{"id":3378,"date":"2010-09-17T20:55:11","date_gmt":"2010-09-18T01:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/?p=9076"},"modified":"2010-09-17T20:55:11","modified_gmt":"2010-09-18T01:55:11","slug":"jimmie-johnson-press-conference-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/jimmie-johnson-press-conference-transcript\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmie Johnson Press Conference Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES<\/p>\n

SYLVANIA 300<\/p>\n

NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY<\/p>\n

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE\u2019S\/JOHNS MANVILLE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and discussed racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Chase and other topics. Full transcript:<\/p>\n

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO RACING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE THIS WEEKEND? \u201cExcited. Ran well here in the spring, qualified decent and ran up front all day long. Excited for our chances. I think these first two races are going to be really good for the 48 team. I\u2019m hopeful to come out and get a win and ideally get two wins. Really get everybody worried about the No. 48 team and doing our job. We\u2019re excited. Kerry (Tharp, NASCAR PR), no worries, I announced that I am the 2009 Male Athlete of the Year and did my opening comments. Way too much information.\u201d
\n<\/p>\n

BEYOND TALLADEGA, IS THERE A RACE TRACK THAT CONCERNS YOU IN THE CHASE? \u201cI felt like what I experienced last year with Texas, you really are vulnerable anywhere you go. I know a lot of people make Martinsville up to be a wild card race and it certainly is because of the close contact, but Martinsville you can hit the fence, you can hit someone else and in most cases, keep going. Texas, I felt like the mile-and-a-halves, you would have room and you could avoid situations and that was my belief last year and I was caught up in something that kind of has changed my mind. Maybe it hasn\u2019t changed my mind, but it\u2019s made the reality for me that anything can happen anywhere. I tried not to be sucked into that because last year we had so much momentum and so much going on. It just seemed like things were really going to happen for us and then Texas was the reality check that this thing isn\u2019t really over until you run every mile at every race.\u201d<\/p>\n

CAN YOU TAKE YOURSELF OUT OF A CHANCE TO WIN BY WORRYING ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN AT A RACE TRACK? \u201cI really think that a driver and team needs to continue doing what they\u2019ve been doing and if you\u2019re a team that doesn\u2019t think and spends a lot of time thinking and now you\u2019re spending all this time worrying about stuff that will probably hurt you. Ideally you just have to do what you know and what got you to this point. For me, that\u2019s not thinking \u2013 I\u2019m not good at thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

DOES NEW HAMPSHIRE AND THEN DOVER FAVOR ANY TEAMS IN THE CHASE? \u201cFirst of all, we all think that a fast start is needed to win the Chase. In \u201906, it wasn\u2019t the case so we all say that but until we get to race six or seven, the race strategy of what it really takes isn\u2019t going to be clear yet. Yes we are all hopeful to get off to a good start here and for our team and the fact that we\u2019ve been very consistent and running in the top-five here the last few times. Then Dover has been such a good track for us, it gets us really excited as the Lowe\u2019s team that we can hopefully run where we should and run up front and collect a lot of points. Lead a lap or lead some laps and get off to a fast start in the Chase. We\u2019re hopeful for that, but if it doesn\u2019t happen then we\u2019ll spin it in a way that says in \u201906 you didn\u2019t need to and there\u2019s still hope and there\u2019s still nine races and it probably drives all of you crazy, the positions we take week after week. We\u2019ve got to give ourselves hope somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHY DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE AT DOVER? \u201cFor me, it\u2019s really just the history that I have at these race tracks. Dover was my first big track that I ran in ASA and sat on the pole, led a bunch of laps and had a puncture with the tire and took me out of it. Nationwide, loved it. Cup career have loved it and won a lot there. It is a place though that if something goes wrong and outside of the spin I had in qualifying, you\u2019re going to hit something. You can spin like a top down the front stretch, but I\u2019m just glad I didn\u2019t hit anything. It will eat you up. I may be coming back to a question we had at the start, I\u2019m going with what I know and going to continue to drive the car as I always have and Dover is a track that I just love driving. I\u2019m looking forward to it and am going to go in there with that mindset and try to put the fear out of my mind and go for a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE INTERMEDIATE TRACKS IN THE CHASE AND PEOPLE SAYING THEY NEED TO \u2018JIMMIE-PROOF\u2019 THE CHASE? \u201cI guess I take a little pride in it because it means we\u2019ve been doing our jobs. It\u2019s such a fragile environment, living it myself, I know we\u2019ve had four awesome years, but anything could have happened at any time from the way I see it. It\u2019s very difficult to operate at this high level in this sport that is so competitive with so many superstars that are out there. I take a little pride in that comment, but at the same time, I know this is a tough road to hoe.\u201d<\/p>\n

IS YOUR INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM AS GOOD AS IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST? \u201cI think I made these comments a few months ago when we were getting into the summer that the mile-and-a-halves were a little tough for us. It seems like we\u2019ve been able to qualify well, then as the race goes on we just couldn\u2019t adjust the cars the way we needed to. We led a lot of laps at Chicago, there\u2019s some other tracks where we would start well and then fade. Michigan, we started up front and then just really couldn\u2019t get the car tuned in right as the race went on. We see some tracks where we ran well, but had a spin at Chicago, use that as an example. I felt like we would have finished well there. Then we look at Michigan and feel like we didn\u2019t run like we should have and that does worry me. A few of those tracks, including Indy, we start up front and just a slow fade to the back. What makes me feel good about that going into the Chase is how we ran in Atlanta. We went back to the 48-style stuff and what we know and had a car that maybe wasn\u2019t the fastest all night long, but a car that we could adjust on and improve and at the end of the race I had a shot to win. If we didn\u2019t have Atlanta, I would be a little more concerned, but Atlanta gave us a lot of direction and I think we\u2019ll be competitive on the mile-and-a-halves. I\u2019m not sure that we\u2019re as strong as we\u2019ve been there in the past on those style of tracks, but we do have some time yet to kind of sort things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

ARE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE USING THE CAR YOU WON WITH IN JUNE OR DO YOU WISH YOU HAD BROUGHT A NEW CAR? \u201cJust depends on your team and what\u2019s going on that year. Through the summer in some of these races that we\u2019ve struggled at, we\u2019ve been trying new stuff. From different style clips on cars to setups and sometimes you think you need to keep moving forward to keep up with guys and we go down that road and it doesn\u2019t pan out for us. So we\u2019ve actually back-tracked a little bit and have gone back to stuff more like the start of the year and early spring that really works for us. You never know. You have to stay looking forward and the stuff we were working on through the summer, we haven\u2019t put it away, we just need to figure out another piece or two to put with it. Our minds are always thinking forward, but at times you can get ahead of yourself in some respects. The Childress guys have had a lot of momentum lately, they\u2019ve been bringing great cars to the track all year and there are times and they might be the example that when you keep using new stuff and you have the right direction, you can bring better equipment to the track each time. Right now, we\u2019re not really in that position. We have a lot that we want to bring, we just need to sort it out a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

HAVE YOU ARRIVED AS A GOLFER? \u201cOh no. Far from it. It was a cool spread and glad to be in it, but I\u2019m still 25 handicap. Golf is a means to drinking beer for me so it\u2019s still the same thing for me. I am 35, am I getting close to that Senior status?\u201d<\/p>\n

IS THERE A STRATEGY TO WIN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE?: \u201cIn the spring we had a great car in the long haul and we came down to some short runs at the end and that really played into the 2 (Kurt Busch) car\u2019s hands. We put on a good race and moved each other out of the way to fight for the win and sort things out. This track is so difficult because what you need for the long run and we have a lot of long runs through the middle of the race will not work for a five lap shootout. You just have to pick your poison. Are you going to worry about the end of the race and just hope you don\u2019t go a lap down and hope you maintain decent track position or do you work on the car like you normally do and try to make it good for an entire fuel run. Of course we\u2019re trying to balance it, but it\u2019s a really tough thing to do here. I would assume we\u2019re going to have short runs at the end, but we need to keep our eyes on that this weekend and make sure our car\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE PERCEPTION OF THE FANS AND COMPETITORS OF YOUR ABILITY TO DO WELL IN THIS CHASE? \u201cWith what we\u2019ve done and what I\u2019ve heard through being in there week after week, that chance is there. I\u2019m not sure that one race would make the garage area say, \u2018Oh man, the 48\u2019s there.\u2019 In my eyes I try to think about it realistically, if we\u2019re able to run well here, Dover and get two or three races linked together then we might be able to pick up something like that. I sure hope I do and I would love to put our team in that position that see if it really makes a difference or not. Early in the Chase, at least in my experience, it\u2019s easy to not get too emotionally attached to things. At the end of the Chase when you have a shot and you can see Homestead out there and you\u2019re one of the two or three guys that has a chance, your mind does a lot of weird things on you. If I can build some momentum until then and be a player and a factor at that point, I think we can get some heads. Until then, these guys are too strong, too smart and I don\u2019t think they would allow that to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOW DIFFERENT ARE YOU THIS WEEK HEADING INTO NEW HAMPSHIRE? \u201cI made those comments in New York doing the media stuff and I woke up this morning, put together a crib and put together the little mobile on it and got the bath tub out and got everything setup. Then I was like, \u2018Oh yeah, we\u2019ve got media coming up and practice.\u2019 I know I have said that point comes where it hits you and it hasn\u2019t yet so I know it\u2019s the Chase, I know what\u2019s going on and walking the garage area and take my job seriously and do everything that I need to, but each year I have had more fun in the Chase. I am hoping that this is a sign that I am more relaxed, enjoying the moment and I\u2019m going to give 100 percent either way so the less I stress about things, I think the better I\u2019m going to run. I\u2019ve seen that trend as well. I\u2019m excited, I\u2019m relaxed and looking forward to the Chase and we\u2019ll see what happens. Hopefully I can be more relaxed this year and enjoy the experience and make even better decisions yet because I\u2019m in the right place in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

DID YOU LOOK AT THE TIME WHEN YOU GOT UP THIS MORNING? \u201cI jumped in the shower at 10:20 and was panicked. I was like, I have to get to the media center so I was just kind of occupied doing other stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF VELNERABILITY AND WHAT COMPETITOR CONCERNS YOU GOING INTO THE CHASE?: \u201cWe\u2019ve had enough slow summers that I don\u2019t feel vulnerable going into the Chase. I know the tracks that are on the schedule and we all know how good they are for me and they all give me a lot of hope and excitement moving forward. I don\u2019t think that I\u2019m any different this year than last year. Stats may show that this year I\u2019m actually in better shape than I was last year. I can play into that stuff and let it change my mind a little bit emotionally. Either way I know that I\u2019ve got great tracks coming up. I know that we respond well to pressure and I\u2019m excited for it. I feel good about things. I\u2019m also a realist and I look at that two ways \u2013 one, and I\u2019m only 10 points out now so that gives everyone a lot of hope because the furthest out is 60. Then from there I have to go out and look at these final 10 as this is the start of the season and we\u2019re at Daytona again or wherever again, it has started over. I\u2019m not going to stress about the past, I\u2019m not going to carry baggage in from the regular season and I hope my team doesn\u2019t. I feel confident with the conversations we\u2019ve had that we\u2019re all on the same page and we\u2019re on a clean sheet of paper and it\u2019s time to go. I know we say this every year that we\u2019re up here and that everyone has a chance, but honestly it\u2019s a wide, there\u2019s a wide group of guys that can win this thing. We\u2019ve seen the Stewart-Haas stuff coming along, Roush cars are fast again, RCR (Richard Childress Racing) cars have been great, Gibbs cars have been good and Denny (Hamlin) has been a little streaky like I have, but the 18 (Kyle Busch) has been real consistent lately, Denny is coming off of a win \u2013 it\u2019s going to be exciting. I\u2019ve got my teammate Jeff (Gordon), he\u2019s been real consistent all year long and I put a lot of weight in a past champion\u2019s hands when it comes to a championship battle. You\u2019ve been there and done that and you know how to deal with the pressures that come with it. I think it\u2019s going to be a really good Chase.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SYLVANIA 300 NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE\u2019S\/JOHNS MANVILLE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and discussed racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Chase and other topics. Full transcript: ARE YOU LOOKING […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45,126,112,16],"tags":[15769],"class_list":["post-3378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nascar","category-new-england","category-new-hampshire","category-nhms","tag-nhms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3378\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}