NEXTEL CUP With Knaus suspended, Johnson becomes leader

The two-time series runner-up has taken a bigger role with his team.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson knew it was time to take a more commanding role.
With crew chief Chad Knaus removed by NASCAR, Johnson and the rest of the No. 48 Chevrolet team responded with a unified effort in winning the Daytona 500 last week.
Lead engineer Darien Grubb moved across the pit box to fill in for Knaus on race day. Johnson drove a patient, nearly perfect race on the way to the 19th win of his Nextel Cup career.
Johnson, a two-time series runner-up who has never finished lower than fifth in his four full seasons in Cup, wants to take the next step and win a championship.
When NASCAR tacked on another three races to Knaus' suspension for an unapproved change to the rear window of Johnson's car during Daytona qualifying, the driver decided to do more than simply support Grubb and the rest of the crew.
"Chad is such a strong leader," Johnson said. "His personality really does it on its own, and that's an area I need to focus on. The guys want me to be a little bit more in that role. And, now, with our latest situation, I'm the senior guy."
On and off track
Johnson is certainly leading on the track -- a victory in Daytona and a solid third-place qualifying run for today's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.
"But I'm just trying to be around for the guys, too, and keep the spirits up," Johnson said. "When anybody has time to sit and think, that's when you get nervous. But, if I stick around and keep the guys pumped up and smiling and keep positive energy rolling, everything's in good shape."
Johnson laughed and added, "I don't want to overstress and say I'm this grand leader now. Over the offseason we try and get together and evaluate what went wrong and how we can be a better race team and do a better job.
"We openly talked about some things and made some adjustments and started into the season with that. Now, with the situation we're in, it's asking me to do more of what we talked about over the offseason. And, fortunately, we've all worked together so long for the last three or four years, it's not reinventing the wheel."
Busch in front
Johnson will be starting today's race behind Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle.
Busch, the pole-winner, is trying to win for the first time with his new team, Penske Racing South. Moving into the No. 2 Dodge that retired Rusty Wallace drove, Busch drove a strong race at Daytona before a crash relegated him to 38th place. He won the pole Friday, the fourth of his career but first since 2004.
"For a team that's new, we're just feeling each other out and getting comfortable," said Busch, smiling a lot more these days. "I'm so happy to drive for Roger Penske and this group. Now I get to let everything shine and hang out. We're having fun now."
Biffle, Busch's former teammate at Roush, is happy, too, despite finishing 31st at Daytona.
"We got ourselves into a little bit of a hole in Daytona," said Biffle, who would love to be the first driver to win with Ford's new Fusion model. "But I have no doubt that this team will turn it around this weekend."