Jimmie Johnson Fiishes 7th At Charlotte and Other Chevy Track Notes

Chevy's Jimmie Johnson became the top finishing Raybestos Rookie for the
seventh time this year by scoring a 7th place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at
Lowe's Motor Speedway. He dominated the race by leading 263 laps of the 400
lap event, and moved into 5th place in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series point
standings. Jeff Gordon was the top finishing Monte Carlo driver in 5th.
Robby Gordon pulled a doubleheader by competing in both the Indy 500 and the
Coca-Cola 500 races today for a total of 1100 miles. Driver comments follow:

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, May 26, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 1

Double-Duty Notes:

Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Dallara-Chevrolet,
started 11th and finished 8th in today's 86th running of the Indy 500.  He
returned to Lowe's Motor Speedway in plenty of time for the start of the
Coca-Cola Racing Family 600.

"I honestly thought we would be a lot stronger today. But I'm very proud of
everyone at Cingular Wireless and Team Menard for coming together and
working so everything working so well. It's been a lot of fun and I feel
great. I got a little sweaty but not too bad."

"Regarding the fire in the pits: I didn't know what the deal was going to be
there. My guys know how to overcome. They've been doing this for a long
time. We didn't lose too much and just climbed back up as best we could.
Track position was the key and the pit fire ruined it. We were in fifth
position when it happened and it was really, really hard to pass all day
long."

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, May 26, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 2

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo (led 223 of 400 laps and
finished 7th): "We learned a lot as a team and I learned a lot as a driver
for next time. It hurts. But that's how it goes.

(On the pit stop): I can't blame anybody else but myself. I was trying to
get everything I could on that pit stop and slid about two or three inches
too far through my stall and the nose was across the line. We had to back up
before we could start our pit stop. The couple of seconds we lost there cost
us nine positions on the racetrack. I was stuck back in ninth with the
lapped cars on the inside and you're pretty much doomed unless you have at
least two cautions - one caution still wouldn't do it because the lapped
cars would still line back up. I'm very disappointed. We'll just come back
smarter and go to Dover and try to win there."

(What happened with you and the No. 23 of Hut Stricklin?) "I had been behind
him for a long time. All of a sudden there was a bunch of closing speed
between him and me and I just didn't anticipate it or realize it. I tried at
the last minute to miss him and I clipped him. By no means did I mean to do
it. Shoot, I'd been riding behind him for 15 laps already so I don't know
what happened. I was content riding right there. I was keeping my distance
over second place and conserving fuel. Luckily he didn't hit anything. I
would hate for him to tear up his racecar over that."

(What are the positives you can pull from this as you go forward): "We're
rookies and if we stop and look at our position and that this is our first
600 race, we can pull from that and it's not as painful. But we won at
California and we've got that taste of victory and we want to keep doing it.
To be this close and not bring home the trophy was a disappointment."

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 5th): "We had a
good car, it was just hard to get track position. There's a lot to be said
about aero and being in clean air. The DuPont Chevrolet was good tonight. We
just slowly but surely worked our way to the front and we just couldn't ever
get all the way up there. But we got up there to fifth. We had something for
Ricky Craven and Ricky Rudd. I thought I had Rudd passed there on that last
lap and me and (Tony) Stewart got together there and it was three-wide. It
was a heck of a race man, it was a lot of fun."

Richard Childress, RCR Team Owner comments on the double racing effort by
Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Monte Carlo:

"This just shows his sheer determination. He drove his heart out up there
(Indy 500) today. We had a problem in the pits and still came back and had a
pretty good day. And here (at the Coca-Cola 600) we got a little off on that
one set of tires and he still came back and ended up having a good day. I
told him I was really proud of him. He did a great job.

"He was determined to finish and run all1100 miles. Tonight, I think we had
a top 10 car if it hadn't gotten loose."

(On Gordon's fatigue - Was it the car that was bothering him?) "Yeah, I
think it was the car. He never gave up lap times. You know usually if a car
bothers somebody, the times will fluctuate on him. But he never fluctuated.
He stayed with it. When he got loose he stayed that same speed loose.
Usually if a driver starts to give out, the speed will go way off and come
back."

(On the day) "It was a unique experience.  It was a lot of racing and a lot
of traveling in one day. It was just a lot of fun to do. We've got to thank
Cingular Wireless. Without them, none of this would have been possible."

Comments by Robby Gordon:  "I obviously look tired.  It was very hot today.
The biggest thing was cramps. I got a cramp in my stomach at one time and
then the last 30 laps I got a cramp in my right leg. We knew we had to force
a point there. We had to run hard and we made up a couple of positions there
at the end.

"I'm very proud of everyone here on the Cingular Team and everyone over
there on the IRL team. Being in that car today, I thought we were going to
have it for 'em but we just came up a little short on both ends. When we got
our car right, we were as good as the leaders. But here for a while, as soon
as it got dark, I was extremely loose and that just wore me out. For two
full tank runs I was turning more right than I was left.

"We had two good runs. We got inside the top five here for a while and
inside the top five over there (Indy) for a while. We were a little
disappointed with our finish at the Indy 500. And we just missed it here by
a little bit. We got really good there at the end.  In all, it was a good
day. I thank everybody at Cingular Wireless and RCR and Richard Childress
for coming to Indy and calling if for me."
TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, May 26, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 4

Additional post-race comments by Jimmie Johnson in the Media Center:

"Now that I've had a chance to get out of the car and think about it, I
remember that we are rookies. This is our 14th race. We finished in the top
10 and we're now fifth in points. So for the big picture, it was a great
day. To run in the top 10 at the Winston Cup level this early in our career
is a great accomplishment. But after you get that first win, you know what
it tastes like and you want more and more. I had my fork dug into the cake
and was getting ready to take a big old bit out of it and fell right off my
fork on the floor."

(How much did the aero disturb your car when you got back in traffic?) "It's
pretty much the same at all the tracks. You have the lapped cars lined up
inside of you and even with the 40 laps there at the end, I had to get by 18
cars to get to the front. And that's extremely hard to do. The car doesn't
lose a lot of balance to where you're real tight or loose. You're doing
everything you can to drive the wheels off the car but the lap times are
slow. When you're up front in clean air, you can let off 10 car lengths
early and just cruise back into the throttle and drive up off the corner and
you pull them by two-tenths. It's not something real big that you can feel
in the car, but looking at the times on the computer, you're here one lap
and if you're back in the traffic, you're zero."

(Could you have made it to the end on gas?) "I don't know. Before the race,
I was told we could go 55 to 60 laps. We were looking at about 70 (laps)
there, so maybe that would have been wishful thinking."

(On the two-week experience at LMS - The Winston and the Coca-Cola 600): "We
had the speed to run up front to race with these guys in the All-Star event
and the 600. But unfortunately, we weren't able to take home that prize at
either of those events. I've learned a lot and the team has learned a lot
and I think we've got great set-ups for when we come back here in the fall
and for next year's races. Overall, I guess maybe I have a disappointed
feeling that we had the speed to win but didn't come home with it. But we've
just got to remember to look at the big picture and be happy with it."

(On next week's race at Dover): "I've never run there in a Winston Cup car
but it's one of my favorite tracks. I've run well there in a Busch car and
I'm definitely looking forward to going there. Jeff Gordon dominated that
race and won it last year and we're going to be using that same set-up."


TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager
Coca-Cola 600 Race Notes nmwager@aol.com
Sunday, May 26, 2002 GM Racing Communications
Lowe's Motor Speedway (727) 784-8465
Page 5

(On the way the Lowe's Team has come together): "There hasn't been a big
effort to have things come together. It's happened naturally. We all became
friends and we communicate well together. We haven't had to work at it and I
guess that's why we've had some success early on."

Additional Chevy Notes:

Mike Skinner, driver of the No. 4 Kodak MAX Film Chevrolet Monte Carlo gets
a new crew chief.  In an effort to strengthen the veteran race team,
Morgan-McClure Motorsports has shifted duties among key personnel. Chris
Carrier has been moved into the crew chief position and Scott Eggleston will
take on the responsibilities of team manager.

Larry McClure, who has been wearing two hats as team owner and team manager,
is confident the switch will better utilize the talents of Carrier and
Eggleston. The change will also allow McClure to focus his time and energy
solely on his role as team owner.

Engine Changes:
The No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet (Mike Skinner) and the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet
(Joe Nemechek) changed engines and will start the Coca-Cola 600 at the rear
of the field.

Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Monte Carlo,
drank lots of fluids and ate a turkey sandwich on the return flight from
Indianapolis to LMS.