Ron Malec knows Jimmie Johnson as well as or better than just about everyone else in the Sprint Cup garage.

Malec, car chief for the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by three-time defending Cup champion, spoke recently about whether or not Johnson really can handle those tools he waves so confidently in television commercials and what Malec does to relax away from the No. 48 shop.

“

[Jimmie] actually knows how to work on stuff. He probably knows a lot more than a lot of the other drivers do. I'll give him credit for that.

”

-- RON MALEC

Question: So is Jimmie really as handy as he comes across on those TV commercials?

Malec: Well, I used to work with him and I used to watch him work on cars. I know he struggles, but he could do it. He definitely could do it. The commercials definitely are funny. The fans like 'em, and they don't know the truth, so ...

Q: So he's really kind of dangerous with the tools?

Malec (chuckling): He actually knows how to work on stuff. He probably knows a lot more than a lot of the other drivers do. I'll give him credit for that. I used to watch him build race cars with us. It was just the two of us and he held his own pretty good. We used to make him do his own deal. He used to put his own seats in and things like that. If he didn't do it, it didn't get done.

Q: How many years ago was that?

Malec: That was about 12 years ago. When he was in ASA (Late Model Series), he used to work on his own car. He might have forgotten how to do it, but he did it then.

Q: You guys have been together a long time then?

Malec: Yeah, since he started racing cars.

Q: You probably know him better than anybody, too, right?

Malec: I've seen him change more than anybody, let's put it that way -- but just as his career evolved. Deep down inside, he's still the same person. But like anybody else, you definitely have to change some. We all have.

Q: So word has it that after being around the No. 48 car all day and all night, pretty much the entire week, you like to relax by going home ... and building cars?

Malec: I'm working on a '70 Chevelle right now. That's my project right now, but I've got a couple of other ones that I've done. I built a kit car -- a Daytona Shelby Cobra. That took two years. I've got a '67 Chevelle SS that I'm going to re-do that's all original.

Q: A lot of fans probably think that once you get away from the shop, the last thing you'd want to do is work on cars. Why do you do it?

Malec: That's pretty much my hobby. It takes my mind off things. It gives me something else to focus on, to take away the stress of the job. I guess most people would say it's not stress-free, but I guess I like pushing myself in life -- and that's how I stay driven on everything else. I drive myself to get this car project done at home, and it just keeps your drive going so you never slow down.

Q: How many cars overall have you built or restored?

Malec: Five. I still have 'em. I never get rid of anything.

Q: Where do you keep 'em -- in a five-car garage at home?

Malec: I have a shop. I can maybe do one more car, and then I'm going to have to branch out into a storage facility or something. It's still a workable shop, not a showplace. It's what I do in my free time. It's why I built the house, really.

Q: What are the other cars in there?

Malec: I've got a Capri that I use for drag racing pretty much. It's a car that I've had. It has sentimental value to me. I've had it for 12 or 13 years. Then I've got another Mustang -- the first year of the '94 Cobra. That might be worth something some day. It's pretty much stock. ... That's what I do in my free time -- I work on my house and my cars.

Q: What's so much more relaxing about doing it in that environment than coming to work and doing it?

Malec: I guess what it does is it relaxes me, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment for myself. I guess it's hard for people to think of it as relaxing, but it is to me -- because I like to challenge myself. People always ask me, well, where do you find the time to do it? Well, I challenge myself to find the time to do it. And it gives me a feeling of self-accomplishment.

Q: How many hours do you work a week at the 48 shop during the season?

Malec: Actually they're pretty good at trying to keep it to eight hours a day. Sometimes we work later if we have issues, but they're pretty good at trying to give you that one day off a week -- and then the morning you travel [to a race], you have that off, too. So there is some time. There is enough free time to do some stuff outside of the shop. You have to have that to keep your sanity. I keep mine mostly by going home and working on my own cars.