Q&A with Daytona 500 Front Row Starters

The internet rumor mill is abuzz with talk that the NASCAR computers again chose the Daytona 500 pole sitter – this time Jeff Gordon in his last Daytona 500

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For the third consecutive year, the Chevrolet SS will lead the field to the green flag for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. This year, Jeff Gordon put the bowtie in the top spot for the Great American Race with a lap of 44.711 seconds/201.293 mph. Gordon’s qualifying lap is the first time since 1987 that the pole sitter turned a lap over 200 mph.

It is the 78th career pole and second Daytona 500 pole for the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS. By virtue of winning the pole, the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion’s starting position is locked-in for the February 22 race.

Filling out the all-Chevrolet SS front row and securing his starting position for the Daytona 500 is six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS. Johnson has started on the front row of the prestigious 500 four times. Today’s result is the fourth time in the history of the race that Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets have swept the front row.

"Jeff Gordon on the pole, and an all-Chevrolet SS front row is a great way to start the season," said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "The No. 24 Chevrolet SS team executed their qualifying strategy well and Jeff drove a great lap. It's fitting for Jeff to start his final full season on the pole of the Daytona 500. It was also great to see Jimmie Johnson qualify second, making it an all-Chevy front row for the third consecutive year."

With the front row starting positions set, next on the Daytona Speedweeks agenda is Thursday’s qualifying races to set the remainder of the 43-car field. The Budweiser Duel at Daytona will start February 19 at 7:00 p.m. on FoxSports1.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – POLE SITTER FOR THE DAYTONA 500

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by our pole winner for the 57th annual Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon. Jeff is the first pole winner to eclipse 200 miles an hour since 1987. This is his 78th pole in 762 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts.

Jeff, congratulations. Obviously a big pole position for you here for obvious reasons. Tell us your thoughts.

JEFF GORDON: This is definitely huge for many reasons. This is one I've been stressing about for a while. This format is crazy and chaotic. It can be extremely rewarding when you have a day like we had.

To bring that kind of group effort together…

In the past, this has been one of the easiest days I've had all day long. Go out there, hold it wide open, run a couple laps. It's all about the team, the car, all the preparation they put into it. All that hard work still goes into this effort, but I play a bigger role, the spotter plays a bigger role. There's just so much more strategy in trying to play this chess match and the time game, the wait game. It just becomes really intense.

Yeah, this feels good for that reason alone. Then you add that it's the Daytona 500, the benefits that come along with that, as well as it just being the Daytona 500, the emotion of the announcement I made to start the season, this is my last Daytona 500, this is a very special day.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.

Q. Was part of your trepidation stemming from what almost happened at Talladega in the fall?

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, absolutely. I think the one thing we really learned from Talladega is that round one, you're going to make the top 24. The way I was approaching it, the way I waited as long as I did, that's what you should be doing for round three.

That's what made it so frustrating for Alan. I heard about it for a while after that, Man, all we need to do is make it to the top 24. We can roll out in the middle of the pack and probably have done that.

You learn from your mistakes. I felt prior to Talladega, and that was the first time we had the five minute clock, prior to that I feel like I had this format down fairly well. We had good results and success.

That was definitely a lot of the stress, is wanting to do it right. Then talking to our teammates, we had a meeting this morning, we were all over the place on what the right strategy is, how we want to do it, can we work together, should we work together. Is it better to get together, not get together. Who is wanting to get on to that. 30 seconds before you're getting ready to go it all goes out the window and changes because of what happened in round one, what's happening when you back out of pit road.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]There's so much going on in your mind. It's literally like playing chess at 200 miles an hour. It's pretty crazy.

Q. Why were you so stressed? You have enough owner points to get in. A lot of people say it doesn't matter where you start the 500. It doesn't appear this type of qualifying really says exactly who has the best car.

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, well, I understand where you're coming from. But when you saw two cars crash in the first round, that gives me enough to be stressed about right there. I mean, it's not out of the question that that can happen at any time. You're slicing through some cars that maybe are by themselves that aren't up to speed, slower cars, you have to draft off of them.

In the first round, I thought I was going to miss it because we came up on a car, I was pushing Matt, I believe, and I didn't see the run that was coming behind me. Kyle was pushing. I didn't know you could push. That was new to me. Kyle was pushing Vickers. They went shooting by me on the inside. I was like, Whoa, where did that come from?

It's wild and intense. It's not just what's on the line trying to win the pole for the Daytona 500. To me every time I'm on the racetrack, I want to win, but I also don't want to embarrass myself and not make it past round one.

We're Hendrick Motorsports, we're the 24 team, we have high expectations. That in itself is somewhat stressful. Once you make it past round one, your goal is to make it to round three after that.

That's where it all comes to me, is you're trying not to wreck, tear up your car, and you're trying to go faster than the other guys to make it there. Once you make it into the final round, it's either pole or nothing.

We were sitting there fourth after the second round. Jimmie was first. Jimmie was fine if nobody rolled off pit road. I was actually somewhat okay with that. Fourth still was pretty good. So when they were waiting, we were sitting there, Okay, we'll just wait with them.

We were in a good position where if everybody missed the clock or even if like four or five of them made it, then it wasn't the end of the world. But once they all started to roll, then obviously we were pretty happy.

I thought halfway through the lap, I was going to miss the clock at the line. They were counting it down coming off of turn four. I was like, I think we're good here. Once we made it, I thought we were in a really good position to get the pole or maybe second. I thought maybe Jimmie was probably going to get it.

Q. How confident were you when the session started that you could take the pole? How soon after taking the flag that qualifying was over did you know you had the pole?

JEFF GORDON: I was confident my car was fast enough. It was just really about jockeying for position. Like that first round, we took off, Matt had a little bit of a gap in front of me, then I was behind him. There were some cars behind me, another group back there and stuff.

At one point I was sitting there going, Uh oh, I'm too far behind, I'm a sitting duck. Oh, man, this isn't going to work.

Then the rpms came up, we started getting a tow. Vickers came from the backside, I was like, Oh, no. Then I was able to tuck in behind Edwards. The second lap wasn't bad, the third lap was a tiny bit better.

I can't say I was super confident because you just don't know how it's all going to work out.

Round two I thought went pretty smooth. I think I got behind the 11 and I felt like we were in a pretty good position there. The cars were a little further back behind us. There was an intense moment, we ran our second or third lap I think, I actually saw the rpms creep up even more as we went through one and two. This is going to be an even better lap.

Alan is on the radio saying, We're good, we're good. I saw we were going faster. He said, Don't let them get a tow from behind you. I felt like we were good enough. Then as we got to three, Denny started waving because they were all checking up. It was chaos. They were all over the place.

That's something that needs to be worked on on this format, something that needs to be improved. I don't know what happened with Bowyer. I saw where he dove to the inside and they came together. You certainly can't block in this format. That's just uncalled for. But when you wave off, there's got to be a better way to wave off.

I don't know if it's all cars have to go high, all cars have to go low, but all the cars have to go in one place. You can't have them three and four wide where cars are coming through there doing 20 miles per hour faster than the cars running there. That's something we need to do better at. By communicating with NASCAR and other drivers, we can do that.

In the last run, when we rolled off there, I was in the position I was in, behind the 11, the 20, he had the 18 in front of him, I had Jimmie behind me, at that moment I thought, if we cross the line and make it, I felt like I had a 50/50 chance.

I thought Jimmie had the best chance. I thought I had as equal or maybe not quite as good a chance. It just happened to work out that he closed up on me, gave me a little bit of a push. Those guys got a little bit of a tow. I felt like I was really good. That was by hundredths of a second.

You don't know that, but when they said 'pole', it was very exciting.

Q. You said you felt fairly comfortable with the time that you had. How much does it go against your instincts from Sprint Cup racing to sit in the car not moving while the clock is counting down?

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, it's not fun. It's not the part of it that I like. But I do like the fact that there's strategy involved. I think that's a pretty cool aspect to it.

I mean, of course all of us wish that when we were driving around any track that you're actually having to drive it, the handling playing a role, how hard you push the car. That's not the case here anyway.

If you compare it to what we used to do, which is really boring, this is probably the extreme the other way, where it's extremely intense. But when it turns out the way it did for me, then you like it. When it turns out the way it did for Bowyer, you hate it.

Q. Jeff, you have been pretty clear you don't want this to be a farewell tour or anything like that. You just won the pole for the Daytona 500. You're going to be in the spotlight the whole week. Are you ready for this?

JEFF GORDON: I mean, at this moment I'm not treating it any different than I would a pole. The pole for the Daytona 500 I know is a big deal. To me I'm approaching it the same way. My schedule is not changing other than the little bit of work I have to do today when I leave here. Other than that, it's business as usual.

I mean, I'm not saying I've been at the top of the limelight and attention in the sport, but I've gotten enough of it over the years to be somewhat adjusted to it.

When it's all fun and cool, you got fans saying positive things, other competitors saying positive things, then it's kind of hard not to enjoy that. I mean, so far I'm just enjoying the ride.

What I'm finding unique about this, and Alan told me this before the season started when I told him this was happening, even after I announced to the team, he was like, I love it because you're going to have a unique mindset that you've probably never had before.

He's right. I felt it last night and I feel it right now. That's the way I'm looking at it going into these next couple races here this week. It's kind of all or nothing for me. I got one last chance. I can take chances.

I mean, yeah, I want to win the championship. I want points. But right now it's the Daytona 500. All I want to focus on is winning the Daytona 500. I'm just enjoying the ride, enjoying the moment.

It's cool. I'm way less stressed than I've been in the past. Now that's going to intensify a little bit in the race. That's just me and my nature. But still there's just something about it where if you don't win, Oh, well, it's not the end of the world. But, boy, if you can win it, what a storybook type of beginning to the season it would be.

Q. Is it fitting to you at all that you will lead the field in your final 500?

JEFF GORDON: We got to get through the 150s first. I'm looking forward to talking to the team and Alan about what our approach should be on that.

But, I mean, I can't think of anything cooler than to start this season, the Daytona 500, my final Daytona 500, final full season on the pole.

It's going to be pretty important for me to be on that pole when it all starts.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS – QUALIFIED 2ND

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, we've been joined by our second place starter in next Sunday's 57th annual Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson. This is Jimmie's fourth career front row starting spot for the Daytona 500. Obviously he'll be starting up front alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. This is the fourth front row sweep for Hendrick Motorsports in the Daytona 500.

Jimmie, congratulations on a front row starting spot. Just tell us maybe how important it is to share that front row with your teammate, know you're locked in for next week already.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, it's nice to be locked in on Thursday for the Duels. You don't have to take any big risks or chances. It's nice to know we've got a great starting spot for the 500.

We'll enjoy the week. More so on an emotional level this sends a big thank you back to all our folks back at Hendrick Motorsports at all the different shops and departments. They've been working hard to get our cars ready for the season. To get a front row sweep says a lot.

The only way the drivers can really thank everybody for their hard work is to go out and stand on it. We did a nice job working the qualifying sessions like we needed to to advance and knocked down that front row.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions.

Q. Jimmie, four Hendrick Chevys and four Gibbs Toyotas in the top eight. Is that who it will be on Sunday?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Hard to predict. We saw last night with all the chaos. I feel amongst those eight cars, you have eight really good drivers with the draft. I think our eight cars over the last few years have been maybe just a little step ahead of the competition.

Traditional thinking, yes. We just don't have a clue. I think last night's the best evidence to support that. Although one of those eight did win that race, so…

Q. When you realized that you got the last position there coming off pit road, did you think you were in the catbird seat at that point? Conversely, did you think you might have waited too long?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: We had some cues, timing marks, what we thought we needed to leave pit road at. That time came and went. I really felt like no one was going to get back in time, and I would be on pole position, 11 would be next to us.

As we were making the lap, we got up to speed, through the gears, covered so much territory, they're giving me my cues, I think most are going to make it and I'm in a position where I'm not going to make it.

We knew what the risks were. In order to get the pole, you've got to take a big chance. That could be front row or 12th. But 12th at a plate track is not the end of the world. We were willing to take the risk and gamble to be there. We made it around faster than we could. I thought I was out. I thought I was going to miss the cutoff on the time.

It was very easy for me to wait the majority of that time because I thought they were going to run the clock down and no one was going to get a timed lap. At one point I'm sitting there thinking, Sweet, let's wait each other out. I'm going to end up with pole, no third session.

Q. We've heard a lot of drivers talk about how hard the teams worked to prepare Daytona 500 cars, all the engine work, then what a waste it is to come here now and go through this format. We didn't just hear about it today from people that were angry, we heard about it Thursday when people were talking about what they could expect. Do you feel any better about the way the format is here or would you rather it all be about the one car, the one shot?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Man, it's tough because I think everybody's trying to keep an open mind on what's best for the sport, what creates the most interest.

I guess maybe we should look at viewership numbers and attendance numbers to see if this format supports the risks that the teams are taking, drivers are taking in the cars.

On a side note, they're probably happy there wasn't any testing. If we had any more days of single car testing in the cars they'd really be mad, the guys that tested today. We say all that, we're frustrated about today, but we got to race on Thursday. That doesn't seem to bother people. Maybe it's just because it's always been there.

So trying to think about the car owners, the expenses that are into all of this, that Thursday race could be frowned upon in a certain situation.

I don't know what the right thing is. Fortunately, I drive for a big team, a well funded team. I would be bummed if we lost our 500 car, but we have good backups. Maybe I don't have the best point of view on it. Trying to do what's right for the sport. That's why I go back to stats. Not trying to take a soft way out.

At some point in time in order to grow the sport, somebody has to be unhappy. I don't know where that falls. Hopefully we can look at facts and stats and say, yes, this is better and it is worth the five cars we lost. If it didn't move the needle, then we should try to rethink things and the five cars we lost wouldn't be worth it.

Q. I know you probably wanted to sit on the pole, were hoping that the clock would run out on everybody with you sitting on pit road. How meaningful is it for you to be starting alongside Jeff in his last go around here at Daytona? How fitting is it he'll be leading the field to green on that day?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: It didn't go through my mind that way. Sure, I wish I was a few hundredths faster and got the pole. But I just haven't thought of it in that light. I guess I should. As the year goes on, it will become more of that.

To start next to him in his final Daytona 500, it's really cool. Depending on how the results turn out, it could be a bigger storyline yet.

Again, just to take it back to the team, there's so much time and effort that goes into this, to have the front row locked down, I don't know where Mr. H is, but I know he's smiling pretty big.

Q. Some of the drivers have said under the single lap format it was really showcasing what the team and the engineers and the car could do. Today put the driver into the equation with the pole. Elaborate on that, please.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: We definitely have to drive the cars today. It's maybe borderline a chess game, too, because you're playing the clock. You definitely don't want to be the first car off pit road. It's kind of a waiting game. Who is getting impatient. Who can afford to wait.

The way we were positioned, really through all three segments, we knew the 48 was in the 500, so we were playing with house money the whole session. As we got to the third one, it was first or 12th, didn't matter.

So our point of view might be a little bit different on all of that. But we have the single car runs, we get all these things that it's boring, like watching paint dry, but you don't tear up cars. Now we have something a little more exciting, but we tear up cars. Doesn't seem to be the popular way to go about it, but I don't know what the solution is.

Q. Seems like most of the drivers who didn't make it into the final round did not like this today. We heard a lot of that at Talladega as well. Ultimately don't you guys as drivers control how that's going to go? I don't necessarily mean the wreck, but who goes when. Isn't that all in your hands and you guys can control how this plays out?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, without a doubt, it really is on us. The thing that most aren't thinking about is restrictor plate racing is so different. If this was at Atlanta next week, you wouldn't have the same dynamic, count on the draft. The fact that this is a restrictor plate track and you have to work with others creates all this frustration.

But it really is in our hands. We're the ones steering and standing on the throttle.

Q. Can you understand how some people think this would be confusing since you and Jeff were the 11th and 12th cars in line and you were the two fastest, and the first car in line was the slowest. Does it seem like it goes against everything that's supposed to make sense in racing?

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]JIMMIE JOHNSON: Man, in the dictionary, restrictor plate racing equals what you just asked. I mean, it's just so backwards, you know. I mean, it's just plate racing. It's physics.

Diehard fans get it, for sure. They understand the draft. Went on a big bike ride that were pro cyclists and tri athletes the other day. They came here, and the draft exists in their world, and they got it. They were like, The guy last in line is going to be less energy on the car, they can go faster. I'm like, Yes, you got it.

I hope everybody gets it. I doubt it. But it's just physics. I guess it's hard to explain all that sometimes.

Q. Is there any part of this that is more fun for a driver than single car qualifying? Everything we ever heard was, Anybody can get in the car, hammer the gas.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: We were bitching then, we're bitching now, aren't we? Must be racing (laughter).

Q. Is there any part of the chess game that is enjoyable?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I've had a decent amount of success with it the last two or three plate tracks. I feel like I'm understanding how to work it. So I don't have the worst opinion of it.

It is weird, the waiting game. I get it. That part is frustrating. But I don't know how we make entertaining restrictor plate qualifying. Unless they run us through the chicane on the backstretch or something, I don't know how we make it entertaining.

Q. Taking out the random nature of a wreck in a restrictor plate race, which is more challenging to you as a driver, single car qualifying or going out in these packs?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: These packs are definitely more challenging. On a single car, you just get it through the gearbox and follow the yellow lines. The speeds are slow enough that the car is well under its grip level, the limits of the vehicle.

Once you get 40 cars around you, low air, speed goes up 20 miles an hour, then the car is tough to drive. That's what we have with this group qualifying session. You're actually in there driving the car.

There is some luck involved, where you are in line, why the car creates a faster time. But there is much more driving required in the group qualifying session.

Q. Carl was in here and said the Duels on Thursday will be insane. Is he right?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't think so. I've expected stuff to go haywire in the Duels every time, and I don't know if I've seen a crazy Duel yet.

The fact of the matter is there's six cars that need to be crazy, and maybe it's four and two or three and three in a race, however it works out. Those are the only ones you really have to worry about. The bulk of the group plays it smart. We don't need to lose our cars, no need. I think they will be tame, personally.

Q. Is it ever disconcerting that the perceived entertainment value of your sport seems to go so far in determining the rules of competition for you?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: At times it seems like it's in question, for sure. I feel like we got to try, though. We've had a lot of change over the years. Look at the last two or three years, there's been a ton of change.

As long as the needle is going in the right way, I guess we're doing it right. There certainly are plenty of chuckles about that.

Q. You mentioned the clock running down at the end. Is there anything in this type of format that prevents you going up to the front, simply stopping, but not letting anybody else around you get that last lap in without the time expiring?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: There's only so much you can do to block, and NASCAR made it known if you would do that, they would penalize you.

So, again, you don't want to get spun out, run into, damage your car. I don't think you could really block all that effectively. You might hold someone up for a beat, but it wouldn't be too long.

One thing I was just thinking about, pull it back a second. We were in Talladega, qualifying we all thought would be based on a practice session result. This was a couple years ago before group qualifying.

If I remember right, everybody loved that practice session, how we had to race for our lap time. Then that's the stuff that NASCAR heard. Then group qualifying came into play.

So after a bunch of positive input through a practice session that led to a rule, now we're having second thoughts.

I don't know how we keep everybody happy. It's just a tough, tough balance.