Jimmie Johnson Excited With ‘Car of Tomorrow’

CIA Stock Photos

Mar 01, 2007

THE MODERATOR: Jimmie, talk about your test so far out there this morning.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: For us, we unloaded close, it seems like, at least compared to what other teams are running. For speed, we’ve been towards the top of the sheets. I feel good about where the 48 is. Our teammates have all kind of picked areas we want to work in. We’re hopeful to cover a lot of ground. All four teams working in different directions, then kind of get together at lunch now and find out where we’re at, make the cars better.

We’ve got a good plan in place. Guys are working hard. Seems like we’re off to a decent start.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Jimmie.

Q. Starting out on the short tracks, do you think as far as the speed goes, the difference between the Car of Tomorrow and your conventional car is going to be that noticeable?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don’t think the fans will be able to see a difference. I think it’s a good idea for us to start working this car this year, working on the short tracks to learn more about it. Hopefully we can learn things that will help as we get on to the bigger tracks, we can sort some stuff out there. I think everybody is comfortable with the cars on the road courses and short tracks. It’s getting to the bigger tracks where we need to work on the aero balance of this car, learn how to adjust this race car, because it’s an entirely different animal than what we’ve had in the past.

Even here our setups seem to be much closer to what we ran 10, 15 – I wasn’t even here then, it’s what I keep hearing from everybody that has been around longer than I have, that it’s more like the old school setup, big front springs, stuff like that. So we’re just going through the motions.

Q. Kevin says there’s a lot more room in the car. Obviously this car is designed to be a significantly safer car. When you sit down in it, start running hot laps, is that a conscious thought that runs through your mind?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think as drivers we’re so used to the risks that we take on each week, we may overlook those things at times. With the HANS device, soft walls, I think that really satisfied some concern that a lot of people had. There’s no doubt we get in the car, there’s a lot of room.

The one thing we still need to work on for the taller drivers, we have more space above us, but it seems like the halo bar is still a little close to somebody like my head. Gordon, the way he sits in the car, much more reclined, he’s got miles from that bar to his helmet now. Something there we need to address.

There’s no doubt when I climb in the car, it’s more spacious. There’s a lot of room inside the car. I do notice that. Even if it’s a 5% gain in safety, it’s worth it. Seems like we’ve got a few areas that have been worked over to make it safer.

Q. Talking about the more spacious car, might that yield a bonus that hasn’t been discussed, might it cut down on driver fatigue, a more comfortable race car to drive?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Not sure it’s going to have an impact on that. The bigger space that we have, I guess there’s more volume to heat up. I think the temperatures we see inside the car, it will heat that space, that volume, within maybe just a few laps later. I don’t see it being a huge impact on heat and comfort in that respect.

Q. Talk about the splitter. Were you conscious of trying to be careful of that on the banks? What would the headline be you would write if you were to write of the morning session?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: The splitter, I can feel it getting into the corners. In the past a lot of drivers would dip their left front tire under the yellow line on corner entry to help the car rotate. Now you can feel the splitter, it’s sticking out a little further than what we’re used to. You can feel it touching. I had to alter my line into turn one just a little bit. Nothing major.

As far as on the track when you’re running, you can’t really tell what’s around you. The only reference you have is the visual reference inside the car. What it looks like, how it’s driving, what’s dragging, things like that, it still feels like a race car when we’re out there.

The headlines, I hadn’t even thought of that. I think the first practice session, watching the first 15 cars go out, we sat around and watched, just wanted to see what took place. I think there was a lot of progression as practice went on. I think a lot of people started with setups, the mindset of what we’ve been running here. You’ve got to back up off of that. That just seems to be the trend. You can see the cars looking safer and more comfortable as practice went on. At first it was a little hairy for some guys.

Q. When you come back next month, do you think the splitter and the wing will even come into play at any of your adjustments during practice, Happy Hour, during the race?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, I really don’t see that being the case, even on the bigger tracks. We want maximum downforce. That’s what we have learned through all of the racing that we’ve done. Talladega and Daytona would be different. But everywhere we go, you want that aero platform maxed out. We’ll start with that and then adjust the mechanical stuff to make the car drive right.

Q. As far as how everything is going to play out, which races you’re going to be running which cars, are you worried about going back and forth, trying to adjust?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, there’s going to be a learning curve for the driver and the crew chief to understand the differences, to remind yourself. The hardest thing is really in the shop, the hours that the crews are putting in. We had to build speedway cars for the 500, downforce cars, the Car of Tomorrow, then later on in the year we have a plate race with Car of Tomorrow.

I know just visibly watching through the shop, our car count is way down from where it typically is. We didn’t crash anything over the end of last year and coming into this season and the testing. I think teams like the 84, losing two cars at Las Vegas, it’s really, really tough on the guys in the shop right now to get all the cars built to the level they need to be prepared at.

Q. I know you said had you a great test this morning. Are you happy with your tests so far this morning? What do you anticipate will be the biggest obstacle for your team to overcome both here at Bristol, then when you get to the mile-and-a-half tracks and larger tracks?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Here we’re really trying to find out where the sweet spot is with the car. The other car that we run, the attitude of the car wants to have the amount of wheel travel you need, the cambers, the other geometry stuff that goes with it. Right now we’re all guessing. Such an intense track like this, the travel that you see, you need to limit that because you don’t want to drag the splitter off the front of it. It’s just a whole trial-and-error routine right now, procedure, trying to find that sweet spot where the car wants to be.

I would expect by the end of today 80% of the field will have it. There’s a lot of very smart people here. We unloaded close. I don’t think we’re going to find a lot of big gains. The 48 car will find some little things to help us. I would expect a lot of the other cars to find a lot more.

I think the same thing applies to the bigger tracks. We got to get out there and find where the aero platform needs to be, the amount of travel we can have, the timing of the splitter and frame, when it’s going to touch the ground. That’s really the key ingredient. You’re going to have max rear wing and the splitter just skimming the top of the track. That’s going to be everything we’re looking for.

Q. Bristol has been one of the few tracks where you actually struggled at. Excited about having a new car here?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I was. Then when we unloaded, I went to the top of the board at first, I asked my guys to take a photograph of the computer monitor, document we were Bristol (laughter). Maybe things have slowed down around here. I don’t know what it is. We’ve been strong today.

I’m excited for this opportunity with the Car of Tomorrow. Chad and I do a great job of working through new rules packages. We have a whole new race car to play with. I’m excited. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.

Q. Talking about skimming the track with a splitter, do you think the curve at Martinsville is going to come into play?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I think the curve at Martinsville, and I also think the curve on the road courses. We’re not going to use the curving as much as we have in the past. I’ve had a little experience with that, with the Grand-Am car I’ve been running in the Rolex Series. You certainly can’t use the curving at those tracks. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, it’s just going to be something new for us to adapt and learn how to use.

It’s also coming in just a little bit into turn one, everybody has a tendency to turn early into turn one, kind of clip the black and white line or yellow line getting into turn one. I’ve had to alter my line by a few feet to not touch that because I was tearing up the splitter on the left side.

THE MODERATOR: Jimmie, thanks for your time.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Thank you.