Jimmie Johnson wins pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway - May 23

Rookie driver Jimmie Johnson put his Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo on the
pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway with a new track record
of 186.464 mph. This was Johnson's third Bud Pole award of the year (he sat
on the pole at the Daytona 500 and the Talladega 500) and the richest ever
in NASCAR Winston Cup history with a $41,000 award.
Other Chevy drivers to qualify in the top 15 were Dale Earnhardt Jr., Robby
Gordon, and Mike Skinner.  Gordon will compete in both the Indy 500 and the
Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.  Comments follow.

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying nmwager@aol.com
Thursday, May 23, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 1
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo (Winner of the Bud Pole
with a new track record of 186.464 mph in 28.960 seconds.  He collected
$41,000 - the richest pole award in Winston Cup history): "This car has been
fast. We tested it a couple of weeks ago to get ready for this race and it's
been fast since we unloaded. Unfortunately, we drew a very early number and
this place is extremely sensitive to temperature changes. It's only going to
get faster. I think the tires that the Goody's Dash cars are running on put
down a real soft base for our cars to stick to. We saw it wearing away
during practice. I just hope it wears off before it gets too cool and these
guys can beat that (his time). If anybody can go faster, they can have it.
That's all I had."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo (qualified 6th):
"It (qualifying) won't make a lot of difference - as far as where you finish
in the race, but it's bragging rights here. There's so much hard work and
effort in these cars.  Even when it's the pole, the slightest thing up for
grabs - these guys want it."

Robby Gordon, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Monte Carlo (qualified
12th) (On NASCAR's penalty given to Kurt Busch for intentionally driving
into another competitor's car during last Saturday's The Winston) "Where's
the probation?"

(On today's practice for the Indy 500) "We ran a 223 (mph) full of methanol
today. I was pleased with it. We were glued to the track. As that fuel burns
off, we can probably pick another two or three miles an hour which would be
at 225 or 226 which I believe is about what they were running today."

(On qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600) "We are pleased with it. Looks like we
might stay in the top 10. As long as we can qualify up there, we'll race
good. With today's technology, I asked NASCAR earlier if I could
videoconference in to the driver's meeting so I don't have to go to the
back. They said they'd think about it. Nobody has ever asked that question
before. People can run billion dollar companies through video conferencing,
so why can't I go to the drivers meeting through a videoconference?  They
are supposed to let me know tomorrow.  So TBA."

(On the Indy Car ownership) "It's a 50/50 deal between Childress and Menard.
They are Menard's cars and at the end of the deal, they're still his cars.
That's what it takes to run a competitive effort at Indianapolis. And
Richard (Childress) is going to come down and call the race from pit lane,
so I'm pretty excited about it."

(On his mindset to run both races on Sunday): Now that we've qualified, I'm
going to take a deep breath and let it all sink in. We're in both field and
that's the biggest thing."
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying nmwager@aol.com
Thursday, May 23, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 2

Mike Skinner, No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet Monte Carlo (qualified 13th): "We had a
great qualifying draw.  The racetrack had a lot of grip. The No. 4 car might
not be the best car here, but it is right in there with the top pack. I left
a tenth on the table.  We didn't run another lap because we didn't want to
take any chances."

(On today's unveiling of the Looney Tunes Monte Carlos): "I'm honored to be
invited to participate in the Looney Tunes rematch again this year. We had
fun doing the program last year. There are no bones about it; I'm a Looney
Tunes fan. I actually sit and watch the cartoons at times.

"We were real disappointed last year when a Monte Carlo didn't win the race.
So Yosemite Sam and I are gong to try to give 'em a shoot 'em up finish in
the Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond.

"Yosemite Sam fits my personality well.  He is sort of a cowboy villain type
who goes out and hunts down the competition. That is exactly what
Morgan-McClure Motorsports plans to do. We are going back to Richmond
looking to park the No. 4 Kodak MAX Film Monte Carlo and Yosemite Sam in
victory lane with our guns smoking."


Additional comments from Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet Monte Carlo -
"Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has worked really hard and Chad Knaus
(crew chief) has given me some awesome racecars. We knew we had a good car
and a good shot at the pole, but going out early made us a little worried.
Another neat thing is carrying the Lowe's banner at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
We're on top right now. This is awesome."

(On blowing the theories that going out early is a bad thing) "Something
happened in practice - right after the Goody's Dash cars. They had a Happy
Hour before we went out. They had a softer rubber or something was happening
there that gave us speed. Luckily it all turned out in our favor."

(On being patient when he takes the green flag on Sunday) "We've got 600
miles, a long day. Fortunately we'll start out front and have clean air and
a good pit stall for our pit stops. We'll just try to use our heads all day
long and try to be there at the end."
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying nmwager@aol.com
Thursday, May 23, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 3

(Did you leave anything on the table?) "I didn't leave anything on the
table. I think I was a little greedy in (turns) one and two. I didn't have
to get out of the gas, but I was sliding around pretty good. We smoked it
through (turns) three and four pretty good. There just wasn't anything else
I could have done. Maybe I could have been a little smoother through one and
two. But that old phrase that 'loose is fast' worked out okay."

(On winning three poles in his rookie season - Daytona 500, Talladega 500, &
Coca-Cola 600) "Each pole that we've had this year has been very special.
There's not a lot of driver involvement involved in the speedway races. It's
been a reflection of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Chad Knaus. But
here, I had to carry my own weight and am equally responsible. Chad gave me
another incredible racecar. I just smile every time I climb in to drive
these things with how well they're handling and how good they're handling.
To be the fastest at your own house here at Lowe's Motor Speedway really
feels good."

(Can the cars go any faster here?) "I think the conditions tonight really
allowed for the fast speeds that we had.  We haven't been around track
record pace in the past. We're on a harder tire. We've got rules put in
place to keep us from using bump stops and other suspension packages. I
think tonight was one of those rare nights when there was a lot of speed in
the track. It's going to be very hard to go faster than this. Ryan Newman
still holds a record here with the fastest stock car (overall track record
in an ARCA car) and that was way out ahead of anything else anybody had been
able to run. I think with the way the rules are playing out, we'll hover
around this range and probably a little slower."

(On Indy Car racing?) "As a kid growing up, I always wanted to race at Indy.
Growing up on the west coast, stock car racing in general wasn't that big.
Rick Mears, Roger Mears, Robby Gordon - guys like that came from off-road
racing and moved into Indy Cars. That's were I thought my natural step would
be from off-road into open-wheel cars. When Chevrolet slowed its involvement
in open-wheel racing, it opened my eyes to stock car racing.  People at
Chevrolet and GM started taking me around the tracks and getting me involved
in stock cars.  Once Riverside went away, there wasn't a lot of stock car
racing in Southern California."

(On running the Coca-Cola 600 the same weekend as the Indy 500) "It's real
special. I've watched them from the couch many times. It's a full day of
racing. I was always interested to see who was going to do the double. Of
course Robby Gordon is doing it this year, so we'll see how that goes for
him. Lowe's Motor Speedway under the lights is
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying nmwager@aol.com
Thursday, May 23, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 4

one of the best races you'll see anywhere all year long -- no matter what
form of racing. We've got a good starting spot and I think we're going to be
good on Sunday night."

(On preparing for the Coca-Cola 600) "Physically, racing in off-road like I
did, we'd run the Baja 1000 every year and that race would take anywhere
from 18 to 24 hours - depending on how they (SCORE) routed the course. So,
I'm not really worried about the endurance side of it. I'll just make sure
that I hydrate well and keep on top of that. The biggest thing is the mental
(preparation). You are on the edge all day long for 500 miles and your mind
is trained for that. Now we're adding another 100 miles. So it's going to be
an added twist to stay strong mentally and not overdrive the car. You can't
put yourself in a position to tear your car up or go down a lap. You've got
to really play your strategy out and stay on the lead lap until the last 50
laps."

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