NASCAR Texas preview: Jimmie Johnson hoping new old look equates to same performance

What’s old is new again at least when it pertains to the coloring of the numbers on Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 car, which is reverting back to the styling long associated with the six-time Cup Series champion.

The numbers on Johnson’s Chevrolet will change from white to highlighter yellow beginning Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway and remain for the balance of the 2016 season. He used yellow numbers from 2002-11 -- a span that included winning five consecutive championships and 56 races -- and in the finale last year honoring retiring teammate Jeff Gordon.

“I’m very excited to have the yellow back on the car,” Johnson said. “The fans have been speaking loudly through the social media channels and the message was heard. So, I’m excited to have the yellow (numbers) back on the car.”

The adage often proclaimed by Deion Sanders that “If you look good, you feel good and if you feel good you play good” is something Johnson hopes bears fruition in the Duck Commander 500, the seventh race of 2016 and first night event of the season. Not that color patterns matter to a driver who’s won the past three Texas events and done so with his car carrying both blue and red paint schemes.

A fast mile-and-a-half track with an abrasive, bumpy surface, Texas is the kind of track Johnson admits plays to his strengths. He excels on speedways that emphasize a driver being fast over long green-flag runs due to their ability to manage their tires. It’s no coincidence Johnson’s series-leading two victories this season occurred at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, two venues that possess characteristics similar to Texas, which hasn’t repaved its asphalt since 2001.

“Tracks with an older surface; the bumpier it is, the more tire wear, it’s just a condition that plays into our wheelhouse,” Johnson said. And we’ve hit on some things here over the last few trips and it consistently works for us and it continues to put speed and longevity in the car.”

NASCAR’s full-time adaption over the offseason to a low downforce aerodynamic rules package combined with a softer tire compound has further placed a premium on a drivers’ skillset. Another byproduct is an increase in side-by-side racing, with drivers less bogged down by the turbulence off the car directly ahead, referred to as a “dirty air,” which in turn makes passing easier.

Recent Texas races have largely seen the field become strung-out over the course of a long run with the majority of the passing immediately following a restart. The expectation is Saturday night will unfold like Atlanta and ACS where drivers who preserve tires will be able to move towards the front, while those who don’t will slide backwards. Factors that have contributed heavily to a much improved on-track product through the early portion of the season.

“Tracks with high tire wear create so much lap time fall-off that it allows us to run side-by-side,” Johnson said. “It allows there to be comers-and-goers on the race track. Atlanta and Texas are some tracks that really playout. And as drivers continue to talk about taking downforce off the cars and putting on a softer tire, we’re just trying to create tire wear.

“We all feel, as the guys sitting in the seats, that’s what makes it entertaining and fun. I think the rules package is going to be another great step in the right direction here.”

Such is the severity of tire wear at Texas where even a couple of laps will significantly decrease grip. Second-place qualifier Joey Logano, the 2014 spring Texas winner, expects that over the course of an entire run the effects will be even greater than at Atlanta.

“The fall off is incredible, 10-15 laps on your tires is like ice skating with dull blades,” Logano said. “You’re slipping and sliding everywhere out there. Can you imagine when we get 40 laps in what it’s going to be like? It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I think it’s gonna be really interesting to see the way this race plays out.”