK ESPECIALLY FOR THE ROOKIES: "It's so tough. There's a certain spot where you need to be back to the gas to get off the corner. If you get in too hard and you miss that spot and your back to the gas, the car acts wrong. If you get in too easy and you're to the gas too early and you exit the corner so tight you either clip the inside curb or run out of race track because of the outside wall. It really is a rhythm track. There's really one or two ways to drive this track and it's so hard to find it. There's people all over the place searching for different lines and different rhythms. Once you hit it and you remember that, you always look forward to coming back here. That's kind of what I went through personally."

ON THE START OF THE RACE AS THE POLE-SITTER: "It'd be nice to lead a lap. I'm just really happy with the pit pick being the first pit stall down there. I've never really been in that position before. I was talking with Jeff during practice and he's like 'man, you're really going to love it there.' That's five positions every stop. Hopefully we're able to capitalize on that and have a good day tomorrow."

ON ROOKIES RACING HERE: "I don't have a thought that rookies have been off anywhere. They've done a great job. Today's racing has guys that have won Busch Championships and won championships in a lot of different forms of racing. They've been racing for a long time. They all know how to drive. They all know how to race. They may not know how to get around this place just right and the fastest way yet but they're up to speed, they're friendly to the other guys on the track, when to give some guys a break and when to race. I've been really impressed with the rookie class."

DO THESE ROOKIES MEASURE UP TO THE ROOKIE CLASS WITH YOU AND RYAN NEWMAN? "It's tough to say. I think I won my first event 10 races into my rookie season. I think we'd have to look closer at the stats to see where these guys end up. Ryan and I both won. Ryan won a lot of poles which he typically does. I thought we had a very competitive rookie class. I led the points at one point that season. We'll just see how this season develops. These guys are in great equipment and they're talented drivers. I think they'll be household names before long."

ON THIS TRACK COMPARED TO BRISTOL: "This track is a lot easier for me personally than Bristol. I don't have the rhythm at Bristol that I need for whatever reason. We can run in the top five or 10 but I can't go up there and race for the win and do what I need to do. Here after my second trip to this race track things started to make some sense. I really worked with Jeff and fortunately he was nice to share some information with me and help me get around here. At that point the light switched turned on and it's been good for me ever since."

WHAT'S THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER HERE? "You have to get around the corner far enough so when you get back on the gas you only get into it once. A patient entry is needed but you still have to get off the brake and let it roll around the corner far enough. In my mind I'm always saying let it roll, get off the brake and let it roll."

ON GOING TO TEXAS: "It's really a tough track for us. The entries to the corner have really given me some problems. We just can't get our car into the corner right. The transition is pretty abrupt. We find that the valance comes off the ground and the front tires almost float into the corner. Then when the car lands and the valance seals off it grips real hard and makes the car loose. That combination from the straight away to maximum compression, we're still working on trying to get that better. We feel like what we've developed this year and the package that we're refining right now is going to be a lot better with that so I'm excited to go back."

HOW HARD IS IT AS A DRIVER WHEN YOU CAN'T GET YOUR CAR RIGHT? "It is tough especially at a Martinsville or a road course. There's so many opportunities to mess things up that you don't know where to start. At Texas after a few laps you get a feel of the car and there's a certain rhythm that isn't all that difficult to hit lap after lap. When you're at a road course, or Martinsville or Bristol and things aren't working right you sit there with a big question mark in your mind and you don't know where to begin."

ON GOING TO PHOENIX AND THE TRANSITION FROM DAY TO NIGHT: "I think the spring Phoenix race is great. I won last year. It's nice with the sun being in a different position. It didn't blind us coming down into turn one. I love getting out to the west coast. I love seeing the sport travel and the new date that is there for more west coast exposure. It's also a good race."

Media Q&A with Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Monte Carlo SS
Jeff Burton in the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Monte Carlo SS answered questions from the media today at Martinsville Speedway. Burton's hometown is South Boston, Va. and is the former winner of the fall race here in 1997.

ON PRACTICE: "I was really happy. My car goes OK. It's not real fast. By lap 30 I got real happy with the car. I feel really good about it. It's a long race and a lot of stuff can happen. For a long run and for what I think it needs to do to be competitive, I think we're right there and I feel really good about it."

ON CLINT BOWYER HERE: "Clint struggled a little bit. He was pretty happy after first practice but I haven't talked to him after the second practice. He thinks the 07 is pretty good but it's the first time he's been here so he has to see what he needs to do, the feel of the car, the combination. He's trying to figure all that out. They think it's pretty decent."

ON THE LEARNING CURVE FOR ROOKIES: "This is a difficult race track but the rookies that we have are really good. They didn't just start racing yesterday. The rookies in this series aren't rookies. I don't go into the race worrying about the rookies. They've proven themselves over the last few years to be able to do a nice job and you really don't have that much trouble with rookies."

DO YOU HAVE A CAR TO WIN? "I think we have a chance. Right now the 2 car looks like the very best car. I like the way my car drives and I think we can do what we need to do with it. We've got a long, long race here and a lot of things can happen."

WHAT COULD HAPPEN? "It's easy to overdrive it. It's easy to underdrive it too. The thing here is that everybody always preaches here don't drive hard, but if you don't drive hard you can't run fast. If you go real fast, you've got to go hard but certainly you can go too hard. You can't go hard sometimes because your car won't let you. The guys that are running fast are running hard. Certainly you can over drive a car here but to go fast you've got to drive hard. If you decide you want to ride around and finish 30th or run 30th all day, then you can do that but to run in the front you've got to run hard."

ON YOUR SEASON SO FAR: "I came in the year after testing really feeling good about the things we can do this year. I think that my position has been confirmed that we can run fast. We've had some things not go our way but I'm not down about that. I don't know what we could have done different. In Atlanta we were running third with 30 to go and slowed down with15 to go and finished 25th. We can't worry about those kind of things. If we keep doing what we're doing and keep trying to get better then I feel really good about it. I'm just really optimistic about it."

WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING THE FINISHES YOU WANT? "Everyone asks that question all of the time. When teams aren't running well they don't have one problem. It's a combination. For us I think our entire program is better. I think every component of our race team is better. Every component of our company is better from marketing all the way to engineering. I think we've made changes in every area and made improvements in every area. We've got to do that again. We're not where we need to be just yet. We've got to keep working but we've improved in a lot of areas."

ON HIS ODDS FOR TOMORROW'S RACE: "I don't anything has been determined for tomorrow. I start 20th and there's no reason I can't win from 20th. There's a lot of things that are going to happen. Pit selection only matters when everybody around you is on the same lap but if you're pitting different, it doesn't matter where you pit. Certainly qualifying is important but it's 500 laps and in 500 laps a lot of stuff can happen."

ON PASSING HERE: "It's gotten harder because teams have gotten better. Competition is harder and tougher. At the same time we have real good teams, real good equipment, real good pit stops. We have more of everything that is better and that's made passing harder. It's very, very difficult to pass here. It's like impossible. They're trying to save the race track obviously but competition is so fierce and there are so many good teams and drivers, you just turn left and pass people. It's about the race track but it's also about competition."

ON THE CAR OF TOMORROW: "We have a box and a wing. I think the wing is going to be answer. I'm not a wing guy. I wasn't a proponent of the wing until I ran the car with the wing. I like the adjustability of the wing. I think the wings make racing better. The aero push behind the body won't be as bad and the loss of aerodynamics to the sides of the body won't be as bad. I think it will breed a situation where you can pass more and also run side by side more. And I like the fact that with the plan for the Car of Tomorrow you can run a car at Martinsville, Daytona and Charlotte. To me, you can unload the thing off the hauler, set it to maximum ride height and go. With the wing you can adjust the end plates, adjust the angle of the wing, adjust the wicker. It gives you a lot of flexibility so that aerodynamically you can take the car and run it in Phoenix and take it Michigan next week and run it. The biggest evolution at this point from where they started is the wing. Again I wasn't a proponent of the wing but right now I think it's the right thing to do."

ON THE CAR OF TOMORROW AND THE AFFECTS ON SMALLER VS. LARGER RACING ORGANIZATIONS: "If you have more money, more people and more assets and you don't do a better job with something than they do, then shame on you. The more they limit, the harder it is to gain an advantage but the more they limit the things that you can work on those things become that much more important. I think it has potential to make it easier for a single-car or two-car team to compete against a four or five car team but I don't think it guarantees it by any means. The teams that take the equipment and does the best job with it are the teams that will be successful. If we can't work on the body, we're going to work on the front section or we're going to find something to work on. The more that they limit us though, without a doubt, the less opportunity to gain."

WILL WARD BURTON EVER RACE AGAIN? "I don't know. Everybody asks me that all the time. I know that there's a tremendous amount of talent there. I know that he can drive a race car. I think the biggest decision for Ward is if he doesn't get the top-notch Cup ride is he willing to do a Busch or Truck (ride). Owners seem to be willing to make investments in young guys today where in the past they weren't and that's played against himself for sure. He's extremely talent obviously. As soon as he wants to get back in and if he does, he'll come back and give all of his effort. I don't know who will be there for him but someone will offer something and it will be his decision whether or not he thinks it is in his best interest. If he gets an offer to drive for someone that's not a Rick Hendrick or a Richard Childress, is it in his best interest to do a Truck or Busch ride?"

ON THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: "There are a lot of sports fans in the garage. Tomorrow the conversation will be who won and all that. No North Carolina, no Duke, so that takes a lot of fans out of it in this arena because there are some North Carolina fans but I do believe there are a lot of sports fans in the garage and there will be a lot of conversation about it tonight."