Team 48 Michigan International Speedway
JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011
STARTS: 22 WINS: 1 TOP 5: 8 TOP 10: 14
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 3rd POINTS BEHIND 1st: 6
FINISH IN WATKINS GLEN: 10th 2010 FALL FINISH AT MICHIGAN: 12th
TEAM ROSTERS WILL BE POSTED ON MEDIA.LOWESRACING.COM WHEN AVAILABLE
RACE NOTES
Michigan International Speedway
. Johnson has made 19 Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, where he has two top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
. Michigan is one of five tracks on which the Sprint Cup Series competes that Johnson hasn’t won. The others are Watkins Glen, Chicago, Homestead and Kentucky.
. Johnson has completed 96.7% (3611 of 3735) of competition laps at the two-mile track and has led 524.
. He has an average start and finish of 8.5 and 15.8.
Chassis
. Johnson will pilot chassis No. 669 in Sunday’s event. He last drove that car to a third-place finish at Kansas Speedway in July.
. Johnson finished 16th in backup chassis No. 623 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES
MICHIGAN IS ONE OF FIVE TRACKS YOU HAVEN’T WON AT. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO WIN THERE?
“I don’t know what it is about that track. We have been close several times. I think we ran out of gas leading a few times and fuel mileage has gotten us a few times too. It’s not for lack of trying though. It’s just one of those tracks where we haven’t capitalized. It’s certainly an important track for us to win at with it being Chevy’s back yard. It also would be great to get a win and give us a little more cushion going into the Chase with just a few races left.”
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 (84).
. 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 five (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead, Kentucky) of the 23 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 349 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 142 top-five and 217 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 11,491 laps (of 100,249) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 134,957 miles.
. He has finished on the lead lap 272 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.
