Moments after a thrilling door-to-door battle with Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson nearly shocked the world--and himself--by showing emotion in his post-race interview.
"Well, that was close", Johnson said as he walked away from the Fox crew. "I almost raised by voice a bit--even almost shouted there. Strange, that's never happened before."
Johnson, renowned for his cool demeanor and even keel, said that the battle with Hamlin for second "…had my heart beating every-other-second. I really had the adrenaline flowing, although that might have just been indigestion."
Crew Chief Chad Knaus was seen trying to calm down the five-time champ after the nearly-explosive interview.
"You know, an excited Jimmie is not a winning Jimmie, I assume", Knaus told reporters. "We're going to get him back to the shop, give him some camomile tea, some lightly-toasted white bread, but no butter--he's not ready for that kind of excitement in this state."
"Anytime you have a race like that, it reminds you why you got into racing." Johnson added. "But that's no excuse to shout, yell, pump your fist, or sweat. We have to always keep our emotions in check if we want to appeal to the fans."