Jimmie Johnson, AAA 400 Sprint Cup Race Preview
Press Release & Staff Report
Race: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400
Venue: Dover International Speedway (1-mile banked concrete)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 27
Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, 1 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 400 laps/400miles
2008 winner: Greg Biffle
2008 pole winner: Jeff Gordon
Jimmie Johnson No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet Race Preview
Driver's Power Ranking on Raceway Report.com: x
Jimmie Johnson
Current Driver Point Standings: 3rd Points Behind Leader: -35
Finish at New Hampshire: 4th September 2008 Dover Finish: 5th
RACE NOTES
Dover International Speedway
- Johnson has made 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover International Speedway, earning four wins, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
- Johnson has completed 96.9% (5820 of 6004) of competition laps at the track and has led 935.
- He has an average start and finish of 12.5 and 10.4.
Chassis
- Johnson will pilot chassis number 552 in Sunday’s race. He led 133 laps in that car at Michigan International Speedway in August before running out of fuel in the closing laps and finishing 33rd.
- Johnson drove backup chassis number 465 to Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway in May.
JOHNSON QUOTES
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HEADING TO DOVER THIS WEEKEND? “I’m obviously pleased with the performance from New Hampshire and very happy to be where we are in the points. We seem to be off to a great start here. Dover, the way it went in the spring for us, I am really excited going back although we’re on a different tire which is going to be different, but we were lucky enough to be one of the teams that was involved in the tire test. All in all, I’m optimistic and I feel that there’s a stretch of tracks that are really good for the 48 coming up. Looking forward to separating the Chase group out a little more and gaining ground on Mark (Martin) and trying to get ahead and be the leader here sometime in the next couple races.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE THIS REALLY SOLID START TO THE CHASE AFTER THE FIRST RACE? “It all depends on how the next few races go or I should say, how the entire season goes. It’s one of 10 — there’s no doubt that momentum is part of any sport. Guys who didn’t have a good feeling or are disappointed. If everybody has a bad race then it doesn’t matter where that bad race is — at the start or at the end. It’s more from momentum purposes, it’s kind of out of your control at this point and you have to hope that the other 11 guys have an issue. It’s to be determined at this point and we just have to see how it goes. You have to naturally think that someone is going to be relatively clean through it all. When I look back at 2006, we had problems at New Hampshire and then crashed out at Talladega and still won the championship and got it done.”
SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
- Johnson has 43 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2009.
- The El Cajon, Calif.-native is 15th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
- He also has the third-highest win total among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (81) and Bill Elliott (44).
- 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 seven full-time seasons.
- Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but six (Bristol, Michigan, Infineon, 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 20 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 Watkins Glen International on Aug. 10, 2009.
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 282 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 111 top-five and 172 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 8,709 laps (of 81,083) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 108,607 miles.
- He has finished on the lead lap 218 times.
- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release
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