Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship
contenders, met with the media Thursday three days prior to the Ford 400
at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the 36th and final race of the 2009 season.
During the hour-long session, the two drivers and their car owner Rick
Hendrick addressed a myriad of questions regarding the final race, the
season, their past and the future.
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NASCAR championship contenders press conference in Coral Gables: Mark Martin, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet pose with the NASCAR Nextel Cup trophy. Photo by Joe Jennings.
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Going into the event, Johnson holds a nearly invincible 108 point lead
over teammate Martin and the three-time champion needs only to finish
25th or better to claim his fourth consecutive championship.
For the season, Johnson has seven wins and 23 top-10 finishes while
Martin has five victories and 21 top-10s. In the nine Chase for the
Sprint Cup races, Johnson has four wins, four more finishes in the nine
plus a 38th at Texas. Martin is slightly behind in performance with a
lone victory, six finishes in the top eight along with a 17th and a 28th
to his credit.
Johnson and his Lowe's Chevrolet team seem to perform best in the late
portions of each season, causing some to reference Johnson as "Mr.
Autumn," a takeoff on Reggie Jackson's "Mr. October" nickname.
Since 2004, the reigning champion has gone to victory lane 18 times in
Chase events. Said Johnson, "Chad Knaus and our group gets stronger
throughout the year. When the pressure is on, we perform well, and I am
glad we seem to have in place this late season surge of ours."
Based on experience, Johnson knows his point lead can disappear quickly.
Two races ago at the Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson crashed on the third
lap and Martin picked up 111 points on Johnson. "I left Talladega with
the emotion that we missed the big one (wreck), and then went to Texas
and it happened. Texas is still on my mind, and I am out of emotion,"
Johnson said. "And I am not going to let my guard down. (this weekend)."
Johnson has kept his mind off racing since last weekend's Phoenix race,
and he indicated he has worn himself out with physical conditioning and
chores. Also, he has not read or watched any television stories about
racing, to keep focused on the job ahead.
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Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin side-to-side at Phoenix International Raceway. Photo by Getty Images.
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In eight races at Homestead, Johnson's best finish was second five years
ago and he has had three finishes of 15th or worse. "We haven't figured
the Homestead track out," he stated. He stated the safest place to be
was with the leaders and his focus will be on winning the race.
Martin, on the other hand, expressed his excitement about being a
contender for the championship and would like nothing better than to
atone for his four runner-up finishes. "A year ago my team did very
well, and I could just taste it, so I wanted a chance to win again,"
he said. "This season has turned out to exceed my expectations. I knew
this team was awesome and the cars were fast, and I hoped I could get
the job done.
"I just wanted to be a good teammate and make a contribution to the
Hendrick team. Doing so for the team was as important as a win to me.
So far, I have exceeded my expectations, as I didn't know if I could
compete against Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr."
When Sunday's Ford 400 concludes, Johnson or Martin will be the 2009
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and another big winner will be
Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick.
Hendrick Motorsports is the New York Yankees of NASCAR. The team has
nine Sprint Cup championships to its credit, and the team is in a tie
with Richard Petty Enterprises at the top of the charts. In addition,
the team has three Camping World Truck Series championship, sharing
first place overall with Richard Childress Racing. When Sunday's race
concludes, the Hendrick team will have sole possession of the overall
record with a dozen championships to its credit.
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NASCAR championship contenders press conference in Coral Gables: team owner Rick Hendrick. Photo by Getty Images.
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"This is as good as it gets, and I am living a dream," Hendrick said
at the press conference. "It is hard to believe that we are tied with
Richard Petty. I am fortunate to be in this place with my life, and when
you have two cars battling for the championship, I won't be nervous at
all."
Hendrick went on to describe the close working relationship between
Knaus and Alan Gustafson (Martin's crew chief). "The two of them will
talk and share information on Saturday night and Jimmie and Mark will
do them same. They all know what gets us here. When everyone works
together, it makes us better and Mark's presence has made us all
better."
Johnson and Martin heaped praise on Hendrick for assembling the
formidable team that he heads. "Rick (Hendrick) connects with people,
and he picks something out, getting everyone to work together," Johnson
stated. "He has the great ability to see things in people and to make it
happen."
Added Martin, "I've never know an organization that wants to win for the
boss more than for themselves."
When the final checkered flag falls over the 2009 season, Hendrick,
Johnson and Martin will all be seen as winners, and even though just one
of the drivers will be crowned champion, they will all be congratulating
each other for a job well done.
