Jimmie Johnson thinks Daytona finish was correct
Quote selected text Published February 20th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Two days after the Daytona 500, some top Nextel Cup drivers continue to debate the timing of the yellow flag on the final lap of Sunday’s race.
Jimmie Johnson, who was out of the race by that time, says he sees both sides of the argument. In fact, he has changed his opinion about it after listening to both Martin and Harvick discuss the timing.
“First, when I watched it, I felt that Mark Martin deserved that win and the caution should have come out. Then watching everything develop, and the opinions from Mark, the opinions from fans and just watching the whole scenario, I’m torn,” he said Tuesday during a national teleconference.
“I certainly am torn. I think the caution should have come out, but at the same time you want the biggest race of the season to be determined at the start-finish line and not based on the lights being turned on.
“I think from this scenario it worked out, safety wasn’t compromised, no one was injured, and both drivers seem OK with the situation … you want to determine a race at the start-finish line, and I guess Mark Martin’s comments swayed my opinion more than anything. The biggest thing I think we look for now is consistency and also the safety associated with letting cars race back.”
Harvick, despite being the clear victor thanks to the lack of the caution, also sees both sides of the issue.
“After the caution, when the first car spins, we’re still ahead,” he said. “It’s a hard call to make, just for the fact you don’t throw the caution, you’re in hot water. You do throw the caution, you’re in hot water. There’s really no right or wrong answer.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever actually come off of Turn 4 and had the circumstances be that way before, I know we’ve wrecked on the green-white-checkereds before, the caution has to come out on the backstretch or something like that the lap before. It’s a hard spot to be in. I’m glad I don’t have to make those calls.”
Still, Johnson says that NASCAR needs to review the timing and make sure that the ruling in one race is also the ruling for the next instance.
“There’s a couple of things there we need to look at moving forward, but it seems like for the Daytona 500 the right call was made,” he said.
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I really don’t like Mark Martin so I guess it was the lesser of the two evils that one. Mark Martin complains to much. Not even 2 years ago he HATED this track, and now that he is doing good he loves it. Kind of like John Kerry. Sorry but I had to.
I totaly agree with ben.
Mark Martin never complains about anything except restrictor plate racing. He’s not picking on Daytona in particular. But it is the biggest race in Nascar and he was that close to actually winning it. Dale Earnhardt hated plate racing to but look how happy he was when he won.
Ben must have been watching golf. Mark Martin never said he loved restrictior plate racing , he just said he loves to race. and if you think he complains too much , you must really hate Tony Stewart!!!!
who even cares what jimmie johnson thinks?
Hey! Hey! Doesn’t anyone follow the rule book anymore? It’s not “a hard call to make.” Throw the yellow when “it” happens…wrecks, spins, debris on the track, a stray cat….they always throw the yellow. Except last Sunday!!
Ok, Nascar didn’t have enough time to react for the caution. They had barely any time to think of what to do. The small 1 to 2 second hesitation that they had when the wreck got into full swing is about what it took for Harvick and Martin to reach the finish. They threw the yellow, they just hesitated, and I dont blame them,they did the right thing
Who cares what you think angela? FYI quite a few people care what Jimmie Johnson thinks, after all he does get interviewed alot, if no one cared you would never hear anything about him.. LOL Apparently Mark isn’t stewing about his loss, so why can’t the fans just get the heck over it already… move on.
…Since when is anyone interested in what Jimmie Johnson has to
say?
And just because a driver gets interviewed a lot doesn’t mean
anyone cares to hear it, it means the tv peole interview the big
names. And having a big name doesn’t always come from popularity,
quite often it comes from having a lot of people hate you too.
Just felt the need to clarify that. Yup, I’m done.
Personally, I think what’s done is done. There’s those who say
Nascar’s always had it out for Mark Martin. Well, maybe, maybe not.
But either way, I like both drivers, I like Chevies, and I liked
seeing Dale’s old car hit victory lane on the 5th running of the
race since his death. So pardon me if I need not bury myself in
questions over if the caution was called correctly or not.
I agree with Breanna - hope that Michelle reads it - not that anyone cares what SHE thinks. Breanna’s
a JJ fan (for whatever reason) and still agrees - NO ONE CARES WHAT JIMMIE JOHNSON SAYS. Until his last
name becomes France, he makes no rules.