Catchfence

Jimmie Johnson
Current Driver Point Standings: 4th Points Behind Leader: -142
Last Week’s Finish at Martinsville: 1st April 2008 Texas Finish: 2nd

RACE NOTES

Texas Motor Speedway

* Johnson has made 11 starts at Texas Motor Speedway in his Sprint Cup Series career, notching one win, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
* The Team Lowe’s Racing driver has completed 98% (3609 of 3684) of competition laps and has led 77.
* He has an average start and finish of 8.9 and 9.1.

Chassis

* Johnson will pilot brand new chassis No. 534 in Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.
* The backup chassis, No. 465, was last driven to a 17th-place finish at Michigan International Raceway in Aug. 2008.

NEWS & NOTES

Ø Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet Impala SS will showcase a Tough Tools for Cool Schools paint scheme in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event.

Lowe’s and Kobalt Tools in partnership with SkillsUSA are proud to help the next generation of skilled trade professionals by donating approximately $300,000 worth of Kobalt tools to more than 500 SkillsUSA Building and Construction Trades Classes and Labs across the country for use in their classrooms.

Johnson assisted Lowe’s, Kobalt Tools and SkillsUSA in delivering the first set of tools to Hampton, Ga.’s Lovejoy High School during race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway as part of the Tough Tools for Cool Schools Program.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:

On going to Texas this weekend. “I’m pretty confident in our mile and half program. We had some good speed in our cars at California and Las Vegas earlier this year. I know our finishes don’t really show it but I’m looking forward to getting back to an intermediate track to see if we can’t put it all together. I know our cars are better than what our finishes have shown.”

NOW THAT WE’RE FIVE RACES INTO THE SEASON, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE TESTING BAN? “I think if you’re running well it’s not a problem. And when you’re off base is when you really wish that you could test. We’ve had fast cars and at this point we’ve been fine without the testing. I did a tire test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and it was nice to get back in that environment and work on some stuff. But for the short term, I think NASCAR has done a great job. I think that as much as I hate to admit it, I think that there are aspects of this that do save money and help the teams. I still think it would be nice to give the teams a chance to make their stuff better and you could have something based on where you are in points to allow everybody a chance to test and improve, but at the same time, help the guys that are off-base. That’s my biggest concern. When you’re off base, it’s going to take you so long to catch up if you can’t test. And that’s something I probably look at.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES

Career Wins

* Johnson has 41 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Martinsville Speedway on March 29.
* 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 19 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 Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 9, 2008.

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 one of only two drivers to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004. Matt Kenseth is the other.
* In 261 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 103 top five and 160 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 7,750 laps (of 75,531) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 100,717 miles.
* He has finished on the lead lap 201 times.

- GMR Live Marketing For Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release