Notes: Johnson refocusing after recent trend of DNFs

LONG POND, Pa. -- After dropping from second to ninth in the standings over the last seven races, defending Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson admits he has some concern about Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.

"We've got to finish a race -- we've had a heck of a time finishing lately," Johnson said. "This has been a good track for us. We had a good run in the spring. Our goals are to come in and finish in the top 10 and stop the bleeding from this point loss that we've had.

"There is concern. We don't want to be in this situation. But when we look at the performance of the team and where we've been as a whole, we've had very competitive cars. We feel very confident with the team and what we're doing and the product we're putting on track -- we've just got to eliminate these situations where we're getting in trouble and tearing up racecars."

Johnson did say the four wins he's scored this season, which result in a 40-point bonus point addition when the 12 Chase for the Nextel Cup drivers' points are all reset to 5,000, is a definite advantage.

"The Chase format certainly is forgiving," Johnson said. "I've been on both sides of it now where I've had a nice points lead and hated the fact that the Chase was coming; and now being in the situation that if it worked to my advantage, I'd be right back in the middle of it. So It's an interesting range of emotions to go through."

Stewart looks for trifecta
Tony Stewart hopes to win his third consecutive Nextel Cup race, but says he rues his mediocre qualifying effort Friday that places him 24th on the grid Sunday.

"Yeah, it matters [because] track position is big here," Stewart said. "If you've got a car that's capable of getting to the front, you'll get there anyway, but it just doesn't make it easy here. It's hard to pass here."

Stewart said winning at Pocono was more a concern than three-in-a-row.

"It's another week -- I'm not looking at it from that standpoint," Stewart said. "I'm just trying to figure out how to get back into Victory Lane here at Pocono. It's been a long time since we won here [July 2000] so this would be a nice weekend to get another win."

Stewart was another who said he was pining for bonus points.

"The big thing is to just get as many wins as you can get before the Chase starts to get those bonus points," Stewart said. "Whether you're first or 12th doesn't matter -- it's how many races you can win in the meantime and get those 10 extra bonus points right now."

Birthday Boy Gordon on Stewart
Jeff Gordon had a low-key 36th birthday Saturday, running 22nd and 24th in two practices, after scoring his 79th career victory here a month ago. But he did offer an opinion on Stewart going 18 races without a win, then winning two-in-a-row.

"I think it is just circumstances," Gordon said. "He has had some races this year that they have been capable of winning. We had a great battle at Phoenix and he was a dominant car. We just made our car a little bit better there at the end and were able to make a good pass.

"I don't think he changes his driving style; it is just either they get better as a team or they have fortune go their way to get the wins. The last couple of weeks they have been really strong and the race has been winding down for them to get the win."

Owner's mark
Pocono marks only the second time this season -- and the first since the season-opening Daytona 500 -- where all three Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas qualified for an oval race. Six Camrys made the event, which is an oval-high for the manufacturer that has seven full-time teams.

"Our goal each week has been to get all three cars in the race and I think we have been faced with more challenges this season than what we thought and what we told our sponsors," Waltrip said. "It's nice to see that we're gaining on our goals and it's better to be able to come to the track and prove that by getting all of our cars in the race.

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"We need to finish all three of them in the top 20 on Sunday if possible in order to keep gaining points and it's important to me to get the No. 55 car ahead of the No. 49 car in owner points so we would be locked into the field in case of rain."

He's happy
Color Juan Montoya relatively happy to be at Pocono Raceway this weekend, a racetrack where he finished 20th in his debut a month ago. Montoya was 11th in the opening practice Friday, qualified ninth -- only his fifth top-10 start in 21 races this season -- then was 11th and 16th in Saturday's two practices.

"Normally when you do well you like the place, and when you do bad you hate it -- that's the way I look at it," Montoya said. "My first time I came here it was OK [and] now we're running good so it's nice. That's the way it works."

In the last five races Montoya has risen from a season-low 23rd in the standings to 18th, with at least minimal hopes of getting into the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"The momentum we've got at the moment I think is the strength No. 1," Montoya said of his Ganassi Racing team, "and how the whole team is just working together."

Junior proceeding
Even while he attempts to maintain his hold on 12th in the standings, Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to prepare for his move in 2008 to Hendrick Motorsports, including a recent visit to owner Rick Hendrick's shop complex.

"I went over and looked at the carbon fiber seats they use [to determine] whether or not I want to use them or not," Earnhardt said. "I like the seats that I have but [Hendrick] would like me to use the carbon fiber so I went over there and we talked about that and we're working with those guys on that stuff."

Earnhardt said there was no question, though, where his focus was.

"I've got business to take care of here and I'm focusing on this No. 8 car," Earnhardt said. "I'm not going to be wandering around Rick's place every day of the week because there's plenty of time to do that down the road. I got to stay focused on trying to run every lap I can run here and be fast, trying to do a good job for my guys. I don't want to get over there and get too caught up in planning and working on what's happening next year. We've got time for that. There's no rush.

"I'm not really looking in that direction quite yet [because I've] still got things to do here. I've got my integrity and my team's integrity on the line to be able to run hard all year long and finish well."