Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Monte Carlo SS, who is fourth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series points talked with members of the motorsports media about sponsorship in the sport, superstition, success at Las Vegas and more.
Q:
On driving the Kobalt Chevrolet this weekend
Jimmie Johnson:
"It's a great opportunity for Lowe's and the Kobalt brand to get involved and sponsor an event. I think the paint job on the car looks good. I know that the Lowe's folks are very excited. I was at a Lowe's store that performed the highest in customer service in the nation on Thursday and even through the store employees to have another Lowe's brand on the race track was very exciting for them. We've got a new paint scheme and new excitement and Lowe's is working hard to revamp the Kobalt brand. There couldn't be a better place to do it than in racing where tools are needed and used. They are putting a lot of effort behind it so hopefully the fans out there can recognize that and start buying their products."
Q:
Did you get a big tool chest out of all of this?
JJ:
"I did a year ago or so. Now that they're revamping the tools, I need to go back through and get some more."
Q:
Are you following what is going on with Jeff Burton and his sponsorship situation? Are people in the garage following this situation?
JJ:
"I believe everybody is paying very close attention to it. I don't know the situation and (don't) know much about it but I can look back on a situation I had and everybody will remember with Gatorade and the other company where they were putting the bottle on top of the car and I knocked it off the car and a couple of times got in some hot water over that. Through that experience and talking to Brian France about it all, his explanation for it is competition is good. So I truly believe that NASCAR wants to have all these companies involved and wants to look out for them but when you sign a contract and they're your title sponsor, there are certain rights that have been negotiated and they've got to honor those rights in the contract. I think the contract is really what is determining that and if it's NASCAR's choice, they want all the companies there. We want every company in America if not worldwide to be involved and have representation here but when you have a contract like that you have to honor what has been negotiated."
Q:
After what happened in Las Vegas with the tyre and the fuel cell, what have you learned and is there anything you have change in the process leading up to the race?
JJ:
"It's hard for the guy that won the race to complain too much. I could say it was a very uncomfortable race even with the car that I had and the success that we had. It was a really difficult race. It reminded me of Darlington or even here the way the tires are so slick and it's so hard to get a hold of the track. I think ideally if we could have tested the tire we raced on, we would have all been much happier and much more in control and confident with our setups. Obviously the situation that developed kept us from doing that but I think that's the only thing looking back and the only thing we can ask as race teams looking forward let's make sure we've got the right tire on. It's a big sport. We need to make sure that all the things are thought out and we need to have a chance to test on these things. With limited test sessions you can't go to Kentucky and try the tire and try to sort stuff out, you can't test the race track. And that's really the part we're struggling with; is how we get our cars comfortable when we've got two hours of practice to get it sorted out and that's why we see so many frustrated people. Somebody will get it better than the rest and we were that guy last week but still we'd like to have a chance with the combination we're going to work with."
Q:
With all the changes coming to NASCAR this year, what’s it like to come to Atlanta where things are pretty much the same?
JJ:
"I think it's well known that everyone loves coming to this track and racing on it. The vibe that I have is that it's qualifying night here and it's time to suck it up. There hasn't been any discussion of car or tire, it's about how brave we are going to be tonight to try and win the pole and try and qualify well. It's nice to forget about the what-ifs that are out there and just show up to a track and get to work."
![Jimmie Johnson - Lowe's Chevrolet [pic credit: image.net]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/279899.jpg)
