[Busch] was all over me and ran me real hard, which he's supposed to do, ... But I need to thank his team. ... The No. 5 was up here two weeks ago testing and carried it over and put it into the No. 48 car, and (we) took advantage of it. |
[Jimmie Johnson has finished 37th, 34th and 37th in the past three fall Talladega races, and he believes he's not alone in bringing a different mindset into this weekend. He starts ninth today.] When you're at a 1.5-mile or a `normal' track, most guys think they have a shot at winning, ... I really think everybody -- the drivers in the Chase especially -- wants to get out of there with a top-10. |
[Johnson doesn't have any preference for any of the nine tracks that remain on the schedule.] They all have their own deals, but Talladega is the scariest, ... You have a lot to lose there. |
a very sharp man. |
After all the trouble this team has been through and all the criticism, I'm dedicating this to the haters of the 48 team. |
After three or four years you finally learn how to race 400-mile races. The first couple of years you take too many chances. |
All you can do is make sure you're rolling out of the gas early and putting yourself in a position to not use a lot of brake, |
Another person I'm going to be thinking of is Brian Vickers, ... The plane crash was on his birthday, of all things. |
Anyone who gets on a plane headed to Vegas wants to win. Race car drivers are no different. It's an exciting place to visit and a great place to race and an even better place to win. We did that last year and would certainly like to do it again this weekend. |
As a friend and a teammate, I'm totally bummed for him that he missed the Chase. |
As a teammate and a friend (I want) to be there for him as well for the other people who lost loved ones on the flight. |
As the day wears on and gets into the evening, we'll try to hone in some new things and hopefully find some speed. |
Back in the spring, all the emotions came back. |
Before I knew it, he was on my bumper, ... I thought, `Man, I wish he would have had a harder time going through traffic. |
Before long, there will be a couple car breakaway and some gaps from there. That's when the pressure really sets in and you've got to decide if you're protecting the points lead or if you need to play some offense and be aggressive and lead the most laps and really take some risks. |