Thursday Championship 4 Media Day Notebook

Thursday Championship 4 Media Day Notebook

Notebooks Items:

- Jimmie Johnson embraces the prospect of seven championships

- Daniel Suarez's mentors have something else on their minds

- Christopher Bell is carrying the banner for young drivers

November 17, 2016

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

Jimmie Johnson embraces the prospect of seven championships

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – You might think Jimmie Johnson would try to put the prospect of a record-tying seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title out of his mind—at least until the Ford EcoBoost 400 (Nov. 20 on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET) concludes on Sunday night.

You’d be wrong.

But that doesn’t mean Johnson’s focus won’t be on the matters at hand as he tries to equal the iconic mark set by NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

“No, not at all,” Johnson said, when asked if he’d prefer to forget allure of a seventh championship. “I'm not running from it. “I'm not hiding from it. It's just truthfully right now for me to do my job and the preparation and all the stuff that goes into racing and being competitive, it's just not top of mind.

“I mean, yes, the championship is, but it's more about winning the race. I'm more focused on winning the race, trying to qualify on pole, understand in the middle of the day what I need for the car to do, come dusk and when the sun sets. 

“I've been so caught up in notes and videos and talking setups and pouring through data and all of that stuff that the seven is there, I'm happy to talk about it.  I don't know what else to add to it, and I am just all in trying to win the race, in that mind-set.

Given time to reflect, though, Johnson clearly understands the magnitude of the potential accomplishment.

“I know that I'm as close to this opportunity as I've ever been, but I'm not climbing in that car Sunday saying, ‘I've got to win seven,’” Johnson said. “I'm saying, I've got to win a championship. It's my own personal thing that I want to do… I'm ready to go to war with these guys. We're fired up.

“Of course, I would love to tie them, without a doubt. And the question has been asked a lot, and we start each year, could this be the year, and as we've transferred through the rounds, I've had to answer the question, and it's something that I guess I've learned to embrace, and I'm honored to have this opportunity.

“It would be a massive honor to join Petty and Earnhardt, without a doubt. And I hope that I can do that someday. If it's not this year, we'll be back next year, and we're going to try again.”

DANIEL SUAREZ’S MENTORS HAVE SOMETHING ELSE ON THEIR MINDS

Throughout the 2016 season, Daniel Suarez has leaned heavily on the wisdom of fellow Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.

Frequent phone conversations have been the norm as Suarez tries to learn the nuances of the various race tracks on the circuit—but not this week.

While Suarez has been preparing to race for a NASCAR XFINITY Series title on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch and Edwards have been readying to compete for a bigger prize—the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

So Suarez was hoping to take advantage of the proximity of the drivers on Championship 4 Media Day at the Loews Hotel to grab a quick word with the Cup drivers.

“They are very busy, but I will talk to them today,” Suarez said. “Today is a little relaxed day for them, so I will talk to them. Like I said, I have a very good relationship with both of them, and I'm sure that, as soon as I call them, they're going to answer the phone and answer every question that I have for them. 

“But I haven't talked to them because I know that they've been crazy, and I know how it feels—you being crazy and somebody asking you questions. But that's part of racing. I feel like everyone, even you guys (reporters), you guys have been crazy busy this week, and you guys are going to be even worse this weekend. But it's going to be a lot of fun, and we all enjoy it.”

Come Saturday night, Suarez could be the first Mexican driver to win a title in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series, if he can finish ahead of Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and JGR teammate Erik Jones.

“Yeah, at the end of the day, NASCAR, México, U.S., Canada, doesn't matter where, we are a family,” Suarez said. “We are one family. That's something very important. Yeah, I'm from a different country, but we are from the same family, and I'm just really proud to be racing here in NASCAR in the U.S., very proud to be battling right now for this championship.

“Hopefully, I can get an opportunity to win the championship and have some fun, have some fun with everyone that has been supporting me a lot here in the U.S., in México, and the entire Latin American people.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL IS CARRYING THE BANNER FOR YOUNG DRIVERS

Christopher Bell may respect his elders, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be trying his best to beat them.

The 21-year-old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie is the sole representative of NASCAR’s youth movement still eligible for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title, which will be decided in Friday’s Ford EcoBoost 200.

Matt Crafton, 40, is a two-time series champion. Fellow Championship 4 competitors Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters are 38 and 36, respectively.

Just because the veterans have thousands more miles in NASCAR competition, however, that doesn’t mean Bell is discounting his own chances in the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

“Do I consider myself the underdog?” Bell asked rhetorically. “No. Does everybody else? Probably. I think we’ve got everything it takes to be successful at Homestead. Our year has definitely not been the year we wanted. We only won one race. But we’re going to make it two after Friday.”

After a rough start to the season, Bell has scored top-10 finishes in 12 of his last 14 races. And Crafton, for one, has noticed.

“It was good to see Christopher, their team,” Crafton said. “He's come a long ways from the start of the year, his mistakes and this and that, but we all made those when we were starting in this series. 

“To see that he's made it into the Championship 4 is definitely very big for him, and I guess the cream rises to the top.”

Bell, who won the USAC National Midget title in 2013, is used to being the new kid on the block.

“With me only being 21 years old, it’s kind of been… so far it’s been my whole life,” Bell said. “I’ve always been the young guy. It’s nothing new to me right now. Whenever I won the USAC championship, it was me and Bryan Clauson that were the two guys at the end of the year who were racing for the championship.

“He was the veteran, and I was the rookie. I’ve been in this situation before, obviously not at this magnitude, but I do have experience at championship racing and pressure moments, so I’m excited to get the pressure on Friday and do my best to conquer it.”