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An off night for Johnson at LMS, combined with Gordon and Boyer's 1-2, accentuated the pressure on Johnson. (LAT photo) » More Photos
THE CHAMPION SPEAKS Jimmie Johnson, the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion and winner of four of 10 races so far this season, knows that the fans are unhappy that Hendrick Motorsports has won seven of the last eight races. But he offered no apologies for the team's incredible 2007 performance, which includes victories in all four Car of Tomorrow races to date, including Richmond, where he was triumphant Sunday.
"These are the days you hope for. These are the stretches of time that you pray for, hope for, work for," said Johnson prior to the start of testing Tuesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "All those things come into it. To have it right now, we're enjoying it. And we know it's not going to last forever. But we've worked so hard as a company to put ourselves in this position, that regardless of the backlash, we're just proud of what we've done."
As for whether or not he can maintain his phenomenal record at Lowe's, where he is the two-time and defending champion in the Nextel All-Star Challenge and winner of five of six points races from 2003-05, Johnson was cautiously optimistic.
"It's too early in the month, really, to get an idea of who's going to be the players," he said. "I feel we certainly should be in that category, but I wouldn't count Kasey (Kahne, winner of both LMS races in '06) out yet, the 24 (teammate Jeff Gordon), the 20 (Tony Stewart) is always strong here. When you think of the mile-and-half stuff lately, Kurt Busch has been coming on strong. They've been getting their stuff right and the 8 car (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) has been strong. I think once we work through the month, the (Coca-Cola) 600 is going to be a really good race. We've had a lot of success here, and every time I come here I smile, 'cause I love the track and look forward to the opportunities it brings us."
FATBACK IN THE HOUSE Jon Wood, who is splitting seat time with Ken Schrader this season in the No. 21 Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Fusion, said Tuesday that there is no truth whatsoever to the rumors that the team's race director, Michael "Fatback" McSwain is on his way out after two consecutive DNQs for the team.
"That's obviously something I love to address anytime I get the opportunity," Wood said prior to the start of the second day of Nextel Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Anytime you're able to put a rumor to rest, it's a good chance to do that. There's nothing to the rumor that Fatback's leaving or that Fatback's getting fired. The only truth to anything related to that is that there was an upper-level management meeting after the No. 21 car missed Talladega, and it was just to decide what they needed to work on to be more competitive and to move forward. But it wasn't a finger-pointing meeting, it wasn't anything. Somehow, it just snowballed from that."
FLYING THE COLORS Eight Nextel Cup drivers and two Busch drivers will lead all NASCAR fans in the American Heroes Memorial Day salute to the armed forces during the Coca-Cola 600, kicking off a nationwide effort to raise funds for military families in need. Participating drivers include Greg Biffle, Ward Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Shane Huffman, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Casey Mears and Jon Wood.
Each of the 10 drivers will compete in the Coca-Cola 600 with an armed forces-themed special paint scheme. Earnhardt, for example, will race his familiar No. 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with camouflage paint. The NASCAR team owners, sponsors, drivers and employees donated the space on their cars to collectively thank the armed forces at the Coca-Cola 600.
The American Heroes Memorial
"They (the fans) enjoy it," Earnhardt said Tuesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "I mean everybody's really patriotic and gets really pumped up and this kind of goes along with that. I'm proud to be one of the few drivers that's part of this program and hopefully future programs that will be very similar to it."
Darlington figures to offer the toughest CoT handling challenge to date. (LAT photo) » More Photos
DAUNTING DARLINGTON The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will compete at venerable Darlington Raceway on Saturday night, driving the new Car of Tomorrow at the fastest track it's raced on to date. Expectations are for a race that could well prove daunting.
"We were talking to (Jeff) Gordon and (Greg) Biffle after the tire test (at Darlington. It's going to be very, very challenging just to stay out of the wall," said Denny Hamlin, the 2006 Raybestos Rookie of the Year. "If you can stay out of the wall, I think you're going to have a good finish, and that's the biggest task of all. I think it's going to be pretty tough. They said they had a tough time keeping out of the fence by themselves with no other cars around them, and I know how badly these cars push when you get behind somebody. It's just going to make it even more tough when you get in a pack."
"Our first challenge will be the Car of Tomorrow at Darlington," added Bobby Labonte, who won the Southern 500 at Darlington in 2000. "These cars don't drive as well like the old cars do. You still have to drive the track, and you always had that problem, but now you're going to do it with a car that's hard to drive. We are going to have to hustle these things around there. Who knows what it will be like? I don't know if it will be good. For sure, it will be interesting. We are still going to be going fast. The track is still going to eat the tires. You will have no grip and a car that's tough to get to handle. That's going to make an interesting combination."
BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY Part-time NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Mark Martin will compete in the first of three NASCAR Busch Series races for Hendrick Motorsports this weekend. Martin will drive the No. 5 Hendrick Autoguard/hendrickcars.com Chevrolet in Friday's race at Darlington Raceway. It will be his first time ever in competition behind the wheel of a Hendrick car. He will also race for the team at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
"The thrill for me is to be able to drive for Rick Hendrick, and to be able to say that I did that before my career ends as a driver is really special," Martin said. "That No. 5 means something to me. I remember the No. 5 when it was first getting started – when it was All-Star Racing on the side and Rick Hendrick was a car dealer getting into NASCAR. It's cool. This is stuff that's history. And the older you get the more history means to you."
Car owner Hendrick is equally excited. "He's the kind of guy that if you can't win a race, you feel good about watching him win cause he's just a real gentleman on the track," Hendrick said of Martin. "He's helped Kyle (Busch) when Kyle first came into the sport. I kind of compare it to having Darrell (Waltrip) win the Daytona 500 in our car. When I look back at the end of the day and we look at the wins we have and the people that have been part of it, I think it's going to be really neat to have Mark's name on that list."
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