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Old 08-19-2006, 09:47 AM
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Behind the Hauler Chat with Jimmie Johnson

GM Racing Communications, Press Release


ON BEING GOOD AND BAD AT DIFFERENT TRACKS IN THE CHASE. HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE DIFFERENT TRACKS?

"I think the two tracks in the Chase that I get nervous about are, there are actually three, the two mile tracks with Phoenix and Loudon. We've been able to run fair there but not fighting for the win and that's a very strong track for the 20, 29, 31 - a lot of these guys that I think are going to have to race for the championship. Those two tracks hopefully we can find the speed that we need and be up there and earning the points that we need to. Then I think the other one that everybody is worried about is Talladega. Outside of that, I feel like I have a great car. I can win at Talladega. The other eight tracks outside of those two miles are very good tracks for me. I personally think the Chase helps me and helps the 48 team. They're all really good tracks for us. Out of the 10 there's only two that give us a little bit of grief."


YOU'RE STRONG AT MICHIGAN, DOES THAT HELP YOUR CONFIDENCE?

"Well it's a different set of worries. I feel like we're going to have the speed and be able to compete for the win but the unknown of crashes and losing points, that's the real thing in the Chase that we're worried about and that's why Talladega is such a nail-biting experience for everybody."
THE ROUSH TEAMS HAVE STRUGGLED THIS YEAR EXCEPT FOR


MATT KENSETH. DO YOU THINK BEFORE THE YEAR IS OUT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM THOSE GUYS?

"Well I think that Roush is definitely a very strong organization. Those of us that have been around the sport for years know that people come and go in cycles. It's not that they plan it to be that way or want it to go that way. Certain teams hit on certain things that fit their driving style. Organizations find speed that take them to the top of our series. Things come and go in waves and there still a lot of racing left and Roush is a very competitive company and in my opinion, a dangerous company for the championship. They are a very, very strong organization. Having as many races as we do left, it's within their reach to find what they had last year at this time. Between all five cars dominating week after week, I think they have that ability. I think Gibbs has that ability. I think Childress does and I think Hendrick does. I think your champion will come out of those four companies. It's just a matter of which team gets everything working right."


ON THE LUCKY DOG RULE:

"I think any rule gets questioned at some point. Last week with Kyle (Busch) I'm sure some people feel like that rule is getting abused. There's other weeks where that rule is very fair and it does its job. When you have 38 races a year I think it's hard to make rules that consistently do the right thing time after time. As a whole, that's a good compromise of situations to give somebody their lap back. Thinking of safety, competition, teammates cutting favors to people, if you think back to the days where we didn't have the lucky dog you just had to hope you're friends with the guy leading the race and for him to cut you break and let you get your lap back. Today that doesn't take place. I really think the lucky dog situation is the right compromise."


SHOULD THERE BE LIMITS ON IT?

"I don't think so. Then we'll just argue the point of why it was two and not three. It is what is. If we could stay on the road and not have so many cautions then we wouldn't have to worry about the lucky dog situation."


LAST WEEK HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS RE-SIGNED CHAD KNAUS. BEING THE WINNINGEST TEAM IN THE SERIES THIS YEAR, DOES THAT ADD TO YOUR CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THE CHASE?

"We were all operating under a contract that had two years left on it. Lowe's came in and put their situation together with Rick (Hendrick). Then I was next in line. Then Chad (Knaus) was able to get his piece put together right there before Indy. It does give us confidence. I think it's rare in our sport for a driver-team combination to go as long as ours has, plus to have a sponsor, driver, crew chief and team locked up for as many years is as we all are. I think that's rare. It sends a message through our industry that we're all for each other, with each other and we're a great team and that we think we'll be that way for a long, long time. It does give us a confidence on that side. But the fact that our contracts still had two years to go on them, we were never in an uncomfortable situation. It was really like 'Wow, they think a lot of us to be able to re-sign Hendrick, myself and Chad to that.' It was more of a pat on the back than anything."


ON WINNING BOTH THE DAYTONA 500 AND THE BRICKYARD 400:

"It's been a great experience. I really think once the year is over I'll have some more time to reflect on it. You're only as good your last race and I finished 17th last week. The highs of Daytona seem like they were last year or maybe two years ago for that matter. It seems so long ago. Then (came) the emotions from the Glen that have played over. They weren't good ones. I think once we get through the season I'll have a chance to look back. Right now our eyes are on the championship, for me to do what I can in the car to be a champion and for the team to develop to be a champion as well."


WILL YOU DO ANYTHING SPECIAL GOING BACK TO YOUR HOME AREA IN CALIFORNIA?

"There are really a few cool things going on. I believe I'm going to go out and do the (Jimmy) Kimmel Show. I'm going to go on a little fishing trip actually before we get to California with some friends, go up to Alaska and do some fishing. I'm going to come down and do Kimmel and then go out to the race track. It's a big weekend for myself and Chanda. We have the Jimmie Johnson Foundation car that's going to run on Saturday in the Busch race. So with that there's a lot of great things going on with the coin that fans can buy at JimmieJohnsonFoundation.org or actually make a donation and receive the coin is what I should say. There's been a lot of planning, a lot of different things going on with that event and trying to raise money for our foundation and the Victory Junction Gang camp where we're building a bowling alley. It's going to be a very busy weekend for me especially Saturday with all the great things going on, driving the Busch car and promoting our foundation. Then as we get into Sunday it's going to be business as usual and worrying about a championship."


ON IF HE HAS BEEN TO ALASKA:

"Well actually I was pretty young. I think I was just getting out of sixth grade. I went up with my parents to visit my grandparents. I used to fish up and down the West Coast all the time and spent some time up in Alaska with them. I was so young and barely remember the experience. I'm really looking forward to this. It will be a good time."


HAS IT HELPED YOU THAT YOU'VE HAD A BUBBLE MENTALITY, THINKING THAT NOBODY HAS REALLY BEEN SAFE IN THE CHASE?

"I don't think you can put your guard down at anytime. Granted we're in a safe situation in the points but I'm really looking at who's been earning the most points over the last 10 races, who that is and what they've been doing. We've been right there with those guys. The 29, 31 and 5 have been very strong so we're looking at a couple of other races for points inside the overall transferring situation to get into the Chase. I keep saying it, I think this year's Chase is going to be extremely exciting, extremely competitive and really interesting for the fans."


IS THERE PRESSURE AS THE LEADER?

"I don't think pressure falls into that. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I do think it's the point leader's role to try to keep the 400-piont gap there. We put a lot of other pressure on ourselves worrying about other things. That's just kind of a bonus where it needs to take place. Whoever the points leader has been, it's been their objective to try and keep it a 10-man race. I can remember from the first Chase that we had through last year, that was a pretty good talking point that everybody wanted to keep it a 10-car race instead of possibly more."


WHAT DID GOING TO RICHMOND DO TO ADD EXCITEMENT TO THE CHASE?

"Again, it just depends on where you are in that whole thing. Going into that race, there's so much more pressure that the race in Richmond feels like Homestead. You're shot to be a champion relies on that race for some of the guys. With the way it looks right now, there will be four or five guys where that race is really important to them to get in the Chase. That pressure and all that is there. It wakes me up usually to say 'OK, here come those 10 races where this is going to be what you experience every week.' It gets me prepared. People that are safe in the points know to buckle down. I saw some of the biggest smiles last year outside of the car where guys maybe didn't have the best race that night but they beat their competition and made it the Chase. They were so relieved and happy to have a shot at the championship. There's going to be a lot of emotion. It's hard to say if it will be all excitement or negative emotion but there's going to be a lot going into it and it gets everybody ramped up for the final 10."


DO YOU PLAN ON PARTICIPATING IN THE CAR OF TOMORROW TEST? HOW MUCH INTEREST DO YOU HAVE IN HOW THE TOYOTA CAMRY PERFORMS?

"I've been in the Car of Tomorrow up at the Milwaukee Mile. I drove it some up there. I think Jeff (Gordon) is slated for this test. They're planning on putting me in at a later date. So Jeff will be there.
"Toyota is going to come in and be competitive and I think it will be fun to see them on the track but our rules are so limited. There's only so many areas that you can have freedom to explore and develop. I really think Toyota is going to come in, they're going to be right on the mark and be competitive but it's not going to be a runaway situation like some people fear. Our rules don't allow us to really advance in technology. It's designed to keep things fair and leave it in the drivers hands and crew chiefs hands. Even GM teams like ours, we have a lot of technology that we're sitting on that we would love to go race against Toyota on and see who has the best manufacturers support and who has the best teams but our rules limit that to keep it in the drivers and crews hands."


WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF THE SITUATION WHERE JEFF GORDON PUSHED MATT KENSETH? WAS THAT UNUSUAL?

"I was shocked a lot like everyone else that Jeff came out of the car with the fire in his eyes that he did but at the same time he was pretty upset with what had happened. He went from running inside the top five to losing a lot of points. Today he could have used those points. It would put him in a safe situation in the Chase. I think then he knew how important that race was and that top five and I think all that emotion built up and we all saw that on television. I'm sure it will be played a few times leading into the race Saturday night."


WITH JEFF TRYING TO MAKE THE CHASE AND MATT ALREADY BEING IN THE CHASE, DOES THAT MAKE FOR SOME INTERESTING TIMES NEXT WEEK?

"It's really tough to say. The longer you are in this sport and especially someone in Jeff or Matt's position, there's nothing to come from it to sit there and continue and keep a rivalry going and messing with each other. Jeff is hopefully in the Chase. If they have bad blood they're going to hate seeing each other on the track. If Matt does something to Jeff and Jeff doesn't make the Chase, Jeff doesn't have anything to lose so Matt's going to have to deal with him for 10 races. I think those scenarios run through everybody's minds and it's just best to bury it and move on. If they get in the race and somebody roughs somebody up, I think your short term frustration shows up and people start doing things then but I don't think Jeff or Matt would carry anything into that race based on what went on at Bristol and Chicago."


ON GOING TO BRISTOL:

"I'm ready for it. I'm ready to have it behind me. That race is a great a time. I love going there and I love watching races. I even enjoy being in the race but you never know what is going to happen. It's a lot like a plate race. I look forward to being in the helicopter leaving that race hopefully with a lot of points and heading back to Charlotte."


IS IT HARD TO BELIEVE WITH ALL THE PARITY TODAY THAT CHEVY HAS WON THE LAST SEVEN RACES?

"I didn't notice that. I have to give Chevy a lot of credit for it. They've spent a lot of time developing the new car, the new body for this year. I've got a great support staff that works with the teams. They're always trying to develop new things in the engine department but the key is getting it approved by NASCAR. We have a lot of changes that we would like to make but getting it approved is the hard part. Within the rule system they've done a great job supporting the teams like we need it. Another brilliant move on they're behalf is the relationships they've built with the top teams. I think in the early days they recognized the power teams and knew how to support them and keep them in their brand and supply them with the right tools to go out there and win races. I think there are a lot of levels to why Chevy has been so successful in our sport since the beginning of time. I think the stats favor Chevy with wins and Manufacturers Cup and all those different things. I really think one, it's technology and two, it's the relationships they've built with teams and drivers over the years."

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Old 09-02-2006, 11:00 AM
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Behind The Hauler Chat With Jimmie Johnson

(9-1-2006)
GM Racing Communications, Press Release


THINGS ARE GOING WELL AND YOU ARE LOCKED INTO THE CHASE. ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO KEEP THINGS ON AN EVEN KEEL RIGHT NOW?

"I think we've done a good job this year of keeping focused and not letting things break us down and not stumbling over ourselves. With all that in mind, regardless, our point situation disappears in a few races. Right now, we're still charging hard. We want to win this race. We want to run good at Richmond. It's not one of our best tracks, so we've got personal goals that we want to accomplish. I really think that this weekend we have a shot of winning here at this race track. We're just going to try to keep this momentum going and carry the same mindset into the final 10 and hopefully do our job there."

EVEN THOUGH THAT'S BURNED YOU IN THE PAST, COULD YOU AFFORD TO BE A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSTIVE ON YOUR SET-UP THIS WEEKEND?

"I think this year we're a lot more zeroed in on the package we want to run. Last year we were on the fence and the year before we got really aggressive. I feel that this year we're more prepared for the Chase. We're fine-tuning our set-up and looking for speed. We're going to keep fine-tuning and stick with this package for the final 10."

ON HIS FISHING TRIP TO ALASKA WITH CASEY MEARS:

"Oh, we had a great time. It was so different to be up in Alaska. It's really untouched land up there. There really isn't much to see or do besides be out in streams fishing and be out on the ocean fishing and hanging out with friends. I met a lot of different people in this little lodge that we were staying in. In this area called Elfin Cove had some 20 full-time residents. In the peak of summer, and we were on the tail end of it, they might have 100 people in that entire town. So we had a lot of fun and had a great experience fishing."

HOW MANY AUTOGRAPHS DID YOU SIGN?

"Not many (laughs). To my surprise, they were flying a No. 48 flag at the lodge when I got there, so I think somebody set them up for that."

WHAT DID YOU CATCH?

"We caught all kinds of fish. We caught some halibut and salmon and rockfish - that was all in the ocean. And then one day we kayaked from the big boat in the saltwater to the mouth of a freshwater stream. We went up the stream as far as we could and threw the boats up on the shore and walked a couple of miles fishing in this river all the way up catching salmon left and right. There were so many fish in the water that you could literally drag your lure through the water and snag one on the back. There were a couple of catches that weren't legitimate. You would just snag one in there (laughs) because there was so much fish."

DID IT TAKE A WHILE TO STOP THINKING ABOUT RACING AND UNWIND AND RELAX ON THIS TRIP?

"No, I'd say on the last day I knew reality was right around the corner and I had to start thinking about the race track, this track, and what's going on. But that's one thing I love about traveling. You go somewhere and just try to fall into that culture and that rhythm of life and it's definitely a different form of life up there. We were there in the summer and I'll bet it never got to 60 degrees. At night it was really cold and it rained a lot and we were wearing waders and rain gear the whole time just catching fish and cleaning fish and it was just a lot of fun. We really had a good time."

DO YOU THINK LOUDON, NH SHOULD BE THE FIRST RACE OF THE CHASE?

"I really don't have an opinion on it. I've looked at the way they've picked the final 10 races and the schedule has been set and those tracks have had their dates set all along. In a 10-race stretch, you're going to have a race or two in there that aren't your best. That's part of it. New Hampshire is sort of a middle of the road race course. We run in the top 10 or 15. It's a race that I don't feel like I can walk around too confident and too cocky about, it's just as soon get in there and get to racing and have a good day and get out of there. You're going to have that. I think of the No. 17 (Matt Kenseth) and the troubles he's had at Martinsville. That's a track that I know he doesn't look forward to. I think in the Chase we all have a race or two that bothers us."

HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT MATT KENSETH'S MOMENTUM AT THE MOMENT?

"Oh, I'm very concerned - not only with Matt's momentum, but you look at the Childress cars and what they've been able to do. There have been a lot of guys earning points over the last 10 races but it's been hard to notice it because the point separation has been so big from first to 11th. But the No. 17 and the No. 29 (Kevin Harvick) and the No. 31 (Jeff Burton) have been doing an awesome job. The No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) has really been earning a lot of points lately. It's going to be interesting Chase. I think it's going to be the best one we've had yet."

WITH YOUR HOMETOWN BEING EL CAJON, HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE COMING TO THIS TRACK?

"This is what I could call my home track. I got my first Cup win here. This weekend I'm also running the Busch race. Lowe's has been nice enough to let me paint the car up like my foundation. So we have our Jimmie Johnson Foundation car running on Saturday night and then the Cup race on Sunday. So, all in all, I've been looking forward to this event."

ARE YOU WEARING A SPECIAL VICTORY JUNCTION HELMET?

"Yeah, this is my first time auctioning off a helmet. The helmet that I wear in the race in the Busch car we're going to auction that off at the jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org. This is the first time I've done it. A nine-year old girl, a camper from the Victory Junction Gang Camp created this paint job for the helmet. It's blue. And the part that really got me was the writing on it that says 'follow me to victory'. I just felt like it was so fitting - for the name of our bowling ally - it just fits well."

ON HAVING A DIFFERENT GROUP OF DRIVERS MAKING THE CHASE THIS YEAR:

"I really think we have a lot of great competitors and I believe you'll see a turnaround from year to year of guys not making the Chase. I think you'll see four or five guys that don't come back that find their way into the Chase the following year. There is that much competition. If you add up all the cars that Childress has, and Gibbs, and Hendrick Motorsports, and Roush, you've got about 16 cars. So there's going to be a lot of turnover from year to year, and I think that says a lot for our sport."

DOES IT AFFECT YOU TO RACE AGAINST GUYS THAT HAVE NEVER RACED IN THE CHASE BEFORE IN THAT THEY DON'T KNOW WHT THEY'RE UP AGAINST?

"Not really. I think if you make the Chase, you've shown that you have the ability to race for a championship and that things are working right for you that year. And in a 10-race stretch, everybody has a chance to be a champion."

NOW THAT YOU ARE LOCKED INTO THE CHASE, ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE STANDINGS THIS WEEK?

"No. And if something bad happens, we'll look back on it and know that we're locked in and that it doesn't matter. But realistically, we all want to do well here. I think momentum is important. I think that we want to stay in that pressure situation. We want to compete for this championship in the regular season right now. I really want to challenge Matt (Kenseth) in these next two races and see what the team is capable of. I think it's a great opportunity for us to see what is going to take place in the Chase. So we're taking this very seriously. So if we do have a bad day, we'll get some sleep - we won't lose sleep over it - but we still want to keep the pressure on and keep racing hard."

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE NUMBER 1 GOING INTO THE CHASE?

"Oh, I think it's important. You never know when those five points are going to come in handy. I lost this deal by eight points a couple years ago. I think there's a mental advantage too to lead in the championship going into the Chase."

ARE YOU KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON KYLE BUSCH AND JEFF GORDON?

"Oh I keep a close eye on where Jeff and Kyle are. I want to make sure those guys make the Chase. We need a Hendrick car to win the championship. It's been a while. So I want all my teammates in there. So I keep a close eye on those guys, definitely."

ON BEING IN THE POINT LEAD NOW AFTER HAVING A ROUGH START TO THE YEAR WITH THE PENALTY CHAD KNAUS SERVED?

"It seemed so long ago that we had problems at Daytona. We got in trouble qualifying. We served our penalty. We were put in a situation that was really tough. We learned a lot from it. We made the most of it and won two races in the process. So when I look back on it, I don't have any negative feelings about it. It made our team stronger and has been beneficial to all of us."

DOES IT SURPRISE YOU THAT A YOUNG GUY LIKE KYLE BUSCH IS RIGHT IN THE THICK OF THINGS LEADING INTO THE CHASE?

"When you get out on the track, rarely do you see the age of a guy. You just see a car driving away from you or a guy that you're passing. So I forget about the age of a guy - especially once those yellow (rookie) stripes are off his bumper. Rookies don't have a lot of experience on the tack and maybe aren't as familiar with pressure situations and look for some opportunities there, but even that's changing. Rookies are winning races all the time."

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING KYLE BUSCH HAS LEARNED FROM YEAR ONE TO YEAR TWO?

"I think Kyle understands the flow of a race more. It was tough for me to come in and have a 500-mile mindset and I think that's what he's learning is the flow of the race - when to charge and when to ride and how to play the game out there."

HOW DO YOU PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH BUSCH RACES YOU RUN? IS IT UP TO YOUR SPONSOR ORDO YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS?

"It's really about my sponsor and the preference of where I want to run them. If I'm going to be in a Busch car, they would love me to be at Lowe's Motor Speedway and I do two events there. And then this is a special place for me. So it's a combination of the two."

SO DOES IT STILL HAVE TO BE SOME SORT OF SPECIAL EVENT FOR YOU TO RUN THE BUSCH SERIES?

"I love running the Busch car but I don't have the desire to run for points in both series. I think it takes a lot of work and it takes a little bit away from your Cup program at times.
I say that and then you look at the success that Harvick and Childress has had and that makes me question that. But in general, I think that more guys are distracted from Cup by running the Busch program full time. I don't want to put my Cup program in jeopardy."


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Old 11-22-2006, 11:33 AM
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Jimmie Johnson’s “Chase for the Championship” Diary: Homestead-Miami Speedway
By Jimmie Johnson

Phoenix was certainly a great run for the Lowe’s team. Second place as pretty cool, but there at the end I was really pushing for a win. We had such a great car and such a great weekend. I wanted to go for the win and had a good run on Kevin Harvick, but we were really looking at the bigger picture. Down the back straightaway I was in a position where I think my four or five years of Cup experience came into play. I knew that in order to get the win, I was really going to have to force the issue and I really didn’t want to take that risk. The last thing I wanted was for both of us to wreck.

Now it is on to Homestead for the final race. I’m excited. If we can just go to Homestead and do what we have been doing one more time, we'll be very happy. I can't express enough how much experience in this sport has helped me as a driver. This is my fifth year, fifth time being in a championship situation. We’ve been under pressure and we've been in this situation before and that’s made us a better, stronger, and more mature race team. I think in the last few months, we've been able to show that and we've been doing a great job. Five top-two finishes is representative of just how good this team really is.

Everyone is asking what our strategy for Homestead will be when the race starts. Well, it’s pretty simple. We've relied on a solid race car and I just did my job. The car has been so strong that we haven’t had to trick anybody nor do anything fancy. That’s what we are going to do this weekend in Florida.

I have a lot of confidence in myself, a lot of confidence in the race team, and our equipment. If my mind plays its games on me, I’ll just think of; Chad Knaus and Rick Hendrick, all aspects of our race team and how strong they are and how they support me. That helps keep my mind from doing different things to me. As I said earlier, we have to just keep doing the same thing we've been doing just one more time, and if we are fortunate enough to do that, we'll be very happy.
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Old 11-22-2006, 12:18 PM
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Cool Chase for the Championship Diary: New York City

By Jimmie Johnson
Cup Scene Daily,November 22




Well we did it.

That was a pretty cool day wasn't it? I still have a hard time believing it all. I guess in the next couple of days it will sink in and I'm sure when it finally does it will be one of the greatest feelings in the world.

One of the things I am most proud of is how this Lowe's team never gave up even when things were looking pretty bleak. We were 256 points behind the leader and nobody conceded anything. I think we knew in our hearts we could do this. We just had some bad luck in the beginning. We knew this team was capable of winning a championship. We just needed some luck. Some guys had some back luck and that allowed us to get back into it too.

Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and a lot of the guys in the Chase taught me a lot this year. I have a ton of respect for all those guys. Tony Stewart was a big help to me at Phoenix and Homestead. And my teammates Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, and Brian Vickers were also a lot of help.


What is the secret to our success this season? I don't think it is overly complicated. I think we all just matured as a race team. I have to give a lot of credit to Chad Knaus. At the beginning of the season when he was suspended for those four races; we had a plan in place how we were going to do things different and that sped things up. He did a phenomenal job putting this deal together. This has been his baby since day one.

I knew we had a good team. I knew we'd be able to do things right. But you just can't control the outside variables. On Sunday I was around three or four wrecks and had a piece of debris go through the front of the race car, which we had to fix on pit road. There was just a lot of crazy stuff going on and luckily we missed all those problems.

Now our plan is to celebrate, do some media work this week here in New York City and enjoy Thanksgiving. We have lots of things to be thankful at our house this year and I hope yours is the same. After Thanksgiving we plan to go back to New York City for the entire week at the banquet. That should be busy and a blast.

After all the championship work, some vacation time and a few trips it will be time for testing in Daytona. Then we start work on repeating this championship. But for now I plan on enjoying every minute of this title.
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Old 11-22-2006, 03:29 PM
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Old 11-22-2006, 03:55 PM
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Thanks mrsmopar and WV!!!

I like the fact that he doesn't play down Chad's suspension. And also he gives credit to other drivers, which is nice. At least he isn't being pompous.

Thanks again for the article and pics!
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Old 11-22-2006, 04:54 PM
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Good article. Thanks for posting mrsmopar.
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Old 12-10-2006, 05:42 PM
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Old 12-10-2006, 05:47 PM
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AWE WV those are so cute!!! Thanks for posting those
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Old 12-11-2006, 06:44 PM
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those are cute. wonder if they have any with jrs number. lol
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