Conversation: Johnson

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Since Jimmie Johnson began his Cup-crowning 2006 season with a victory in the Daytona 500, it's appropriate the defending series champion began Speedweeks 2007 by sitting down for a conversation at Daytona International Speedway.

Johnson discussed several aspects of his Speedweeks, and his season -- including the impact of winning the championship and the pressure of defending it, his view of the future with teammate Jeff Gordon and how he can improve his overall program for his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team.

Q: Have you sought anybody's advice about the challenge of repeating your title, or has anyone offered advice?

Jimmie Johnson: No, certainly nobody has offered it and I really haven't thought about it all that much. I'm just looking at it as, what we did last year worked.

We look at last year and recognize a lot of areas where we could have improved on, so I'm just looking into last year and the mindset that we had and trying to pick up in the areas where we didn't perform as well as we needed to.

Q: Do you think you're in a better spot to win two in a row because you've been on the edge of winning one for the past several years?

Johnson: I haven't thought about it, but that's a good point. We've been close. We've been knocking on the door. I also look at it this year with all the changes and the Car of Tomorrow as a good year for the No. 48.

Chad [Knaus, crew chief] and I do a good job of learning things on a fast pace. And with the resources we have at Hendrick, I think we can sort out the Car of Tomorrow in a short period of time and hopefully get things moving in the right direction.

Q: The past couple of years, you've talked about getting over the hump and now you're talking about making a repeat, so isn't that a good problem to have?

Johnson: It is a good problem to have. I personally feel there is always pressure to do something. Each driver that is interviewed, there is pressure from some area [and] I think that carries over to the championship discussions as well.

Nobody puts more pressure on me to perform than myself. I know when I get out of the car if I gave 100 percent. I'm very honest with myself and I know the team is, too.

Last year we did a really good job and we're really hitting our stride right now. Hopefully for the next five or six years, we can just stay in this rhythm and in this pace and get another championship or two.

Q: Did you feel a bit like Peyton Manning, in that you were the best driver in the regular season only to not make it all the way in the playoffs -- and then last season you won it all?

Johnson: I didn't until the media started asking questions. That stuff sticks in your mind and you start thinking about it. The year, in '04, when we lost by eight points -- that really felt deep down inside like it was our year to be champions.

We didn't have it in '05. The No. 20 [Tony Stewart] was outperforming us. And then last year, we really felt it again. So there have only been two years out of five that I really felt it in my heart that it was our year to be a champion.

Q: What's your road-course plan, since you've talked about trying to improve on road courses?

Johnson: I spent a lot of time testing in the 24 Hours [of Daytona] and we're going to try to run some other [Grand-Am Rolex Series] road-course races this year.

And then our testing program for the road-course racing is being stepped up. So it's something I'm really focused on.

Q: Do you have a tutor or a driver who is helping you?

Johnson: Yes, the lead driver in those cars has been very helpful. Max Papis has been very helpful. He has worked with me in our Cup cars. Marc Goossens was helping me a lot at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Andy Pilgrim, a GM Cadillac driver was very helpful to me. So it's nice to see these top-name guys so willing to help me out and give me advice.

Q: With all that's been going on with Jeff Gordon, and him about to become a father this season, would you be shocked if in five years or so he decided to give up racing and move on with his life?

Johnson: A five-year window? I wouldn't be surprised. This is the start of his 16th year [in Cup racing]. So in 20 years, I think 20 years of doing anything you're probably looking for a change. So I wouldn't be shocked with that.

Q: Has Jeff talked to you about that?

Johnson: No. The side I see of him is very focused on the coming year. I think he's got at least two or three more years on the contracts he has in place right now.

Everything I hear is trying to win a fifth championship. So I haven't seen any side of when he may be thinking about hanging up the helmet.

Q: Jeff hasn't been in the thick of the title race for the past few years, so what sort of contender do you think he'll be this year?

Johnson: I really think he's a force to win a fifth championship and I know that's his focus and that's all he and the team talk about. They brought Stevie [Letarte, crew chief] in at the end of '05, to try and get prepared for '06.

They made great gains last year. But I really see that team, with another year together -- the chemistry with Jeff and Stevie is even better so I think Jeff will be a threat.

Q: Do you have a model for the mental toughness you've shown over the last few seasons, and where does that come from?

Johnson: I don't think I've had any training. I'll go to Rick [Hendrick] and I'll go to Jeff [Gordon] for advice. But I think everybody approaches things in different ways and with their own style.

I try to learn from my mistakes and grow in those areas. So it's kind of more of a self-taught way of how to deal with things.

Q: After watching you for five years, you don't seem like a guy who cracks under pressure, so what's the worst circumstance you've had in that time, when you really thought you might lose it?

Johnson: Well, I'm glad I leave that impression with everyone because inside the helmet there are a lot of things going through my mind.

I'm trying to think of a race. There are so many times in a lap where you might have near misses and you think, "Why did you do that?" And, "Don't do that again? Why did you push that hard?" I'm talking to myself.

Q: After the crash coming to the checkers last fall at Talladega, you must have had a few thoughts before you drove back around to the frontstretch?

Johnson: Without a doubt. With the situation with the championship, I'm sitting there and the car is tore up and the car won't start and I can't make it back to the start/finish line.

And for a few seconds there, I thought, "Why did you try to win the race?" And then I thought, "Well, why wouldn't you try to win the race?"

I sat there patiently setting up that pass and made the right move and then the unfortunate tap [from teammate Brian Vickers] took place. But there were a lot of things said in the helmet at that point.

Q: What has ever happened inside the racecar that has been a distraction?

Johnson: I've had the mirror fall off while driving around the racetrack. That was a little distracting. It fell in my lap. Under red flags when we're parked and the fans at the fence, there are some phrases and some slants coming from the fans.

If I could record all the stuff being said -- especially at the end of the day when all the Budweiser has been served to them -- it's quite comical.

Q: Looking ahead, NASCAR is making a huge deal of the 50th Daytona 500 next year, so what would it mean to win the race this year and next year?

Johnson: Any time you win this race, it's huge for your career. On big marks like that, there will be extra marketing and PR. But the reach of the 500 in general, is larger than any event we have.

If you win it on the 50th, I would think it would bring it up a notch or two.

Q: If the Daytona 500 moved to the old beach course, who would win that race and why?

Johnson: Oh, that would really be awesome. You would have the dirt guys really showing some strength. I'd say Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart [and] I think my off-road background would help out.

I could figure out how to get through the bumps and maybe get a rhythm in double-jumping the bumps. So I would definitely put a vote in to go back to that beach course.

Q: What was your opinion of what went on at the recent open test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

Johnson: We had a couple of things going. One was the Charlotte tire that we had during the test. That tire takes about eight to 10 laps before it really comes in and you can lean on it, so I think people were putting too much pressure on the tire when it wasn't up to temp or it wasn't working right.

Q: Is the track too fast at Las Vegas?

Johnson: I didn't have a sensation of going too fast, but the fact that we are going fast leads to the hard tire and to the things that make the car hard to set up.

The track is surprisingly rough for a brand-new surface. I think that's great for us. It might be bad for other forms of racing, but for us, we already have the second, maybe third lane working around the track, which was a good sign for the race.

And there wasn't any drop-off in the tire. So that's maybe where the drivers were referring to speed. You'd lose a few tenths on a 10-15-lap run, so you'd pretty much run qualifying laps the whole time.

So maybe the effort that you'd put in was a little more intense than on other tracks.

Q: Looking back at the Budweiser Shootout, why was everyone so aggressive in the first segment of the race?

Johnson: The reason was because it seemed like it took about 10 laps to get any position then, as soon as the tires built up some temp in them, it was like the front tires were on ice.

[It was] frustrating, but a couple of guys got it right in clean air, which is why it was so aggressive early and then got kind of boring. We got some good ideas on what to do in the 500.

We changed the [Shootout] car up a ton and it still barely made a difference. We have a new package to work with this tire this week.

Q: What are your thoughts on the harder tire you're using here for a 500-mile race, with a restrictor plate?

Johnson: We can deal with it. We are just going to have to let off, use the brakes. The way the car is driving now, I think we could have used the other [larger, 15/16ths-inch] plate that we had here last time.

You need something to get this car to recover and drive up on to the straightaway. You let off the gas, turn the wheel and let the front slide, eventually you can get back in the gas and hope the guy behind you will push you down the straightaway.

Q: Are you worried about bump drafting here at Daytona, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., in particular, notorious for bump drafting?

Johnson: We all want to bump draft, but we're afraid we're going to get in trouble. And Dale Jr., bless him for it -- he just does his thing and if he gets in trouble, then oh well. I respect him for that.

But I think NASCAR has done a good job putting in the new rules about bump drafting in the corners. And if you're slamming too hard on the straightaways, then they'll get on you.

I think if you look at the wrecks we've had from before and after the rule, it's been a good change. So we're going in the right direction. The more we have time to play with it, the more we know how to manipulate the system.

That's just human nature. So I would assume things would get a little escalated [in the Daytona 500] -- especially with points on the line.