Team 48 Pocono Raceway Preview

Lowe’s Monte Carlo driver Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 travel to Pocono Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Johnson leads Matt Kenseth by 65 points in the season point’s race. Johnson swept both Pocono races in 2004.

DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:

How Important Is Being In The Lead When The Chase Starts? “It’s certainly is important. I don’t want to sit here and make you think that it’s just the point’s lead that’s important. Tony (Stewart) was able to take the points lead over going into the final 10 because of their performance. It’s nice starting first in the final 10, but there is more weight in the momentum of the team and the performance of the team. That’s where Tony, last year, was red hot at this point in time; and just kept building and when the final 10 started, he was unstoppable. That’s more of what you’re looking for – more of a consistency that we’re hoping we can get and really get on a hot streak here in the next month or so.”

Is Pocono More Mentally Demanding Than Physically Demanding? “I think the mental aspect was a little more intense when we were downshifting and upshifting around the track. I think the mental part has decreased a little bit. The way the summer months have been here so far – and in looking at the forecast, it looks like it’s going to be really warm – so hydration is going to be really important once again. It was last weekend at Loudon. But it made it easier on us, to be quite honest with you, now that we don’t shift around the race track.”

What Do You Remember About Sweeping Both Pocono Races in 2004? “The track changes a fair amount from the first race to the second one – even though it’s a month in time. It seems as though a lot changes. I remember from those races that I could complete a lap and feel like I did a decent job. But I’d look up in the mirror and I would have pulled away by multiple car lengths. I went, ‘Wow, this car is pretty good.’ So it’s a track where when you’re hooked up and have got it right, you have huge rewards. There’s a huge difference in speed between you and other guys. I think we saw that with the No. 11 car (Denny Hamlin, Pocono winner in June). There are three different turns and long straightaways. So if you’re slow – a tenth off the pace through the corner – and you add that all the way up down the straightaway, it turns into three or four tenths just on one straightaway and down the front stretch. And you add up that all the way around the race track, you can be seven or eight-tenths off the pace, which would normally be two-tenths off the pace on a small track. So when your stuff is right, it really makes a difference.”

Race Notes

Chassis