AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY : POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
August 29, 2008
Jimmie Johnson Lands on the Pole for Pepsi 500
Four Team Chevy Drivers to Start in Top-10 at Auto Club Speedway
FONTANA, CA - Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Impala SS, captured his fourth Coors Light Pole Award of the season for the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
It is the 17th pole of Johnson's career and his first at the Southern California track.
Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/Pepsi Impala SS, will start third in Sunday night's race.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. teammates Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Impala SS, and Aric Almirola, No. 8 U.S. Army Impala SS, posted times quick enough to secure top-10 starting positions for the 250-lap race. Truex will roll off seventh and Almirola is 10th in the 43-car starting order.
A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne and Patrick Carpentier fill out the top-five starting positions on the grid.
A total of 13 Impala SS drivers will start the race scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. PDT with live coverage on ESPN, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT/PEPSI IMPALA SS – Qualified 3rd:
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LAP:
“Oh, man, what a lap. We struggled a little bit today. We just couldn’t get the speed out of the car and we were a little frustrated with practice because obviously having Pepsi onboard for the Pepsi 500 is a big deal. But we ran so well here earlier in the year and we feel like we’ve made gains since then and we’re shaking our heads a little bit. We made some adjustments. I thought Steve Letarte made some great calls. We sat up in the trailer and debriefed after practice and came up with a game plan and it really paid off. I think the track came to us a little bit and now, looking back on it, I feel like we had a car that was good enough to possibly match Jimmie’s (Johnson) lap. Had we had it a little closer in practice, I think we could have challenged him. I gave up a lot down in Turn 1. I just didn’t want to overdrive it. And the car was awesome in (Turns) 3 and 4. Not that we could have beaten him, but I feel like we could have been real close to him. But to be third, I’m ecstatic.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S / JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION IMPALA SS - Pole winner:
ON HIS LAP:
“It was really good. I’m very proud of that lap. We went out kind of at the peak of the heat when things were just starting to break. And there were a few cars we were worried about, including A.J. (Allmendinger, qualified 2nd) and I think he did a great job putting down a good smooth lap, and certainly had us scared throughout the afternoon. So all in all, I’m just extremely pleased with the lap and progress we made throughout the day to make the car faster. We’re happy to start up front and hopefully we can take advantage of that.”
From Chevy
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