NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson Says 2012 Coke 600 Car Even Better Than All-Star Race Car

Jimmie Johnson said his team considered bringing the car that won last Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte back for the Coke 600.

Logistically, that would have been difficult, given that the 48 team didn’t get the car back from NASCAR’s tech center in Concord, N.C., until Tuesday afternoon.

But Johnson added something that should be of great concern to his rivals -- he thinks the 600 car is better than the one that dominated the All-Star Race.

“We talked about trying to bring the (All-Star) car back when we selected our cars,” Johnson told the NASCAR Wire Service on Thursday. “We felt like the car for the 600 was better, and it’s more important, being a points race. It’s not like we have bad cars, but the way we measure things in the wind tunnel and other variables was to have the best car for the 600 and took the other car to the All-Star race.

”You will spend some time your first run (with a new car), maybe even second run, trying to get your ride heights set just right, the packer gaps right so that the splitter doesn’t drag and that kind of thing.

“Bringing a car back that you raced, you know right where those heights are and you can save a step or two. That’s kind of a nice thing. It’s hard to not bring back a car you just won with, (but) with the short time frame and checking in (Thursday) and getting the car back on Tuesday afternoon, it just wasn’t possible.”