“With the Dover incident and the shocks, NASCAR patted us on the back and said 'Hey, great job, but we don't like these so we are going to outlaw them'. If they were illegal, they would have penalised us. I think NASCAR is doing a great job of being fair. They have a precedent they have to keep up with. If we look at this punishment for Chad, it is in line with what happened with Todd Berrier (crew chief, No. 29) and that is all you can ask for racing in the series. Keep the calls consistent. I hate it for the fans and anyone else watching and listening to think that this stuff puts a black cloud over No. 48 team at times.
“I hate it. I don't like it. Hendrick Motorsports doesn't like it. Lowe's doesn't like it. But in our sport, we are paid to push the envelope. We are paid to work hard in the grey areas, especially the crew chiefs. That is where Chad has found some success and where Chad has helped Hendrick Motorsports grow to the next level. It is just unfortunate that something like this has happened at the start of the season at the biggest race and there's a huge thing that goes along with it.”
Q
IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN QUANTIFY JUST HOW MUCH CHAD'S LOSS WILL BE AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL RHYTHM OF THE TEAM DURING THE RACE? DOES IT CUT YOU CHANCES BY 25% OR IS THERE ANY WAY TO FIGURE THAT?
JIMMIE JOHNSON
“No, I don't think there is any way to figure it. But we chose Darian specifically because he sits on the box next to Chad every week. He is the one that is working on tyre pressure adjustments, pit calls, two tyres, four tyres, in all the different calls that take place, he is sitting along side Chad doing that. We have rhythm other crew chiefs at Hendrick Motorsports that have been involved for a long time that would easily be able to bring their experience and get on the box and do the job.
![Jimmie Johnson addresses the media in Las Vegas. [Pic Credit Todd Warshaw/Getty Images]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/192828.jpg)
