Jimmie Johnson takes 3rd career win at Dover - Sept. 22

Chevrolet rookie Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo,
picked up his third career NASCAR Winston Cup victory Sunday at The Monster
Mile. He is now just 30 points shy of the point lead. Johnson's win marked
the 25th Modern Era event victory for Chevrolet at Dover International
Speedway -- more than any other manufacturer.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - Note: Gordon was
sidelined in an accident on lap 65 - "Well, Todd Bodine got sideways. I
don't know if he had help or what, but we shouldn't have been back there in
all that stuff anyway. We were really struggling. We couldn't pass anybody.
We were just trying to bide our time and make adjustments and get to the end
and have the car in once piece, but it didn't work out. As soon as he turned
sideways somebody got me from behind and turned me sideways" Note: Gordon
rejoined the race on lap 174.

(WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR?) "It started out real, real tight. And then it
got real loose. We were bouncing back and forth between loose and tight.
This place changes a lot throughout the day and I think we were set-up more
for what it's going to be like later in the day and we were just trying to
hold our own and make some adjustments and wait for it to come to us."

TONY CARDAMONE, JACKMAN, NO. 4 KODAK CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - Note provided
by team: Cardamone was hit by the car as skinner entered the pits for a
scheduled stop on lap 239. He rolled across the hood of the Chevrolet, but
continued with the pit stop. He has no injuries.  The car entered the pits
in 13th position, but dropped to 27th on exit.

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 2

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO - picks up his third
career Winston Cup victory and moves into 2nd place in the points: "I've
obviously got a great team in the Lowe's team - everybody at Hendrick
Motorsports - everything from the engine department, bodies, chassis -
everything is where it needs to be. I'm just glad to be back on track. This
is going to do great things for the points battle. Right over here - these
guys - they made it happen. Mom hasn't been to victory lane yet - this is
her first time - and I've got my dad here. I wish my two brothers were here.
I know they're going crazy at home.

"These races are won by team work and my guys won the race for me today. The
top four cars were so equal, it was all down to that pit stop. My guys were
on the deal all day long. They got us out first and we were able to hang on
from there."

(ON CLEAN AIR) "Clean air is always going to be better. I don't think that's
ever going to change. We had a car that worked good in traffic still. So I
think that was key for us. We started 19th, and worked our way up to the
front. We had some great pit stops to get us track position and it all
worked out good for us and the Lowe's Monte Carlo."

(ON THE SUPPORT HE GOT FROM HIS FAMILY WHILE GROWING UP COMPARED TO THE
FAMILY SUPPORT OF RYAN NEWMAN) "I think there are a lot of similarities
between Ryan's family and mine. Both families have been really big into
racing and enjoy racing and brought us up in it and supported us one hundred
percent. It's pretty neat.  Speaking of support, I'd like to thank all the
Lowe's employee owners for supporting us. I hope we'll be at the head table
in New York."

(ON MARK MARTIN BEING RIGHT BEHIND HIM) "We were all so equal, it was just
track position. We got caught up in some traffic and he'd get to me and I'd
stretch it back."

(WHEN MARTIN GOT UP TO YOU, DID YOU THINK HE HAD SAVED SOMETHING FOR YOU AND
MIGHT BEAT YOU?) "Earlier in the year I wore the tires out trying to get a
big lead on people. I've learned how to look in the mirror and just keep
that distance the same so I can save something. One thing that disappointed
me was that the No. 55 (Greg Biggle, relief driver for Bobby Hamilton) was
racing me really hard. Once I thought about it, he's teammates with Mark
(Martin) so that made sense. That scared me for a while, but luckily I
cleared him and got away."


TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 3

(HEADING INTO THE FINAL STRETCH, HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF CALM AS A ROOKIE?)
"We're just going to try to win some more races. We're going to some tracks
that are going to be very good for us like Lowe's Motor Speedway and
Atlanta. There are three or four races here where we think we can win. We've
started off here today on a good streak."

(ARE YOU SURPRISED TO BE IN THE POSITION YOU ARE RIGHT NOW?) "The season
started off so strong and then we kind of had a flat spot in the middle
there. Now it looks like we're back on track. We had a great car. I think
the No. 88 (Jarrett) and the No. 6 (Martin) and the No. 20 (Stewart) were
pretty equal on speed. It was just a matter of who got out of the pits
first. My hats off to my guys. Today, when the pressure was on, they stepped
up and got the job done."

(ON THE NEW GOODYEAR TIRE) "Today I was a little surprised. I thought the
tire was going to fall off a lot more that what it did because it was a
softer tire. But the tire was faster and had more grip and you drove harder.
I drove my butt off every single lap today - especially those last 60 laps -
working traffic and trying to stay ahead of Mark (Martin) once he cleared
the No. 88 (Jarrett). I thought they wanted some fall off in the tire. But
it was amazing how much grip that tire had through the whole run."

(ON BEING 30 POINTS OUT OF THE POINT LEAD) "To be able to be this successful
in our rookie season is great. All year long we've tried not to have it be
in the forefront of our minds. But here we are with eight races to go and
we're in this points battle. It's a reality that we need to look at. You
never know when these opportunities come along. We need to make the most of
it. We did everything we could today. We led the most laps and we won the
race. So we got all the bonus points we could get. It looks like with the
No. 12 (Ryan Newman) having problems it helped us in the rookie battle. The
No. 2 (Rusty Wallace), the No. 40 (Sterling Marlin) and the No. 24 (Jeff
Gordon), had some problems. Hopefully we can break away a little bit and see
ourselves in a top five finish for the year if not the championship."

(IS THIS TRACK MORE OF A MONSTER OR A KITTEN?) "It's definitely a monster.
You fall off into the turns and carry a lot of speed doing that. The way
I've found success is you pick the gas up firm and hard and almost get the
car in a little bit of a slide to hit the banking to exit the turn. If you
get the car pitched out there far enough to hit the banking, it straightens
you up and you get great drive off. I've had a lot of fun here, obviously.
It's a place you can take a loose race car and go somewhere with it." (More
to follow)
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 4

CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHEF, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO: "Those guys
(crew) stepped up when they needed to step up. They rose to the occasion.
They've struggled off and on throughout the year and just went out there and
made it happen. Jimmie went out there and he was calm, he was cool, he was
collected and when it was time to get up on the wheel, he went after it. We
kind of rode around there in 4th, 5th, 7th, early on in the race and then
towards the end we decided it was time to go."

(WERE YOU WORRIED IN THE FINAL SEGMENT?) "We were a little bit free. When we
came in and took those four tires on, the car had been a little tight all
day. So we decided to put a round and a half of wedge in the right rear. And
it may have been a half a round too much. But Jimmie likes a loose race car.
When the car is loose he can drive it fast, he can feel it. So he was able
to control it and bring it home. If it had been a little bit too much more,
we might not have gone to victory lane."

(WERE YOU REALLY EXCITED MOST OF THE DAY?) "I'll tell you what. If you would
have walked the No. 48 transporter, there was so much energy around. Those
guys were so excited to come back here to Dover and try to pull off a sweep
for the season. We're going to try to do what we can to win the
championship."

(HOW DID TODAY'S WIN COMPARE WITH THE WON IN THE SPRING?) "I think it was
more meaningful - just because we had to go through a bit of a transition
period where we lost the momentum. To be able to bounce back and come here
and win again at Dover is awesome. That says a lot for this Lowe's team."

(CAN YOU WIN THE PRIZE?) "Yeah, I think we can. The only reason we can't win
it is because everybody keeps telling us we can't. So, we're just going to
keep doing what we're doing and we're going to try to win races. We're going
to try to sit on the poles, we're going to try to lead the most laps, we're
going to try to be fastest in practice, and we're going to try to do all
that stuff - just like we did at the beginning of the season. And that's the
way we came to the racetrack at the beginning of the year. Whenever we
started to get a little more cautious and a little bit more conservative,
that's when we got in trouble. So we're just going to go for it and see what
happens."

(WERE YOU SINGING ON THE COOL DOWN LAP?) "No, that was Jimmie. This team is
back. We're on a high and we're just going to keep riding it. I can't
believe it.



TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 5

CHAD KNAUS, Con't.
(ARE YOU AMAZED AT YOUR ROOKIE YEAR SUCCESS?) "Three wins for this young
team and this young driver and this semi-young crew chief. I just can't say
enough about this Lowe's Chevrolet and this team that Rick Hendrick and Jeff
Gordon have put together. They took a big group of young guys and put them
together in a little pot and said okay you sort it out and see what happens.
We dove in there head first and we're making the best of it and it's just
awesome."

RICK HENDRICK, TEAM OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "We just wanted to make
races and make sure we qualified (at the start of the season). I had no idea
that with eight races to go, we'd be in this position. Boy he is a heck of a
talent and this is a heck of a team."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO (IS THERE EVER A TIME WHEN
YOU CAN AFFORD TO HAVE A DAY LIKE TODAY?): "There is. But then you look at
what happened today with Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin one-two up there.
That was a huge day for them and a devastating day for us. We've got some
tracks coming up that we can do some good things at, but we've got to
qualify better and we've got to get up there and really put some pressure
on. We haven't done that."

(ON GOING TO KANSAS NEXT WEEK) "I'm looking forward to that. I think we'll
have a shot there. We've got some improvements to the car and the engine for
when we go there. Basically we have to have a good finish there. If we don't
have a good finish there, it's definitely done. There's still a lot of
flip-flopping that can go on (in the points). But I think we need to have a
strong finish at Kansas to stay in it."

(ON HIS CREW) "That's why we're where we're at and why we're in the thick of
the points battle all year long. It's because of how good they are when
we're under pressure and when we have problems. They got us back out there
today and we made up some points."

(ON JIMMIE JOHNSON'S WIN) "I'm so excited for him and the whole No.48 team.
To sweep both Dover races shows what a great combination they have. It was a
great day in the points. It's a bittersweet day for me because I'm pretty
upset with the way we finished. But I'm really happy with the way they ran
and the way they finished today."


TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 6

MORE FROM JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO:

(WERE YOU EXPECTING TWO AND THREE GROOVE RACING?) "Actually I was surprised
that the top didn't work as well as it did earlier in the year. There's
something about this harder tire that I could run the top all afternoon. I
started off on the bottom and moved up. But this (new) tire had so much grip
that you beat on it lap after lap and it wouldn't give up. It had the grip
on top of that so the fastest way around was on the bottom all day long."

(ON STARTING OFF THE WEEKEND WITH MECHANICAL PROBLEMS ON FRIDAY) "It
definitely concerned us. We only got about a half hour of practice before
qualifying. With the new tire, we could have used the two hours to get the
car set-up. But a freak accident happened and my guys were able to figure it
out and get us back on the track with some practice. Starting 19th, I was a
little worried at first. But, knowing Dover and knowing that you can search
out a line is not like starting 19th at Loudon where you can't pass. We had
a couple close calls. Fridays have been hard on us for the past couple of
months. It's been like Friday the 13th every week. From crashing cars and
having an engine blow one time, it's been putting us behind. Luckily we were
able to get through this Friday's problem and win."

(OF THE EIGHT REMAINING RACES, ARE THERE ANY THAT YOU HAVE TROUBLE WITH OR
THAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT?) "Yes, Martinsville was a place that we had some
trouble with. We ran okay but we broke a gear and that put us out. But we're
going to go back with a similar set-up to the No. 24 and they've run really
well there. So I think we'll be in good shape. Rockingham is another one. It
troubled me a lot in the Busch Series. But the biggest won is Talladega.
Anything can happen there."

(WHEN DALE JR. WAS RUNNING WELL EARLY, DID YOU THINK YOU HAD A CHANCE TO
WIN?) "I knew Jr. was going to be tough. On new tires at the beginning of a
run, he would take off. I didn't want to do that. You start the pressure so
low here, I didn't want to start a problem with one of our tires. When I was
in second behind him, I said on the radio that I wasn't going to run that
hard. He didn't have any trouble, so I guess I could have pushed a little
harder."



TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 7

JIMMIE JOHNSON Con't.

(ON THE CLOSE CALLS BETWEEN JEFF GREEN AND DALE JR) "When I got to those
guys, I think those guys were pretty mad at one another. Green was beating
on Jr. and got Jr. out of the way and then Jr. started beating on Green.
They were both about to wreck a couple of times. I tried to find my way by.
It was pretty tense for a while there."

(WITH MARK MARTIN AND DALE JARRETT BEHIND YOU, HOW DID YOU STAY CALM?) "I
didn't. I'm still trying to catch my breath. I drove my butt off those last
60 laps. Mark was on my bumper. I couldn't even see the hood of his car. All
I could see was his windshield, and I thought, 'Here we go.' You've really
got to mentally remind yourself that if you hit your marks and you drive a
smooth line, you're going to be okay. You just keep talking to yourself."

(DO YOU STILL FEEL LIKE A ROOKIE THIS LATE IN THE SEASON?) "Definitely. I've
crashed in qualifying. I've crashed in practice. I've crashed in testing.
Those are all rookie things. I crashed week before last in Kentucky while
testing. I'm reminded that I'm a rookie all the time."

(HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE 25 POINTS YOU LOST EARLIER IN THE YEAR AND HOW
THAT MIGHT AFFECT THE CHAMPIONSHIP?) "If we lose this by 25 points, you guys
will probably see some headline somewhere that says 'Chad Knaus and Jimmie
Johnson committed suicide' (laughs).  Of course we think about it. What do
we do? Pushing the envelope and trying hard - some of the guys were docked
some points this year. Hopefully if something does happen from that,
hopefully in the years to come we can rally back from that and win a
championship somewhere down the road."

(ARE YOU ENJOYING BEING A ROOKIE?) "I have had a great year and I think it's
because of the support I've had from Lowe's and from Hendrick Motorsports
and from having Jeff Gordon as a coach and mentor, it's really made it a lot
of fun. It could easily have gone the other way. I would trade some years
for experience. I've having fun."

(ON WINNING TWO RACES AT DOVER THIS YEAR) "It's something that'll take a
while to sink in. I didn't realize the depth in that. I've always loved
coming here in ASA and in the Busch Series. I sat on the pole in the ASA
Series."

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, September 22, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Dover International Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 8

JIMMIE JOHNSON Con't.

(WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU LEARNED THIS YEAR?) "The biggest one is probably to
run as hard as you need to maintain the lead and save something. Beyond
that, staying in your pit stall is always good. Don't race (Jimmy) Spencer
that hard for the lead has been another key one."