Johnson confident as quest begins for three in a row (cont'd)

"I really think that's what keeps me motivated -- I'm afraid that I'm going to wake up someday and forget how to drive, or our cars aren't going to be right," Johnson said, laughing despite himself. "I mean, the stuff that went through my head during the Chase -- I mean, I'd get in the car for the first practice and I'm like, 'Oh God, did I forget how to do this?'

"But I really feel that keeps me in check."

Golden age

A comprehensive study of every race winner and championship since 1949 shows that Jimmie Johnson is just reaching his prime racing years, according to Mark Aumann.

• Complete story, click here

Sometimes Johnson feels like he's living in a dream world.

"I was at first, but I keep waking up and all the stuff happens," Johnson said. "So I'm accepting it, I'm enjoying it and I'm trying to focus on the things that have taken us to this place and helped us have this success.

"I really think Chad is doing the same, looking at why and how we got here and how we can stay here. It's a tough place to be and it really doesn't last long for anybody in sports. We hope that we can keep it going for our team. We only feel like we're getting stronger and better, so hopefully we can keep getting the same results."

The Californian Johnson is certainly the preseason favorite to achieve his goal, after winning a league-leading 10 races last season in his No. 48 Chevrolets, including five in the Car of Tomorrow.

And while he and two of his HMS teammates, 2007 runner-up Gordon and Casey Mears, had their cars in the garage area Monday morning for the first day of Preseason Thunder, their fourth teammate, Hendrick newcomer Dale Earnhardt Jr., was also at the speedway, which is an unprecedented move for a driver not actually testing. (read more)

"It's a huge credit to his commitment, that he's here," Johnson said of Earnhardt's attendance a week ahead of his scheduled appearance on Jan. 14. "It's painful watching other cars go around the track, particularly here."

Before he saw Earnhardt on Monday, Johnson said he was particularly thrilled about his new teammate because of their similar tastes in car setups, on the loose side as opposed to Gordon and Mears' tendency to a tighter car.

"I can see the way that it's helped already," Johnson said. "Having a clean sheet of paper for those two [Mears' and Earnhardt's] teams to start over and rebuild and regroup is good.

"With Kyle [Busch] leaving and Casey changing teams [from the 25 to the 5] and Junior coming in -- it's not like we had any big problems over there -- but now we can start over again and make it better yet, and I've already seen a lot of positives coming from it.

"I'm really looking forward to testing and spending time with Junior and learning his driving style, because after the Atlanta test session, his driving style and mine are very close -- and I don't have anyone that I have a close style with, currently, at Hendrick Motorsports -- so I'm excited about this and hopefully we can help each other and make each other better."

Johnson's ready to put in the time he knows it will take to achieve a cooperative, thriving synergy with Earnhardt and his crew chief and cousin, Tony Eury Jr., who also came over this past fall from Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"It's going to be tough and it's going to be a couple months -- really the Vegas and California tests we'll learn a lot more about that -- but then we can start working into it as the season goes on," Johnson said. "We'll never leave that relationship that Jeff [Gordon] and I have together and the way that Stevie [Letarte, Gordon's crew chief] and Chad work together, but if we can bring in Tony Jr.'s ideas and also validate that our styles are that close and we do look for the same sensations, we can start building into that and in some of our debriefs the night before the race, we can say, 'Let's try what the 88 is doing.'

"It's going to take a couple months to get it all worked in."

As that takes place, Johnson will enjoy the favorite's role, based on what his team and organization achieved in 2007. HMS cars won 18 races, half of the 36-race schedule, and nine of 16 COT races.

"I think we do have the favorite's role, in some ways, but I think it's going to be short-lived," Johnson said. "I think that the momentum we had will carry us a month or two, but then teams are always working, and a lot of teams have been working hard over the offseason, as it is, now. (Continued)