NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 3, 2005

Jimmie Johnson

Chad Knaus

CHAD KNAUS: The guys have started going through some different practice drills. Obviously the format for that is going to be a little bit different. The car is stationary, so the guys have to kind of get adjusted to that. We're actually going to start preparing the race car that we're going to use. They've got to do a 40-yard push. Seven crew members are going to go out there and push the car for 40 yards. That's one of the deals they have to try to do once they reach the finals. We're trying to get that car to roll as easily as we can make it to try to get every little bit of advantage we can out of that. Other than that, they don't have to do a whole lot because they're going to be doing the same thing they do every weekend about eight to ten times. They practice regularly at the racetrack, then obviously what we do at the shop under normal practice.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: No. The day you believe that or feel that you have, she'll bite you. I don't think I've tamed her. I've become decent friends with her and we'll just try to keep it that way.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't think we spend too much time looking at the odds and approaching things that way. I think we look at our past performance and try to see what we can do better. In looking at the Darlington track, it's tough to do better than what we did. We just look at it more in that light, though, is to come back and do a better job and try to take it from there. I don't really have a solid answer for your question except that the track itself is so unique and there's so many different things we have to deal with throughout the course of the day. Pit stops are very important with how many times I'll hit pit road in the Cup race for new tires with the cautions that take place. There's a lot of factors that play into it. It's a place where everyone really has to focus on their individual jobs and just do that job. If I get too busy racing other cars, you'll make a mistake. If the guys get worried about doing something else on pit road or being the fastest all the time, mistakes are going to be made. It's really about racing the track. You hear that old cliche there, but it's very true. Everyone just has to stay focused on their deal and race the racetrack.

CHAD KNAUS: It's pretty easy to blame NASCAR. I think if you look back over history, every time we leave Talladega or Daytona and we do have the "big one," somebody always says it's time for NASCAR to change the tracks. You've got to realize if NASCAR was to change those racetracks, I don't know that we would have the draw that we do to Daytona and Talladega. Obviously, the things that I would love for them to knock the banking down and make them a little bit flatter and turn them into more of a downforce track. I think that would be something that would be very unique and something that we could probably adapt to. But that's not what the fans want to see. The fans love seeing groups of cars running three- and four-wide. The only way to really spread out the field is to make it to where the drivers have to lift. It's going to be very, very difficult for NASCAR to do that. Ways in which they can do that is obviously to increase the horsepower to where the cars go faster, but you increase the rate of lift-off for the cars. You can't do that. So one of the things we've talked about in the past with NASCAR is going to a narrower tire, a tire that will give up more, wear out more, give less contact patch to the ground. I think that's something that they can maybe look into that would help that. But it's really difficult to say that there's going to be one for sure thing that's going to make the cars separate. We've got some pretty intelligent people that work on these race cars, and whatever the rules are, we're going to do whatever we can to make the cars as fast as we can. Ultimately we'll probably end up in the same situation unless we finally get to a situation to where we can unleash the horsepower and let the cars go out there. If you have 800 horsepower, a guy going into the turn, you're going to make the car have more downforce, he's going to have to lift, and different things will happen. That will be the best scenario.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Not necessarily. I mean, I think there's been some natural evolution that's taken place. Our team has been able to provide and help the 24. Getting started out, we took a lot from them. As time has gone on, we've been able to give back. I think in that giving back thing, we respect each other, we respect each other's teams and abilities, and that dynamic has taken its own from there.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Fortunately, I think I see things the way that Jeff does. It's one thing when somebody advises you, but you see it in a different light. We kind of look at things the same way, have a similar style. It's been easy for me to listen and take his suggestions and adapt his outlook to my deal. I mean, it's just kind of worked well more than anything.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I think so. Everybody has their own style. Last thing you want to do is copy someone. I would be crazy to not take his advice. He's been very generous and helpful for me in the car and outside of the car. I've taken everything that he's advised me on and applied it to my style and my way of doing things.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: That changes every day (laughter). I see different things that carry and run further. I thought that I've seen it all at different times, but it continues to grow.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I wouldn't say necessarily one person. There's a large group of people that I try to get with and see. Fortunately, they've been traveling out to races so it's not so overwhelming each time I go out. It changes each time. A few people do make it to races on the East Coast, so I'm not too worried about seeing them. I worry about the guys that haven't had a chance to make it out. It's always changing.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think so. I honestly learn more from him by watching him and racing with him, kind of understanding the way he looks at things. Darlington is a place that his patience and his experience and knowledge really has helped him out in so many ways. I've noticed that and have brought that into my program. I think it was two years ago maybe I got into a little thing with Sterling from racing too hard and not being patient. From that point on, going back to Darlington, I really watched Jeff and paid attention to the line that he runs, how he approaches the race, when he races, why he races people. I've applied that to what I do.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: It's massive. I mean, to be able to win a race at Darlington is a huge accomplishment. Personally I know that it doesn't have the luster of like the Daytona 500 or some of the other races from an outsider's standpoint. When you leave that racetrack, you know that you won, you are the guy that everybody chased, it means a lot. It's top of the list.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: No. That's what we're paid to do, is be aggressive. You've got new rules packages. There's a lot of things that are different. The cars are a little tougher to drive. Everybody's trying hard. I think the competition is closer than it's ever been. I think it's a little of everything to be honest with you.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, that's right on the money. I think if you read between the lines and the comments that are made from drivers and teams, and even NASCAR, they know that Darlington is such a unique racetrack. What it's done for the sport, I think it was one of the first three paved ovals that NASCAR raced on. It has a lot of history. It's very unique. I think that's why it's still on the schedule. I think we need to keep tracks like Darlington on the schedule. It may not fit the new model for a big racetrack, big market, all the different things like that. It's one of the tracks our sport was founded on, a very tough race to get around. I like that it's on the schedule.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think everybody wants to put blame somewhere. It's just the way that everybody works. Now we even have the -- when you crash, they show the replay while they're interviewing you so you can place blame. It seems to be the new thing right now. Everybody wants answers as to why there's big wrecks. I think that our wreck on Sunday was a racing incident. If you took one of those three components out of what took place to start that big wreck, it wouldn't have happened. It's hard racing. You're an inch and a half apart from one another. Cars bouncing all over. They're hard to drive. It's hard to place blame on it. I think what took place on Talladega in the big wreck and with two to go that I was caught up in was hard racing. That's all that it was.

CHAD KNAUS: Honestly, I haven't looked at them that close. I know that we got in that wreck with just a few laps to go there. The earlier caution, I didn't see a whole lot of that one either. We got back to Charlotte, we got prepared, we're ready to go to Darlington. All that stuff is really behind us. We don't talk about it. We don't review the accident tapes or anything like that. That's what the fans do. We really don't do that. I don't really know what happened. It's hard to place blame on anybody when you're racing in a pack that is that close with the speeds those guys are running out there. For the most part they all do a pretty good job. All it takes is one little slip-up by somebody or by two or three people, you're going to have a heck of a crash. It's just unfortunate.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: We weren't in that wreck, so I wasn't around afterwards to catch the vibe. When I left after I was crashed with two to go, you leave thinking, "Well, it's Talladega, it's Daytona, it's what happens." In a little bit of the interviews I saw, a lot of the drivers afterwards seemed to have that same vibe. You can play back last week's race and then maybe the last five years' worth of races at Talladega Superspeedway racing and you're going to see the same interviews and same comments made after every wreck.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Go ahead, Chad. I want to hear this.

CHAD KNAUS: I've got a great race car driver, just a great driver. That's what we've got there, a guy that can get out there, that can drive. If you've ever truly seen Jimmie drive, I'm not talking just in competition, when he's out there and he's practicing and what he can do and the way he feels the car, then the way he's able to communicate that back to myself and the other team members at Hendrick Motorsports, I think that's far and above better than any other driver out there. He can truly feel the car better than anybody else out there.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Not to follow up what he's saying, but I have to say that he can understand what I'm saying. That's the hardest thing. I think it applies in any sport or profession: communication is everything. He understands what I say and how I say it, what I'm feeling, and can fix it. That's the amazing thing. I thought I had all those crazy feelings in me, what the car was doing, based on past experiences, we couldn't fix it. But Chad can fix it. He can really visualize and see what the car is doing based on what I tell him, address it and fix it. It's amazing.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I know that when Jeff practiced there, I think he did an exhibition of some sort, he was concerned with the lighting. I have to admit when we were back and raced and finished under the lights, I didn't -- I don't recall there being any issues with the lighting. So I don't know if they addressed something based on Jeff's comments then. But after our finish under the lights there last year, I thought everything was fine. I thought you could see the track well. Shadowing didn't seem to be a big problem. The hardest thing was the twilight hours, racing into the sun. It was tough going into turn three. Once the sun went down, everything seemed fine.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think the reason the points may not be closer to reflect the competition is some bad racing luck for some guys, being caught up in things. For the most part we've been pretty clean. We crashed out of the race last week and still finished 20th. I know some guys have crashed out and ended up in the 30s and 40s. I think that the points don't really resemble what we're saying as far as the competition. I definitely believe the competition is stronger this year than what I've seen in my Cup career.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I'm really looking forward to it. There's some new things coming up at Lowe's Motor Speedway that I'm looking forward to our test session with our Busch car to see what's going on at that track. When I look at the calendar, see the racetracks that are laid out, I'm really excited. Definitely looking forward to things, and think that we can win some races that are coming up.

CHAD KNAUS: I'm looking forward to it. I love Darlington. I think it's a very unique racetrack. I wish it was still on the schedule twice. I think it's one of the coolest racetracks we go to. I just wish we could work on everything around the racetrack and inside the racetrack to make it a little bit nicer. The garage area isn't real good for the guys to work in. It's kind of difficult for them. I know some of the seating arrangements for the fans is a little difficult. I think if we can make some improvements to the racetrack as far as getting in and out, the accommodations, it would be one of the top venues out there because the track's got so much history, and the racing is just so awesome.

CHAD KNAUS: Yeah, I'd love to do it. I think it would be a lot of fun. It's unfortunate that our NEXTEL Cup Series kind of crosses over into that. It's just not a real good idea to take away from that. Maybe one day maybe when I'm old and gray, I'll be able to go and give it a shot.

CHAD KNAUS: Jimmie has a lot more free time than I do.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I hope so. I would like to race the 4th of July race, the Paul Revere race in Daytona. I think it would work well. I know Tony ran the Watkins Glen race. I've got mixed emotions on doing that, but I definitely would like to do the Paul Revere race if it all works out. I've put my feelers out there to the Crawfords and have let them know. We'll see if we can get something pulled together.

CHAD KNAUS: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Whether it's being practiced or not, obviously I have no idea. When you're using steroids, if I remember back to my wrestling and football days back in high school, what that would do is just kind of increase your burst of energy and your short-term impact. Obviously, that's what you're doing in a 12-second pit stop. But honestly I don't think that there's any of that out there. If there is, then I will be surprised. But, yeah, it could be a small gain.

CHAD KNAUS: You know, honestly I think we started to contribute right out of the box. Our first test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Jimmie and I, we really tried some things that were a little different from the norm for the 24 car and for Hendrick Motorsports. We went to the racetrack, I believe it was the first seven weeks of our 2002 season, with the identical setup as the 24 car. Reason being is we knew that if Jeff rolled off the truck and he was fast, then we needed to be just as fast as he did. Basically that put the blame on Jimmie, and not on me (laughter). Beyond that point, after our first couple of runs, we'd see where we stacked up on the board, and then at that point we would start going our own direction of what we thought Jimmie was more comfortable with, what I felt the car would be faster with. So about seven weeks into it, that's when we really started to gain our legs and start running strong.

CHAD KNAUS: You know, as a driver, I think he's developed into one of the best drivers I've seen in the sport. I've been in the sport for quite some time. As an individual and a race winner and spokesperson, as far as I'm concerned, he's probably the best out there. I don't think you're going to meet a nicer, truer guy. He does his job right. Very untypical of him to fly off, shoot somebody the bird or jump up and down and scream, act like a child or anything like that. I think he's got a good package.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I wouldn't use those terms. I mean, we are close enough to know how each other really works and how we can lean on each other and get the most out of each other. I mean, that's more of the dynamic than anything. Something that I truly respect in Chad is if he doesn't think that we're heading in the right direction or that something's wrong, it's not that I complete his sentence or he completes mine, we'll tell each other how we really feel and figure out how to make it better from there. I think that's a key part to communicating, is standing up for what you believe in, having people understand it and see it with you. That's a hard thing to do.

CHAD KNAUS: Yeah, I agree. The thing that we've -- I think Phoenix probably started off to be a good example, but didn't end up that way. Jimmie could feel something in the car a couple years ago in Phoenix that he really, really liked, but it's away from what would make the car work. I really believed the direction we were going with the race car was going to be the way to go as opposed to what we had had a couple of years ago. Instead of him continuing to insinuate or pester or anything like that, he just said, "Okay, if that's really what you believe, let's go down that road." We've had to do that a few times. There's been times when Jimmie has said, "Look, I really think we're going the wrong way." We take and pay attention to that and we go a different direction. It's not so much completing sentences for each other, but I think it's more of looking in each other's eyes and knowing what they're truly feeling. He knows when I'm pretty upset. I know when he's pretty upset. Happy, mad, whatever it may be. I think that's what we've got more than other people.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Definitely.

CHAD KNAUS: I think he can look at me and tell if I'm pissed (laughter). I should say mad, sorry.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I personally don't know what they can do, what NASCAR can do or what goes on. When you're out there in the cars and you're drafting, bump-drafting three-wide, four-wide, the cars are being moved around. If you imagine driving down -- being on a boat and the wake coming off of a boat. When you try to cross that wake in another boat, it's difficult. Throws you all over the place. If you want to think of being out there with 42 other boats, you're trying to stay an inch or two apart from one another, stuff happen. It's very tough. NASCAR is in a corner where they can't allow us to run any faster to separate us because of safety issues of the cars taking off. We just kind of concede, we know we're going to Talladega or Daytona, there will be a 20-car wreck. We just kind of hope we're not in it. It's what we have to do there, unfortunately. I don't really think it's anybody's fault. We're racing hard. NASCAR, for safety reasons, have to keep the rules how they are. We just hope we're not in the big wreck.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't think anybody plans necessarily to come out with a certain style. It's more of how the rules are playing into your setups. There's so many variables that move around that give a team or an organization an advantage. I think you're dealing with Jeff Gordon. The man is capable of winning a lot of races. He has, and he always will. He's very aggressive. I think one of the bigger stories has been how Roush has been so competitive. Their whole team has been more of a surprise than I would say Jeff coming out strong. Jeff's always going to be strong. Things are working right for those guys right now. For us, as well. The first five races, we were in contention to win each of them. Last few weeks have been a little harder on us. We're still up there fighting for wins and running really strong.

CHAD KNAUS: I think obviously the communication level between the 24 and the 48 is as high as it's ever been. A lot of this sport is based on whether you want to call it momentum or confidence. Right now both of our teams have a lot of confidence and momentum on their side. I think that's playing a big role into it. When a driver goes to a racetrack, feels like he's capable of winning that event, that carries a lot of weight. Jeff and Jimmie both right now feel every time they go to the racetrack, they're capable of winning. Either they have won at that track or they've come close to winning at that track. Same with Robbie, his pit crew, myself and our pit crew with the Lowe's team. I think that's probably the biggest thing you're seeing is just a pretty severe level of confidence every time you go to the racetrack. That's really starting to play into it.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Thanks.

CHAD KNAUS: Thank you.