Confident Johnson says he's ready for grueling 600

CONCORD, N.C. -- As full-time NASCAR spokesman and part-time comic Kerry Tharp pointed out, Jimmie Johnson showed up at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday "sporting a new aero package."

Not on the No. 48 Chevrolet he drives for Hendrick Motorsports, mind you, but on top of his head. Let's just say that Johnson's scalp is looking lean and mean these days, with not much meat on it.

Coca-Cola 600

Practice 1 Speeds

Pos.	Driver	Speed
1.	Mark Martin	185.217
2.	Jimmie Johnson	185.128
3.	Denny Hamlin	184.533
4.	Juan Montoya	184.502
5.	Brian Vickers	184.401
6.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	183.855
7.	Joey Logano	183.798
8.	Kasey Kahne	183.667
9.	Ryan Newman	183.499
10.	Kyle Busch	183.474

• Practice 1 Speeds

He definitely looked a whole lot different than when he left LMS following last Saturday's All-Star Race.

"I was at a friend's house for a barbecue Sunday. And his kids thought -- well, there were a bunch of neighborhood kids there -- but they all thought it would be a great idea to shave our heads," Johnson said. "And one of the fathers agreed to do it. Then once he pulled it off, he started harassing me to shave my head. The kids were there and they wanted to do it so bad. So I let them shave my head. We got some great photos and the kids all had a great laugh."

The kids, who ranged in age from 4 to "7 or 8," thought it was downright hilarious. Johnson's wife, Chandra, wasn't so sure when she walked back into the room a few minutes later.

"She just stood there staring, with her hands held up over her mouth, for like 10 minutes," Johnson said. "But what the heck, it will grow back."

It's a new look for Johnson, but he's looking for the same old results at his favorite track this Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600. In 15 career starts at LMS, Johnson has won at the 1.5-mile oval five times. Perhaps more impressively, he has finished outside of the top 10 just three times.

His LMS resume includes three consecutive wins in the 600, NASCAR's longest race (2003, 2004 and 2005). That's no coincidence, as Johnson said he believes his No. 48 team is built for the long haul.

"You know, during my career I've had to work harder on qualifying and harder on sprints than anything else," Johnson said . "I feel that where I am now, I can do both really well. But in the early years of my Cup career, definitely the longer races worked better. I think we showed that. Our stats would reflect that.

"I still think the 600 is a good race for us. That's what we're known for: the long, grinding races and always staying on top of adjustments for the car. Hopefully we can do that again and make it happen this weekend."

• Sound Off: Jimmie Johnson

He was making it happen last weekend at the start of the All-Star Race, when he dominated the opening 50-lap segment. Although his run at the outset of that four-segment, 100-lap, non-points event was impressive, other drivers said they doubt it will mean that much when the 600 gets under way Sunday at 5:45 p.m. ET.

"It doesn't really mean a lot. I did the same thing last year. I started on the pole and took off and was gone until the motor started having issues," Kyle Busch said. "So it really doesn't matter. Six-hundred miles is such a long race, there are going to be so many guys that get up front.

• Stay in the loop on the 600
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"I don't see passing for the lead a whole lot, unfortunately. ... Nobody ever really challenges the leader."

And while no one challenged Johnson over the first segment of the All-Star Race, Jeff Burton added that last Saturday's early performance is not what has him wary of Johnson. It's Johnson's track record.

"You cannot deny his success here. You cannot argue with his success here," Burton said of Johnson. "You certainly have to understand that Jimmie and that team are going to be someone you have to beat.

"But I'll be honest, that All-Star Race thing to me is not a barometer. It's really not. I know it's easy to think it is and if I would have won the race I'd be telling you it is. But we ran next-to-last last year and came back and ran well in the spring and won the fall race. I just don't believe it's the barometer about who can be successful this weekend."

Johnson, on the other hand, hopes that it does serve as a barometer of sorts. Or better yet, an omen.

Based on how he started out under the night lights during the All-Star event, he expects to be extremely fast this Sunday -- especially once the sun goes down. So what he learned last Saturday actually may come more into play for him in the latter stages of the 600, rather than the early ones.

He said the All-Star Race was the beginning of a process through two weekends leading up to Sunday's 600. Another step was taken during Thursday's 90-minute Sprint Cup practice at the track, followed by qualifying Thursday. There will be two more Cup practices on Saturday.

"The journey begins on how to find that balance to have the car turning well enough at 9 o'clock at night, and then to also have it driveable at 5:30 when the race starts. We'll continue that process on Saturday," Johnson said.

"I think we had everything just right for those first 50 laps [in the All-Star Race]. Once we lost track position, a lot of people took two tires and some took none. We kept taking four tires, thinking it would eventually pay off."

He never had a chance to find out for sure if it would. He started the final 10-lap segment in fifth and ended up getting wrecked when the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin inadvertently tapped him from behind. Johnson said it was "just one of those racing deals" and added that he chooses to take what positives he can from that night.

"I think we're close. We've learned a lot and we know we need to be better, especially as the night wears on," Johnson said. "But I think we're going to be good. I really do."

There could be another advantage for Johnson once the sun goes down Sunday. If he has to climb out of his car and shed his helmet in Victory Lane afterward, maybe the glare off of the "new aero package" on his head won't be so blinding after dark.

"Once I get some sun on my scalp, I think it will look a whole lot better," Johnson said. "It's a little white and bright right now."

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.