NASCAR Cup Series

Johnson ready for Talladega, sits out Happy Hour

Published Oct. 29, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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While 37 drivers prepared for final practice Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson was not among them.

After posting the fifth-fastest lap (196.338 mph) in first practice, Johnson donned jeans and a navy Lowe’s shirt and headed to the motor coach — his home away from home at the track.

“I’m going over to change diapers — maybe even get spit up on,” said Johnson, referring to his infant daughter Genevieve. “But we’re done. We’ve got a great race car. We came with the best package we know of, went out and got some miles on the car. With the rules like they are, there’s really nothing to change. There’s nowhere to adjust based on what we know from being here in the spring and all the things we’ve worked on since. We’re good.”

Johnson was among four drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup who opted not to participate in Happy Hour. Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer also refrained from practicing. Defending race winner Jamie McMurray, who posted the best 10-lap average (193.645 mph), and his current Earnhardt Ganassi teammate Juan Pablo Montoya also sat out from final practice.

Johnson has won the past two poles at Talladega. But in 17 starts, Johnson has finished only 10 races on the 2.66-mile superspeedway. His sole Talladega win came in spring 2006.

Despite holding only a six-point advantage in the standings over Denny Hamlin — who posted the top lap of 201.664 mph on Friday — Johnson said he didn’t park his car prematurely because of his dislike of Talladega. He preferred to err on the side of caution.

“I love this race — in the spring,” Johnson said. “The fall race, when you have something on the line, it sucks. But we’re totally good. We’re fine. The backup car is just as good. There really isn’t anything to change, so you might as well keep the miles off the engine.

“And there’s a lot of bump drafting going on and NASCAR has a real soft tail sections on the car. We don’t want to beat it off the car and create more work for different situations. We’re good. Nothing to fart around with.”

The spoiler — again

With two points wins on restrictor plate tracks this season, there’s no doubt Kevin Harvick will be the favorite on Sunday.

In 2010, Harvick has led 71 of the possible 574 laps between Daytona and Talladega. He also won the Budweiser Shootout during the season-opening Speedweeks.

Despite posting the 31st-fastest lap (193.373 mph) during the first practice, Harvick opted to forgo Happy Hour. Still, Harvick says he “feels really comfortable” about the final four racetracks on the schedule.

“Obviously, at this place anything can happen. Whether you are leading the race or running last, you can wind up in somebody else’s mess,” Harvick said. “But I enjoy the restrictor plate racing, and it's obviously something you have to think about a lot. There is a lot of strategy involved in it, and you have to have fast cars.

“We have been able to put all those things on the racetrack this year. And if this was the last race of the year, I would be pretty excited about it.”

Harvick is certainly in his competitors’ heads. Hamlin, who trails Johnson by six points but holds a 56-point advantage over the No. 29 Chevrolet, believes Harvick is capable of “lead-frogging” both the Nos. 11 and 48 in the points come Sunday. But still there’s a lot of uncertainty.

“Obviously he’s got probably the most plate victories, I’m guessing, of us three,” Hamlin said. “I don’t have any, obviously. I’ve really been competitive at this racetrack over the last three or four years and gotten better at superspeedway racing. I feel like my record is not a true indication of how I run on these plate race tracks. I think it’s a complete wild card. really.”

ANOTHER TROPHY FOR CHILDRESS

Richard Childress has six Cup trophies this year, but this week he returned from Mongolia with quite the souvenir — a 400-pound Gobi Desert Ram.

“It was great,” Childress said. “It’s going to be way, way up in the record book."

SAY WHAT?

Kyle Busch on running over 200 mph at Talladega:

"It doesn’t really feel any different because you have people running the same speed around you. You just hear it in the motor."

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