Team 48 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011
STARTS: 19 WINS: 1 TOP 5: 7 TOP 10: 12
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 2nd POINTS BEHIND 1st: 7
FINISH IN LOUDON: 5th 2010 SPRING FINISH AT INDIANAPOLIS: 22nd
TEAM ROSTERS WILL BE POSTED ON MEDIA.LOWESRACING.COM WHEN AVAILABLE
RACE NOTES
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
. Johnson has made nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he has three wins, three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
. Johnson has completed 86.8% (1251 of 1441) of competition laps at the 2.5 -mile track and has led 129.
. He has an average start and finish of 15.6 and 18.3.
Chassis
. Johnson will pilot brand new chassis No. 681 in Sunday’s event.
. Johnson finished 16th in backup chassis No. 623 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
Backup Car History – Chassis No. 623
Date Event Start Finish
10/16/2010 Charlotte 10 3
11/07/2010 Texas 17 9
03/06/2011 Las Vegas 14 16
JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTE
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON?:
“I would say parity is really the first thing that comes to mind. You can flip it around and maybe say the lack of a dominant team as well. There have been guys that can flex muscle at times, but no one consistently has just schooled everybody. It’s been very, very equal this year and unpredictable if you will. A lot of first time winners, which is great to have and no runaways right now. It’s been an exciting time for the fans I believe. Then also we’ve been acting like fools out there at times so that’s always spicing things up.”
DO YOU START PICKING CARS FOR THE CHASE ON THE OFF WEEKEND BEFORE THE BRICKYARD?:
“Yeah, we do develop through the course of the year, favorite cars or cars that we think certain wind tunnel numbers and characteristics in the way that they drive will apply to different tracks. On our side, we might put a car on the shelf and hold off for the Chase to use it. It’s so tough because every race counts and if you can take a car and get a win with it and get some bonus points – seeding process and all those things that go on then you want to do that and you’re going to take that chance. Yes we do start earmarking some cars and want to take them places, but we find that we just keep using what we need. We want to go to every race and win. It doesn’t happen as often as you’d think and when you talk about the favorite car anymore, the differences are so small that I’m not sure us drivers can really feel it anymore. The rules are so tight and strict that one car will blow a little better in the wind tunnel and we’re talking just a few points and we’re like, ‘That’s our best car.’ But if you really look at it, it’s nothing. It’s the smallest differences anymore. We look at that and we try to do that, but it’s not like we haven’t raced a car for months just because we’re saving it for the Chase. Our stuff we use on a regular basis.”
WHICH DRIVERS STAND OUT TO YOU FROM INDIANAPOLIS?:
“My view is shaped in the 30 or 40 years of watching and there are certainly other names that go further back that mean a lot more, but during my time watching Rick Mears – I don’t think I remember watching (AJ) Foyt win there, but certainly remember him hammering on his car one time on pit road. I have to think from a dominant standpoint it would be Rick Mears. Watching Helio (Castroneves) win those three that he has won – I guess that would be the other one that comes in my mind first.”
SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
. Johnson has 54 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011.
. The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Lee Petty for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Rusty Wallace.
. He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
. Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
. Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
. Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
. Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
. The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.
Career Poles
. Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
. The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
. He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
. Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.
Career Starts
. Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
. Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
. In 346 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 141 top-five and 215 top-10 finishes.
. He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
. Johnson has led a total of 11,489 laps (of 99,797) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 133,832 miles.
. He has finished on the lead lap 269 times.
Career Recognition
. Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
. In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
. Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
. Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver four times, in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
