Month: June 2011

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

HELUVA GOOD 400

MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 17, 2011

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLETmet with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed this weekend’s race, the performance of his race team and other topics.  Full transcript:

WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND’S RACE?:  “We’ve been very pleased with the consistency of our cars through practice sessions, qualifying – qualifying has been all over the place, but once the race starts we’ve had a very consistent race car through the course of the event and that really started around the All-Star time frame.  With a consistent race car, we’ve been able to better understand our setups and adjustments and changes and we had another great race last weekend.  I felt like we had a shot there at the end, once I helped the 24 (Jeff Gordon) by us, I could have gotten by the 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) quicker or by slowing us up, the 22 (Kurt Busch) and some others and we fell back and then had to work our way back by those guys for fourth.  I think we’re knocking on the door, I think we’re very close.  We, as a team, are excited to come back to Michigan to another big track to expand on our mile and a half program and the speeds that we’ve been putting in our race cars.  The one soft spot right now is qualifying and we just have to get a little better there.  We also were a little slow on the short run at Pocono, which kind of references our qualifying speed.  First things first, I would rather have a consistent car and a consistent car that’s faster in the long haul with as many green flag runs as we have anymore – it’s a very important part so we’re closing in on things and I think we have a lot of good stuff right around the corner.”

IS YOUR TEAM THE LAST GREAT SPORTS DYNASTY WITH FIVE STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS?:  “I’ve never really thought of it along those lines.  The fact that we have done it means that it can be done again.  It’s not easy feat – five in a row has not happened all that often or frequent and I think there was the Canadians; they had a basketball college team if I remember correctly.  It doesn’t happen often so it is possible and anything is possible for that matter.  I feel that we’ve done something in a very difficult period of NASCAR history with the competition as close as it is week in and week out. The fact that year after year it’s been a different driver and you look at the names of who we’ve raced with for these championships – Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin – these are amazing drivers with amazing teams.  Very proud of what we’ve done and I do feel like we have a very good chance at a sixth and our team is building and going in the right direction right now through the summer months here.  I think we’ll be very competitive once September starts.”

ARE YOU AWARE OF THE FACT THAT RETRIBUTION COULD COME BETWEEN KEVIN HARVICK AND KYLE BUSCH?:  “We’ll definitely keep our eyes open with our other competitors down the road.  I think I’ve been aware of them being around one another period.  Now that they’re off probation, I don’t see it being much different.  I don’t see anything a lot different.  I’ve had my eye watching those two for a  while like everyone else has so I don’t see it being a lot different than that.  I don’t know where Kevin’s (Harvick) mind is and what he has or if he mentioned that he had one coming.  I have no clue what’s going to happen, but I’m sure we’ll all be very entertained.”

DID YOU WATCH THEM BEFORE THEY WERE ON PROBATION?:  “Yeah, even before that.  As you mentioned, the thing in Homestead and there’s just certain guys that when I’m around them – the 39 (Ryan Newman) and the 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) when they are around one another.  It’s just going to take an extra second to watch.  It’s not that I’m sitting there expecting something to happen, but I just want to be able to choose directions and not drive into whatever takes place.  There are a couple pairings like that exist out there.  For a while it was the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the 17 (Matt Kenseth) – like what’s going to happen there.  We typically have that going on and this is no different than any other instance.  I just don’t want to be in the mess.”

WHERE WERE THE ROUSH CARS BEATING YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO GAIN BACK TO THEM?:  “When we go even back to last year’s Chase, we knew and I made comments then and at the start of the season that Carl (Edwards) was going to be the guy to really focus on and he has lived up to that.  We saw them even stronger and better and I admired Carl and Bob’s (Osborne, crew chief) mentality, at least from what I saw in the garage area and how they worked through a tough time.  They handled themselves about as good as you could.  I know from experience that when you work through a tough time and haven’t killed each other and you come out on the other side with success, you’re a very strong race team at that point.  Roush as a whole has done a very good job to turn things around so I look at the other teams that are out there – I think that Roush has kind of set the mark.  The other teams have been knocking on the door and trying to get stronger.  I look at us and know that the Chase last year, we didn’t have the speed in our cars that we needed to win regularly or like we needed to.  We made decisions from pit road and for our race cars during the off season to try to be better when the Chase rolls around again this year.  We’ve taken our lumps as this year has started.  We’ve been off on speed at times, we’ve had bad stops on pit road, but it’s still the same group of people, it’s still the same race cars and we’re just working hard to refine the cars and refine pit road.  We’re seeing big gains each week.  I’m very optimistic about both scenarios and situations on pit road and with our race cars.  I think we even have some other stuff that has been developed and will come along in the near future that we can put into our race cars for more speed.  Hopefully, peak at the right time.”

WHAT WOULD A WIN BY DALE EARNHARDT JR MEAN FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?:  “The fact that Jeff (Gordon) won last weekend was huge for Hendrick Motorsports and again all four teams are working through a new chassis and new stuff.  A win for the company is huge.  Junior (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) has been very close as we all know.  If you really look on the race track, there’s only a few cars passing throughout the course of a race week in and week out – I would say there’s three or four and two of those cars have been the 48 and the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.).  Unfortunately, we have had bad qualifying efforts so then we have to pass cars or something has gone wrong during the race where we lose track position, but if you just look at speed and cars and guys that can work traffic – two of those cars are in the same shop.  We’re very excited about our cars our equipment.  I think the bond between Stevie (Letarte, crew chief) and Junior is going very well and Steve Letarte is a great fit for him.  I’m watching his confidence build weekly and the team is growing as a unit together and I think wins are right around the corner for those guys.”

DO YOU KNOW WHO WILL BE PITTING THE CAR EACH WEEK?:  “I have an idea, but the situation Chad (Knaus, crew chief) created is that he’s really trying not to have a first string, second string.  You earn your position during the week in practices and prove that you’re the fastest guy that week and can do the best job that week going over the wall.  I know every guy on the team; I train with them now and am in there on Tuesday’s working out with them so that we can form a tighter bond together.  I see a lot of good things happening and I know that they’re working very hard for that coveted position to go over the wall and change or carry or jack the car.”

About Chevrolet:Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

HELUVA GOOD 400

MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 17, 2011

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 US ARMY/BUD MOORE NASCAR HALL OF FAME CHEVROLETmet with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway and discussed upcoming repaving at MIS, his visit to the GM Proving Grounds this week, road course racing, and more.  Full transcript:

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HAVING BUD MOORE ON THE 39 CAR THIS WEEKEND?:  “It’s big.  We’ve been working for two and a half years to get the US Army in victory lane.  We’ve been close at times.  We’ve given a couple away and we’ve had a couple taken away.  This weekend, having the US Army back on the race car – on their birthday weekend or as my wife always says, their birthday week.  It’s the Army’s birthday weekend and to have Bud Moore on the car – an American hero and a veteran of the US Army and a recognized one at that as well as part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  It’s a special weekend for me personally.  I enjoy the history of the sport.  I enjoy this race track.  It’s always been kind of considered my home race track being from Northern Indiana and really look forward to the opportunity here.  It looks like we’re blessed with some pretty, pretty weather and we’ll see if we can make the best of it and put on a good show for the fans.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MICHIGAN GETTING REPAVED?:  “Just like every other race track, it will change the grip and the tire combination, which will have an effect on the racing.  We’ve never gone, I shouldn’t say this, but I don’t think we’ve ever gone to a newly surfaced race track and run three wide or had three grooves to work with so it changes the characteristics of the racing.  In saying that, it’s something that has to be done for the future of our sport from a safety standpoint.  I know that they also work pretty hard here too with the weepers and the water drainage part of things so there’s some things that I think they’ve learned at other race tracks that they can apply to here to help with the drying process and the safety aspect of it as well.  As drivers, I should say, I never like to see them paved.  I love them when they’re old and they have character and they’re lacking grip and we can take a tire there that’s pretty grippy and falls off and that is a good combination for us as drivers, especially for the racing and for the fans.  It’s going to be another work in progress for Goodyear to bring and build a tire for a new race track of this shape and of this caliber.”

WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT THE GM PROVING GROUNDS YESTERDAY?:  “It was pretty neat from a technical standpoint to see where GM is at their proving grounds.  Number one – their proving grounds in Milford was amazing.  The size of it and the mileage of testing tracks and courses and surfaces that they have working on ride control and stability and braking and things like that was pretty amazing.  Then to get to drive the Camaro – the super-charged Camaro was pretty wild out on their skid pad.  They’ve got a 67-acre skid pad and half of it has been repaved.  We got to work on the grippy half so talking about the race track, I guess it’s kind of similar.  We got to race on the new Michigan yesterday at the skid pad and the old Michigan was getting repaved.  The way they work with their computers and the technology aspect of it to work on their stability control and they’re antilock braking and things like that.  I was driving a Camaro and the engineer had a computer in the right side and he could manipulate the car and work on the traction control and things like that.  It’s pretty neat to see their facilities for the first time and understand that they’re a big part of what has been very successful in the NASCAR Chevrolet program.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ROAD COURSE RACING?:  “I’ve always said it’s much more physical going to the road courses inside the race car and I guess at times much more risk of having that driver control and not getting out of control and getting off the race track.  Here, you get off the race track and you’re in the fence.  There, you get off the race track and you’re in sand r you’re in the sticks, I guess you could say and that can totally change your day.  Something as simple as getting a tire off course in qualifying can change your entire weekend. 

“I look forward to going out there – I love the challenge, I love the road course.  To me, there’s two good passing zones and 11 corners so you’re falling behind on the guy in front of the guy in front of you in nine of the 11 if you don’t get around the guy in front of you.  Keep up with me here.  I like it, its fun to hustle the race cars.  That’s what really as drivers we like.”

ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH MICHIGAN BECOMING A ONE GROOVE RACE TRACK AFTER IT GETS REPAVED?:  “No matter how good of a paving crew there is, there’s still going to end up with character and the character comes with time.  They obviously strive to do a perfect job – that’s what they’re goal is just like when they pave a highway is to make it perfectly smooth, but that highway gains character over time as well.  We don’t want it to be one groove obviously, it’s a super wide race track and it’s really a balance of what Goodyear does with the tires they bring here and how they marble up, what kind of debris they throw as far as making it a one groove track or giving us the ability to move around and get that clean air and make those passes. 

“At the same time, it ages pretty quickly up here with the weather conditions.  Obviously, you get pretty hot summers and obviously the change with the cold winters and everything else.  That’s a big reason why it is the way it is right now.  I was talking to someone a couple weeks ago and they’re talking about turns three and four and I said, ‘Well, you realize it’s settled down there.’  The track has got two different – it’s almost got progressive banking and that’s something that the track has developed over time just due to the age of it.  That’s character and that’s made for good racing.”

BUD MOORE WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PART OF THIS RACE WEEKEND?:  “I’m very, very proud to be here this weekend and I’m happy to be recognized by the US Army as especially by Ryan (Newman) and all his crew in the car and putting my picture on the side of the car is something else as far as I’m concerned.  It’s the US Army birthday.  It’s great to know that Ryan and all his crew – that they are doing such a good job as far as the US Army is concerned and celebrating the 236th anniversary as far as they’re concerned.  Me being in the Army the way I was during World War II and all this as Ryan said, they put my picture on the car and I was only 18 years old.  He said I was a boy scout back then.  Anyway, it’s a big, big honor for me knowing what’s happening here this weekend and it’s an honor for me to get back here – I haven’t been back here since 1998 and knowing some of the changes they have made here.  It’s going to be a great weekend here for me to be associated with Ryan and all the crew and the Army crew and all the people here.”

ON ROAD COURSE RACING:  “One thing about running a road course is the fact that you have drivers sitting there using both arms, but you have to use both feet the same way so he’s using his whole body and it’s an effort to go in and around a road course.  It’s the one thing that makes it challenging for the driver and also the car itself to make those corners and all and keep it out of the sand.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ARMY TODAY AND THE MEN AND WOMEN DEFENDING THIS COUNTRY?:  “When I was in the Army and going through what I did in World War II, I was with General Patton the whole time I was over there and when we fought the war over there, we sort of knew who we were fighting and who we didn’t.  I know the young men now are going to Afghanistan and Iraq and all over there now, they don’t know who they’re fighting or anything else on this part.  That’s what makes it real bad – a guy can be two or three standing there and a guy walks up and blows himself up and kill three or four of them and they don’t even know this is going to happen.  What we did in World War II – we killed everything that moved.  If it was a cow or a bird or dog or what – it didn’t make any difference.  These guys have to do a little different situation and I feel for them because I wouldn’t want to be over there going through what they’re going through and not knowing just who we’re fighting and who we’re not and who’s going to walk up and who’s going to shoot you and who’s not.  It’s real bad and you have to give them boys a big honor right now because for them to go over there and do what they’re doing and the job they’ve been doing and they’ve done a heck of a job over there and I’m looking forward to seeing them bringing them home, which they should do right now.   I don’t think we have all that much business to be over there because what are we going to gain so we need to bring them guys home and let them start doing a little something else.”

About Chevrolet:Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

FORD FAST FACTS (MICHIGAN)

•    There are 12 Fords participating in the Helluva Good! 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

•    The race marks the long awaited return of Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne to the Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford.

•    Bayne has not raced on the Cup side since Talladega.

•    As a manufacturer, Ford has posted 10 wins (8 points wins) since the June 2010 Michigan race.

•    As a manufacturer, Ford has taken the checkered flag 31 times at Michigan, the most of any manufacturer.

•    The most recent Ford win at MIS came in 2008 when Carl Edwards grabbed the checkered flag at the fall race.

•    Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are all two-time winners at MIS.

•    A pair of Ford owners, the Wood Brothers and Jack Roush, are tied for the most owner wins at MIS with 11 apiece.

•    Hall of Famer David Pearson piloted his Wood Brothers Mercury to the most wins in MIS track history with nine and the most poles with 10.

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion, met with media members outside his hauler prior to the first Cup practice session Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

THE TRACK JUST ANNOUNCED A REPAVE COMING HERE AFTER THE AUGUST RACE. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?  “I don’t know. I think that some of the tracks, like Daytona that came apart, and Martinsville, from the driver’s seat you don’t want them repaved because you like it when it gets slick and the tires slow down and you have to manage the car and drive the car a lot more than a freshly paved race track. They know better than we do what condition the asphalt is in and how long it will stay down and that type of thing. I hate it when they repave tracks because I think you can pass really good on tracks that are wore out and it is more fun as a driver to manage old tires versus new tires and all that stuff. Obviously sometimes there is a need to repave them tough.”

TRACKS DO CHANGE WHEN THEY GET REPAVED THOUGH AND TEND TO BE ONE GROOVE FOR AWHILE AND THIS IS NOT A ONE GROOVE RACE TRACK.  “Yeah, I don’t know if this place will really turn one groove because it is a little different. It is flatter on the bottom and the track is incredibly wide. A lot of the new pavement at tracks like Charlotte for instance, the groove was higher than before they repaved it with this particular car, depending on the tire they bring. The last race in Charlotte we were all stuck on the bottom. Depending on the tire, hopefully the track will still be wide and we will still be able to race good on it.”

FUEL MILEAGE IS ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT HERE AT MICHIGAN. ANY CONVERSTAIONS YOU HAVE HAD WITH YOUR TEAM ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO ONCE THE GREEN FLAG GOES OR IS IT CIRCUMSTANCIAL?  “There isn’t a lot the driver can do if you get in a last run and are a couple laps short or something like that then you can try to slow down and save that. You have to have the fuel mileage to start with before you can do that. If you are getting less fuel mileage than everybody else when the race starts and everybody is running hard, when everybody slows down then you are still going to be getting worse mileage than they are if they are trying to slow down. There is not a lot you can do as a drive. I haven’t had a lot of discussion with Jimmy about that. We just try to put the fastest race car we can on the track on Sunday and hopefully circumstances come down to where we are racing for the win at the end on speed.”

THE NEW GAS CAN, WE ARE 14 RACES IN WITH IT, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT THOSE GUYS GET ALL THE FUEL IN THE CAR?  “It is really important. We have had that mistake a couple times. One time we were able to recover from it. At Charlotte we weren’t able to recover from it and took a car that was leading all day and put it in the back of the pack and finished mid-pack. It is really important and I think it is a lot harder for the gas man than it ever was. It flows slower and the pit stops are still the same speed as far as changing tires. It is more important than ever to get it plugged in cleanly and immediately so you aren’t leaking fuel. That position has become a lot more important than it used to be.”

KEVIN AND KYLE ARE OFF PROBATION NOW. WHEN GUYS ARE FUEDING AND YOU AREN’T INVOLVED, DO YOU LOOK AT IT AND ARE YOU AMUSED OR DO YOU HOPE YOU DON’T GET COLLECTED IN SOMETHING THEY ARE DOING?  “When I am on a race track I don’t concern myself with any of that. I usually have more than my own share of problems that I have to figure out or take care of or work on to be competitive and win. That is what we worry about. After the race with that stuff, anybody that says it isn’t fun to watch is probably lying. It is always fun to watch conflicts and feuds and rivalries and different stuff going on that makes news. I hate being involved in it though.”

A YEAR AGO PEOPLE WERE ASKING WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE FORDS. NOW PEOPLE ARE SAYING YOU GUYS ARE FASTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE. IS IT ALL THE FR9 ENGINE?  “It is the entire package. The engines certainly improved over the winter and the cars are greatly improved from last year. I think we still have some work to do but we have been very competitive this season showing up to the track and being pretty fast every week which makes it a lot more fun to come to the track.”

JACK IS TIED WITH THE WOOD BROTHERS FOR MOST WINS AT THIS TRACK. IS THERE EXTRA EMPHASIS FOR YOU GUYS WITH ROUSH INDUSTRIES AND FORD BEING LOCATED HERE?  “There is no extra emphasis from my standpoint because we do the best we can every week no matter where we are at. You never show up and don’t want to win. This just happens to be one of the tracks where we perform better at than maybe some other track. It is one that I have always enjoyed since I first came here. I made my first Cup start with Roush here and have always enjoyed coming to Michigan. More times than not we have been fairly competitive here.”

YOU EVER SENSE ANYTHING DIFFERENT WITH JACK WHEN YOU COME TO THIS TRACK?  “No, not really. I don’t but maybe somebody that sees him more during the weekend would, but I don’t.”

DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO GOING TO A ROAD COURSE NEXT WEEK?  “Nope, not really. To say road course would be saying oval. All the ovals are way different and road courses are way different. Sears Point is kind of a difficult track with the two wide restarts and how narrow it is. It has gotten to be one of the more exciting races to watch, I think, when you go back to watch it with the two wide restarts and all the crazy stuff happening. There are a lot of people two and three wide at a track that is really single groove everywhere. A lot of stuff can happen there which is exciting but I wouldn’t say it is my favorite race of the year.”

IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A ROAD COURSE CUP WIN ON YOUR RESUME?  “I hope not because I don’t have one and the chances probably aren’t really great. You never know, anything can happen and we try as hard as we can every year. I haven’t done the best job, especially at that track. I feel like I do a little better job at Watkins Glen. Sears Point has been a little bit of a struggle for me.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS TRACK BETWEEN THIS RACE AND THE AUGUST RACE?  “I don’t think there is a big difference from this race to August. It depends what it is like Sunday. The weather could be just like this in August if it is like this on Sunday. Not a lot changes in that little bit of time. As long as they come back with the same tires and rules it won’t be that different. Everybody in the garage is always learning. If you have something that works good this time it doesn’t necessarily mean it will work next time.”

YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN AS A CONSISTENT DRIVER. DO YOU THINK THIS YEAR FOLLOWS THAT FOR YOU WITH NO REAL HIGHS AND NO REAL LOWS?  “Not really because we have two wins and you can’t get higher than that. We have had a couple DNF’s in the plate races, so we have been on both ends of the spectrum this year. We have been consistent and our performance has been better than it usually is but maybe less consistent than we normally have been. You want both. You want performance and consistency.”

There’s not a whole lot left Jimmie Johnson could do that would surprise people. Entering Michigan on Sunday though it’s nothing but surprises when it comes to the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team of the five-time and defending Sprint Cup Series champions.

[media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]To start, after 14 races in 2011 they’ve only seen victory lane once, at Talladega. Not at tracks where Johnson normally takes up home in the winner’s circle like Las Vegas, Fontana or Martinsville. This time last season he’d already collected three trophies but not so this year.

Maybe that’s not surprising at all, but the next statistic should be. Heading into Michigan, Johnson is 0-18, goose egged, shut out, win less!

Johnson being o-fer in any context doesn’t happen often. But the driver who has won championships, Brickyard 400s, Daytona 500’s and many other races, has yet to win at Michigan.

While there’s also three other tracks – Chicago, Watkins Glen, Kentucky (new to the schedule) and Homestead – it hasn’t been for a lack of trying, especially Michigan.

“We’ve been close and our fuel mileage has been kind of our nemesis with two or three different things that have taken place there,” said Johnson. “We’ve led a fair amount of laps over the years and just kind of haven’t had the luck or the mileage or whatever it is at the end of the race.”

Had it not been for fuel mileage, Johnson could easily have multiple Michigan wins. Instead, the only thing that has slowed down and stopped him the last five years has been Michigan and a sputtering fuel tank.

In 2006 he was running third when he ran out of fuel with eight laps to go. In 2009 he was leading when he again ran out of fuel coming to the white flag. Later that same season Johnson, again leading, again ran out of fuel this time with two laps to go.

His luck is eventually bound to change. Even without a victory Johnson has led over 500 laps at the track and is a yearly contender. In his 18 races though, Johnson only has two top fives and seven top 10s. His average starting position (7.8) is much better than his average finish (15.2). Yet, he still looks forward to Michigan every season.

“Looking forward to going back,” he said. “We’re always looking forward to going racing in the area where the manufacturers are based and I want to put on a good show for all the Chevrolet fans and do my part to represent the bowtie. We’ve been making a lot of progress on our intermediate setups and race cars. I think this could be a win for the 48 this weekend.”

Coming off a fourth place finish in Pocono, Johnson still sits second in points but now just six markers out of the lead. Much like his career at Michigan, he’s been running well this season, just not well enough.

The surprises for Johnson don’t end there. If Sunday at Michigan ends for him like many of the previous ones have, he’ll still be able to celebrate on a personal note. Sunday is Father’s Day and for the first time it’ll mean a little bit more as it’s the first he’ll celebrate as a father himself.

Genevieve Marie Johnson was born last year, July 7, to Johnson and wife Chandra. Since her arrival he’s won two races and his fifth championship to which she was present at all. But if he could find victory lane on Sunday in Michigan it would be special for the Johnson’s for more than one reason.

“Really just hanging with the girls,” said Johnson when asked about his Father’s Day plans. “That’s all I’m after just spending time with my family. Will be exciting to say the least. Don’t know what to expect – I haven’t been through it before so I don’t know what to think from an emotional side, but very proud of my family and looking forward to that day.”