Johnson not concerned despite crash

Johnson crashed last Sunday on lap 173 after getting loose out of turn two. His spin caused a major wreck but Johnson and rookie David Reutimann were the only two drivers who had to call it a day due to the damage on their cars.

"It was certainly dissapointing to just lose the car like that," Johnson said. "We were trying to come up through the center to gain some time and I got loose, fought it for most of turn two, lost control on the exit, got in the wall and it took us out.

"But this is just one race of many. This race is so much different to what the bulk of the season is.

"We certainly wanted to get off to a good start and not have a DNF coming out of the gate, but there are still a lot of races left and I've got a very strong team."

The Californian says his experience will allow him to stay relaxed ahead of the second race of the year at Fontana this weekend, despite the disappointment of not finishing the season-opener.

"As the years go by, I find myself much more relaxed in setting the pace that I think I can keep all year long and not burning myself out or over-worry about the start of the season or about that particular event.

"So I think experience certainly helps relax the driver and the team."

Johnson will race for the first time at his home track next weekend since he became Cup champion. The venue is a very special one for him because he took the first of his twenty-three Nextel Cup victories there in 2001.