While statistics say that Jimmie Johnson only needs to finish 25th or better at the season closer in Miami Homestead Speedway to win his fourth Sprint Cup title, he says he’s not going to play it conservatively.
As he said following his bounce-back victory in Phoenix “… Texas was last week, as we all know, and anything can happen. That was proof of it. So looking forward to Homestead. Yes, I am excited. We need to go down there, qualify up front, run up front all night long, stay out of trouble.”
He explained that a cautious approach to qualifying in Texas put him in a precarious situation for that race.
“I think last weekend qualifying 12th even though that is a good qualifying spot, put us in harm's way. I was maybe a little cautious in qualifying on Friday. So we need to show up down there (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and treat it like any other race. The further forward we start, the better we are going to be track position wise. Better pit stall selection we are going to have so until we get in the race and see what we really have, we're going to treat it like any other race and just go as fast as we can."
He thinks Miami won’t exactly be a cakewalk.
“I think if you look at maybe some stats on the company, it hasn't been our best track. We've certainly shown up and tried as hard as we can each time. When you only run on it once a year, you can't test, it's tough to get things just right in practice.”
Where will he try to be?
“The safest place on the track is up front. If we can lead the race, that's the best position to be in”. That's where I want to be.”
Recalling the Texas race he cautions “ From 10th or 15th on back, it is so cut-throat, I mean, everybody is just messing with one another, from aero situations, pinning each other down, even some light contact.
That is not where I want to be.”
photo:Philippe Champoux - Auto123.com
As he said following his bounce-back victory in Phoenix “… Texas was last week, as we all know, and anything can happen. That was proof of it. So looking forward to Homestead. Yes, I am excited. We need to go down there, qualify up front, run up front all night long, stay out of trouble.”
He explained that a cautious approach to qualifying in Texas put him in a precarious situation for that race.
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“I think last weekend qualifying 12th even though that is a good qualifying spot, put us in harm's way. I was maybe a little cautious in qualifying on Friday. So we need to show up down there (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and treat it like any other race. The further forward we start, the better we are going to be track position wise. Better pit stall selection we are going to have so until we get in the race and see what we really have, we're going to treat it like any other race and just go as fast as we can."
He thinks Miami won’t exactly be a cakewalk.
“I think if you look at maybe some stats on the company, it hasn't been our best track. We've certainly shown up and tried as hard as we can each time. When you only run on it once a year, you can't test, it's tough to get things just right in practice.”
Where will he try to be?
“The safest place on the track is up front. If we can lead the race, that's the best position to be in”. That's where I want to be.”
Recalling the Texas race he cautions “ From 10th or 15th on back, it is so cut-throat, I mean, everybody is just messing with one another, from aero situations, pinning each other down, even some light contact.
That is not where I want to be.”
photo:Philippe Champoux - Auto123.com