Damaged engine, fender don't slow down Johnson

JOLIET, Ill. -- Sometimes a guy just knows how to get around a place. Such is life for Jimmie Johnson at Chicagoland Speedway.

Having already claimed victory here two years ago in the inaugural Busch Series event as well as a fourth-place finish as a Winston Cup rookie in 2002, Johnson continued the trend by pacing Happy Hour practice Saturday at the suburban 1.5-mile oval.

"We've got a great feel for this track," Johnson said. "Obviously, there are a lot of guys out there that are good at this place, too. Kevin (Harvick, two-time defending race champion) has been the guy to beat here along with (Tony Stewart) and (Ryan Newman), they're going to be tough. It's going to be a good race."

Johnson's 30.231-second lap at 178.625 mph bested Ryan Newman's effort by eight-hundredths of a second, but is for naught as he'll forfeit the sixth-place starting position after changing engines. Per NASCAR rules, he'll start from the rear of the field.

That's only the beginning of his woes.

	Jimmie Johnson discusses his car with Jason Keller. Credit: Autostock

"We've had all kinds of gremlins show up this weekend," Johnson said. "Yesterday before qualifying we had a bunch of little problems. Then, the car was hard to start all day long and after qualifying we found that a spark plug had started to come apart and killed the number one cylinder so we had to change engines.

"And then this morning when we went out for practice, the front brakes locked up on the car and we had to change the brake system out. And then, I run into the back on the 10 car (Johnny Benson)."

Johnson was following Benson through Turns 3 and 4 in the second session when Benson slowed to enter the pits, unbeknownst to Johnson. He graved Benson's Pontiac, causing minimal damage to the left front of the Lowe's Chevrolet.

"He was trying to get to pit road," Johnson said. "It's real deceiving when you both enter the corner and you drive around so hard on the gas and get to pit road. He hit the brakes to slow down and I tried to move up but I didn't want to tug on the wheel too hard at 170 mph and crash myself.

	Credit: Autostock

"I tried to squeak by and I clipped him with the left front. I caved the fender in and tore his car up. It's just something else. My guys are taking it well and having fun with it, but hopefully we've gotten all the bad luck out of the way before tomorrow's race."

Bud Pole winner Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott and Joe Nemechek rounded out the top five in Happy Hour, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., rookie Casey Mears, Tony Raines, second-place qualifier Jeff Gordon and Sterling Marlin. Newman's 30.149-second lap in the morning session was the fastest of the day.

Mears has been impressive throughout the weekend, earning his first career Busch Series Bud Pole, qualifying fourth for Sunday's Tropicana 400 and ranking third in Saturday's first practice.

"I think right now for us, a good goal for Sunday would be a top-15 or a top-10," Mears said. "However, this team is capable of winning. We're going to approach it conservatively, but if we're in the top five at the end, you'd better believe I'm going to be standing on the gas trying to win that race."

	Credit: Autostock

Likewise for Raines, who was also impressive in both practices Saturday. The BACE Motorsports Chevrolet ranked fifth in the morning session and seventh in the second, courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports power.

According to a BACE team spokesperson, Hendrick Motorsports gave BACE an engine for the weekend so that they might get a true baseline idea of where their program stands. The team usually runs Amick Engines.

Derrike Cope's accident between Turns 1 and 2 in the second session forced him into a backup machine for Sunday's event.