JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011
STARTS: 26 WINS: 1 TOP 5: 11 TOP 10: 17
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 6th
FINISH IN RICHMOND: 31st 2010 FINISH AT CHICAGO: 25th
TEAM ROSTERS WILL BE POSTED ON MEDIA.LOWESRACING.COM WHEN AVAILABLE
RACE NOTES
Chicagoland Speedway
. Johnson has made nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway, where he has five top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
. Johnson has completed 98.1% (2360 of 2406) of competition laps at the 1.5-mile track and has led 326.
. Chicago is one of five tracks on which the Sprint Cup Series competes that Johnson hasn’t won. The others are Watkins Glen, Michigan, Homestead and Kentucky.
. He has an average start and finish of 7.8 and 10.
Chassis
. Johnson will pilot chassis No. 681 in Sunday’s event. He last drove that car to a 19th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
. Johnson finished second in backup chassis No. 650 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September.
Primary Car History – Chassis No. 681
Date Event Start Finish
07/31/2011 Indy 3 19
Backup Car History – Chassis No. 650
Date Event Start Finish
03/27/2011 California 16 2
04/09/2011 Texas 6 8
05/15/2011 Dover 1 9
06/12/2011 Pocono 14 4
09/06/2011 Atlanta 17 2
JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES
TALK ABOUT THE CHASE KICKING OFF IN CHICAGO:
“Really excited for it. I think the Chicago area and the race track is going to be a great host for the start of the Chase. I’ve been close to victory there a few times. We’ve always run well and led laps there. Really want to win there for the fact that it is in the Chase and also for Chad. We’ve been able to win a lot at my home track. I owe him a couple there and I need to get him one before long.”
HOW MUCH STOCK DO YOU PUT IN MOMENTUM GOING INTO CHASE?
“Momentum doesn’t hurt going into the Chase; but, we’ve been without momentum; we’ve had momentum. Another way to look at it is we’ve had momentum working against us and momentum working for us and we’ve been able to win either way. I’ve said all along, these final 10 races, it’s its own world. When everything re-racks and the point spread is so small between first and 12th, it changes things and it’s a whole new season. It’s a clean sheet of paper and off you go.”
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 (85).
. 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 353 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 145 top-five and 220 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 11,652 laps (of 101,639) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 136,401 miles.
. He has finished on the lead lap 275 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.
