Jimmy Johnson Race Quotations

We have to find some speed and turn things around. Thankfully, we had a strong start to the season, so this last month we really didn't have to race our way in. But we've got to find it in a hurry.

I felt comfortable leading the race with my teammate back there.

I think that one of the good things in our sport is that there's always next weekend. You could see some lingering effects at the start of the next race weekend, but it disappears.

I think that it's going to be like that, single-file. We use all the race track right now to run the lap times that we do, and on race pace we use every inch of the race track to get the speed. ... It was easier to run side-by-side because you didn't need that extra track. Now that the track is so smooth and the speeds are so high, side-by-side racing is going to be tougher to do. And we just won't see as much of it.

That ended up being a great lap, ... It didn't fee as if it was going to be a top time, but we'll take it.so, all in all, I am excited. I don't know what to expect for the race really, but I know my Lowe's guys are going to work their butts off with great stops and great strategy and we'll be there when it counts.

Like I said, we're only off a bit, ... But it's so hard to break through that last bit. The No. 24 team has always been really good at it with all the championships and race wins he's had.

I'm shocked just like everybody else just how close the championship race is and I think that over the next five it's only going to be more interesting, more aggressive, more stress and pressure, ... It's going to be right down to the very end, I think.

Man, before we hit the start of the race we had a flat tire. It was a really tough day for us.

We want to be able to take what we learn in the test and apply it to other race tracks,

The thing I don't like, ... is the five Roush cars can go on a tear and nobody says anything, then we go out and win a race and so we've got to be cheating. It does get frustrating, but I choose to take it as a compliment.

It's not over until the last race at Homestead. But it's going to be tough. It's been tough.

It's the equivalent of hitting a home run in your first at-bat or throwing for a touchdown with your first pass. This race can instantly build momentum for your team.

It's right around the corner for us, ... Every race counts. If you're able to win, it definitely sends a message.

Oh, no, oh, no. I feel very good, and I'm very happy with the race team. We've all been doing our jobs and having fun in the process, but it's a long season. We're only three races into it. I know our cars can be better. They can be faster, they can drive a little better.

After three or four years you finally learn how to race 400-mile races. The first couple of years you take too many chances.

I'm proud of this race team. These guys continue to work their butts off through adversity, making the best of a bad situation. We almost won another race today. We're doing everything we need to do. We won the Daytona 500 and maybe we'll win the championship.

I just really slowed down the pace of the race in my eyes from what I was doing, made sure that I made smart moves that wouldn't have hung me out of the draft. I didn't try as hard to be the guy that led the most laps, made the most aggressive moves. I worked on the handling of our race car so at the end of the race we had the best driving car.

I look at that and wish maybe we played the strategy that (Dale Jarrett) did where he sat at the back and stayed out of trouble and then came through and was even able to win the race, ... We considered a lot of things at Talladega and we felt like the best thing for our team was to race for the win and to be up front and stay out of trouble that way and it didn't really play out.

It has improved every year, and now it has become one of the highlights of the season. Not only did it get a second race, but a race in the Chase for the Championship has made Texas even more important to everyone in our sport.

California has different challenges than Daytona. This is going to be a different situation. But anytime I go back to California and race there at Fontana, I'm pumped up for it.

The grip will be less now than then (race weekend). We can get close on balance, but the real important thing for us is to work through some trends and have two days to try things that we can't on a race weekend.