DAYTONA PREVIEW |
JIMMIE JOHNSON – TEAM'S PRESEASON BUZZ
“There's always high expectations that the teams put on themselves and we as drivers put on ourselves. The great things that have been written in the media, you can use them the right way and they can motivate the team and add some more confidence. At the same time, they can also hurt the team. I feel very fortunate at Hendrick Motorsports and working with the 24 and being around them, kind of keeping everything in check. We'll take the great things that have been written about our team and use it in a positive manner.”
DAYTONA MEMORIES
“I grew up in Southern California and it was hard to catch any NASCAR races on television. But one of the ones you could always count on was the Daytona 500. I remember being pretty young and watching this race with my dad and only a few others. I've watched it for a long time and have always wanted to be a part of it. I have great memories so far. We came out in our rookie year and won the pole and finished 15th. Last year we finished third. Everything has been really strong for me here and I hope to win it someday.”
FEELINGS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF WINNING THE DAYTONA 500
“I don't know. I really haven't thought about it. I can say all the things that everybody else would say - that it would be the greatest thing. But I doubt anybody can really appreciate it until you're there the next day watching your car be put in the museum. That's when it probably finally hits people. I just look forward to that experience.”
CHAD KNAUS – RUNNING ON SUPERSPEEDWAYS
“I like superspeedways so much because when I was younger, it was a way for me to take the driver out of the picture because qualifying on superspeedways and the car at superspeedways is so dependent on speed more so than the driver. The driver doesn’t have as much input on superspeedways and that was a way for me to try and show what my team was capable of doing.”
WINNING THE POLE IN 2002
“It was amazing when we sat on the pole in 2002. To come down here for the first time with Lowe’s and Jimmie and Hendrick Motorsports, my new team, it was incredible. We put an awful lot of effort and preseason preparation into that car. To come down to Daytona and get the pole was indescribable.”
RACE NOTES
CHASSIS INFORMATION
· Budweiser Shootout- Chassis 4875
· Daytona 500- Chassis 4870
STATS & FACTS
CAREER AT DAYTONA
· Johnson has four points-race starts at Daytona, but a total of eight starts overall including one career Bud Shootout race, two career Twin 125 races and one career IROC race. Johnson became only the third rookie in history to sit on the pole for the Daytona 500 in 2002. His best finish at Daytona is a third-place showing in last year’s rain-shortened Daytona 500. Johnson has one top-five and two top-ten finishes and one pole position in four points race starts at the famed superspeedway.
MOST RECENT RUN IN DAYTONA
· In last season’s Pepsi 400, Johnson started from the 11th-position, but used patience and skills to climb into the top five in just under 10 laps. Johnson was forced to pit on lap 140 just when he had taken the lead away from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. When Johnson exited pit road following the two-tire stop with fuel, Johnson was in 16th-place and starting to make his move on the top 10. On lap 155, Johnson caught the lead pack and started three wide racing to gain positions. Johnson climbed as high as 13th-place before being forced into the outside retaining wall causing right side damage to the car. As a result, Johnson fell off the pace from the field and hobbled across the line in 18th-place.
MOST RECENT RUN IN BUD SHOOTOUT
· Johnson began the 2003 Bud Shootout (his career first) on the outside of the front row as a result of a random draw conducted at a press conference earlier in the week. Johnson timed the start of the race perfectly and quickly took the lead before he exited turn two. The No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy remained in the lead for the first four laps and in the top 10 for the first 50 laps of the 70-lap event. Johnson locked up the brakes and flat-spotted the tires during the team’s lone pit stop on the day, leaving the them no choice but to take on four tires. The longer stop cost Johnson valuable position on the track, but he was able to catch the field with eight laps remaining and continued to climb through the field to post a 6th-place finish.
DAYTONA RACE NOTES
EVENT START FINISH STATUS NOTES
2002 Daytona 500 1 15 Running Only third rookie polesitter in race history
2002 Twin 125s 1 27 Running
2002 Pepsi 400 16 8 Running
2003 Bud Shootout 2 6 Running Johnson’s first Bud Shootout
2003 Twin 125s 8 5 Running
2003 Daytona 500 10 3 Running
2003 IROC Race 4 4 Running Johnson’s IROC Series debut
2003 Pepsi 400 11 18 Running
WILL THE STREAK CONTINUE?
· Jimmie Johnson extended the longest current streak for consecutive weeks in the NASCAR Top 10 to 69 weeks with his 2nd place finish in last season’s championship race. It is the 9th longest streak in the modern era (1972-present). Should Johnson remain in the NASCAR Top 10 the entire 2004 season, he will pass Richard Petty and take sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list. An interesting note is that the season-opening race put a halt to all but two of the streaks, the exception being Dale Earnhardt’s record streak of 174 weeks and Sterling Marlin’s 11th-ranked run (66 weeks).
THE BIG “MO”
· Team Lowe’s Racing ended the 2003 season with a flourish and looks to ride the momentum into Speedweeks beginning this week. Jimmie Johnson scored seven straight top-10 finishes, including six of second or third, to finish the season second in the point standings. Had the new points system for the 2004 season been in place, Johnson would have won the final Winston Cup championship instead of Matt Kenseth.
2004 IROC SEASON
· For the second straight year, Jimmie Johnson will compete in the Crown Royal International Race of Champions (IROC Series). Johnson earned his first IROC win and victory at the Brickyard taking the series’ season finale last year. His win and bonus points placed him third overall in the series’ final standings.
MOST RECENT RUN IN IROC
· In the fourth and final race of the 2003 IROC season, Johnson led the final 20 laps to capture the win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson, who started sixth, picked up five positions by lap 15 and was sitting second behind race leader Helio Castroneves, representing the IRL IndyCar Series, when a caution period for debris on lap-20 reformed the field for a double file restart. Johnson and fellow NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick used the high line on the restart to get around Castroneves, who had led from the onset. Johnson outpaced Harvick down the stretch by .697 seconds in the 40-lap, 100- mile race with an average speed of 135.287 mph. It was the first career IROC win and first victory at the historic 2.5-mile oval for Johnson, as he became the third IROC rookie to win in 2003.
IROC SERIES NOTES
EVENT START FINISH STATUS LAPS LED NOTES
2003 IROC – Daytona 4 4 Running 14 Johnson’s first IROC start
2003 IROC – Talladega 9 8 Running -
2003 IROC – Chicagoland 8 7 Running -
2003 IROC – Indianapolis 6 1 Running 20 Johnson’s first IROC win and Brickyard victory
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