Johnson on P1: ‘We don’t agree with what has happened’
RELATED: 3 teams penalized after Charlotte | Hendrick appeals P1 penalty on No. 48
MORE: No. 48 appeal avoids repeat of 2006 pit pick
DOVER, Del. — Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson calmly and strongly reiterated his team’s position to appeal the P1 penalty NASCAR handed down to the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team this week.
An hour before posting the fastest speed in Friday’s opening practice at Dover International Speedway, Johnson spoke to reporters for the first time since the penalty was announced Wednesday and since his team filed an appeal Thursday.
“Definitely we don’t agree with what has happened and getting the letters and that’s why the appeal has taken place,” Johnson said from Dover International Speedway before opening practice.
“I look forward to the appeal process running its course, and respect it and certainly hope for a different outcome once everything has run its course.”
Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team was penalized this week after receiving multiple written warnings from NASCAR for violations found during the May 16 Sprint All-Star Race and May 24 Coca-Cola 600 weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Multiple warnings warranted a P1-level infraction that would have given Johnson one of the last pit stall selections this weekend at Dover. By appealing the penalty, Johnson will still have the ability to pick a pit stall based on his qualifying position, which is important on the small and tight pit road at the 1-mile Dover concrete oval.
“I guess there is that part of it,” Johnson said. “My qualifying record as of late hasn’t been so stellar, so we won’t know implication of that (appealing the penalty) until after qualifying.
“Then,” he said, pausing, ” the stories can run rampant then.”
Johnson was fastest in practice with a speed of 163.867 mph followed by Denny Hamlin, Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan.
A victory Sunday in the FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM) would be Johnson’s 10th at Dover and make him one of only five drivers (Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson, and Dale Earnhardt) in NASCAR history to score double-digit wins on a track.