MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 400
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRACTICE NOTES & QUOTES
MARCH 24, 2017

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS ~ Crashed in the grass, Turn 4, during the first practice session and will go to a backup car.

WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE?
“We just showed up at the track swinging hard and trying to get all that we can. I crossed the line there, for sure, and the car came around on me. But, we’ve got another great Lowe’s Chevrolet coming out. I thought we might be able to stick with this one, but that was too much on the front of the race car. It’s not the way we wanted to start the weekend. But, the only way we’re going to get better without testing is just to keep trying harder in practice and swing harder. We know we got the race-side in a respectable spot but just need to start better on Fridays.”

YOU WERE CLOSE TO KURT BUSCH AS YOU CAME AROUND THE CORNER AND YOU WERE SPINNING. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AND HOW DID YOU KEEP FROM COLLECTING HIM IN THAT PROCESS?
“I knew I was fine, but I’m sure it caught him off-guard seeing a car come by sideways. I was really concerned about sliding up in front of others and getting into the outside wall. I actually threw it into third and redirected the car lower on the track. I was kind of wishing I’d stayed with it and let it slide up and maybe I would have avoided the grass if I did so. I was just trying to manage it all.”