Chattin’ with the champ (Yahoo! Sports)
March 5, 2010
Different season, same result as Jimmie Johnson has come out of the gate strong in 2010, winning two of the first three races. If you think he feels bad for winning, guess again. Johnson doesn’t think he wins enough.
Johnson talked to Yahoo! Sports about that, how good he would be without Chad Knaus and what he’s looking forward to most as a dad:
1. Y! Sports: Do you like stomping on the competition?
Jimmie Johnson: Heck yeah. That’s what anybody wants to do in sports. It’s been pretty awesome.
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Winning is everything, man. That’s what we’re there for. I guess I won seven races last year, and that’s out of 38. It may seem like we’re winning all the time, but to us it’s like, “Man, there’s a lot more races that we lost out there. We need to win more.”
2. Y! Sports: If you had to pick one, which of your four championships is most special?
Winning title No. 1 was a relief for Jimmie Johnson.Getty
Johnson: I’d have to say the first – the first win, the first championship, all of that was so special. My first race win for me, I felt, would define my career by keeping me employed. So that first win, the weight of the world was off my shoulders. I’m like, “Yes, I’ve got a job.”
And then to win my first championship – we’d come close so many times and it was the next step forward for us to define ourselves. It was such a relief to get it done and not have it slip through our fingers again.
3. Y! Sports: How successful do you think you’d be without Chad Knaus?
Johnson: I’m going to have to say that both of us would struggle if we didn’t have the situation together. I mean, you go through our sport and pick out driver-crew chief combinations and there’s always a few that really separate themselves. I look at Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon, Robbie Reiser and Matt Kenseth, Chad and myself. You only have this pairing come along every so often, and I’d be foolish to think that things would be the same with someone else.
4. Y! Sports: Be honest. You and Chandra don’t cook often, do you?
Johnson: I end up cooking all the time, to be honest. You know, with the pregnancy it’s not an option for her. It’s not that I’m some gourmet chef, by any means. If we’re going to eat, I’ve got to cook it or she has to go pick it up somewhere. We eat simple stuff – chicken and steak and pasta. Nothing extravagant, but definitely stuff to go in the belly.
5. Y! Sports: What are you looking forward to most about being a dad?
Johnson: I think over the long term, just watching the child grow into who it is and what she is. It’s not like a moment I’m looking for; it’s more like a connection with the child and to watch her grow into herself. That’s what I’m excited to see. It’s amazing the impression a parent has on a child and how it steers that life, and that part has always interested me.
6. Y! Sports: Where’s your favorite place to go on vacation?
Johnson: For me, I’d have to say Mexico. I’ve just spent so much time down there growing up racing, and every time we take a vacation and go there we just love it. We were just down there for Casey Mears’ wedding in January – Cabo San Lucas. A little beach, a little of everything – it was awesome.
7. Y! Sports: What’s the most frivolous thing you spend money on?
Johnson:Vacations. We don’t go on a lot, but when we do we’ve worked for 38 weekends and now we’re going to blow it out. Then, when an off weekend comes along, it’s like: “OK, we only have three of these through the course of the year. Let’s blow it out.”
8. Y! Sports: What athlete would you most compare yourself to?
Johnson: I never thought of comparing myself to another athlete; I don’t have a clue. It’s a little dangerous to think of certain athletes in today’s world to compare yourself to.
9. Y! Sports: We asked Scott Speed this same question last week: You’re a California native living in North Carolina. So which are you: Are you a little bit country or a little bit rock ‘n’ roll?
Johnson: I’d have to say rock ‘n’ roll. I think growing up in San Diego, spending so much time there really ingrained me into being more relaxed and laid-back and stuff like that. I moved from there directly to Wisconsin, and that was an experience of the country side of life, and enjoyed it. But I think I gravitate more toward rock ‘n’ roll.
9 ½ The one thing I want fans to know about me is …
Johnson: I guess that I’m enjoying this ride. My career has given more than I could have ever, ever dreamt of, and now I’m just trying to maintain what we’re doing but at the same time enjoy it.
Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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