Q:
Are you or any of your counterparts superstitious or has technology kind of taken that out of the sport?
JJ:
"Superstitions in my mind are more head games and things that may bring you luck, good or bad. So as far as technology is concerned with the cars, I can imagine in Richard (Petty's) day, being on track, you could wear a car out in 200 miles and it wouldn't make the 500 miles. So I can see how you would associate luck and superstitions to some of the cars. In today's world the car will outlast you. They're so strong and built so strong, I don't think a driver thinks about them related to technology. I had superstitions when I was younger; I had certain things where if I ate the right meal or wore the right clothing, whatever it may be, I would feel like I had luck. It would show up once or twice, maybe three times, and it would go away and I'd count on that. I'd go into an event, foolishly thinking 'wow, this is going to work for me, I'm wearing my lucky boxers' or whatever else it may be, and it wouldn't work and I'd think 'wow, what happened.' So I really don't have any of the things that seem to fall in place when I go out to do my best. Weird things like maybe finding a penny that's heads up. But there really isn't anything that I rely on or count on. I want to say it's probably that way for the new drivers coming in. It's just changed for some reason."
Q:
Do you think the ‘Car of Tomorrow’ will be the great equaliser that NASCAR wants it to be?
JJ:
"There's certainly been an effort to control the bodies and chassis and find things out. I don't think we'll have a true feeling of that until a year or two gets under our belts with the car. Right now it's a rat race to figure out what that car wants and the first team that finds it is going to have a nice advantage. The first group, the first company that finds it will have a nice advantage. I think in the beginning it's not going to seem that way but over time I know NASCAR - we all know it's NASCAR's vision to bring more parity to the sport - actually, we're pretty equal as it is and I don't know how we're going to make it more equal out there. So we'll just have to learn with the car and try to help get things sorted out for '08 when we have to run a bunch of tracks like Atlanta."
Q:
How does the new car compare with the current car?
JJ:
"The only comparison I have is Bristol. I have not been on a mile-and-a-half track to compare the downforce of the car but we were slower in the Car of Tomorrow and we had tight situation that we couldn't get out of the car. That part was frustrating and then the stuff we use to set the cars up is totally different. Springs don't do what they used to; the main focus is to keep the splitter on the ground and maintain the perfect attitude around the race track. So rear spring changes that you may make will twist the car and change the splitter height and you now have a packer that's a very stiff - it's almost like coil binding - you put packers in the front shocks to keep the splitter from hitting the ground. And there really isn't any give in that. So once you hit the packer the front-end shoots up the track. So we just need to figure out how to make it work and it's going to take some time. Bristol is true challenge to that car. It's a rough track and a tough place to set a race car up."
Q:
Is last week’s race at Vegas a momentum starter for your team?
JJ:
"No, we felt like we had good momentum. I know our performance in
Daytona, for all of Speedweeks down there wasn't what we wanted. We were certainly frustrated with that but as we got into Fontana things were right back on track and then last weekend was a great race for us and in my mind, it's a relief to win the first race of the season. I always come into the start of the season with doubt and wondering if the last year was a fluke. If maybe I forgot how to drive a car over the off-season or whatever it may be so it's nice to get the first win under your belt each year."
Q:
Could you put more than 43 cars on a mile and a half track or larger and is there a fairer way to do the top 35, then sending home all these teams every week?
JJ:
"Well, 43 cars seems like it works out there. At some of the smaller tracks it seems a little crowded and congested out on the tracks but I guess we're all used to it so it really doesn't affect me or bother my mindset having that many cars. When you have 43 slots there has to be some sort of system in place to regulate that and set the field. With how many good cars we have and good teams, you're going to be sending people home so I don't know how to look at it. I'm not sure what opinion I should have on it or if there was a change what I would change. Again I'm just a creature of comfort and it seems to be working fine now. But I'm not in Michael Waltrip's shoes; to even have a car sent home so I'm not really living it close enough to understand it."
Q:
Do you think you can take some of your success from Las Vegas to here or does the tyres have a lot to do with it?
![Jimmie Johnson - Lowe's Chevrolet [pic credit: image.net]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/279899.jpg)
