Catchfence

Jimmie Johnson

Current Driver Point Standings: 3rd Points Behind Leader: -64

Last Week’s Finish at Talladega: 30th May 2008 Richmond Finish: 30th

2009 NSCS Jimmie Johnson - (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Richmond International Raceway

* Johnson has made 14 Cup Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, posting three wins, including last fall’s race.
* He has four top-five and four top-10 finishes.
* He has won two pole positions there – Sept. 2002 and Sept. 2007
* Johnson has completed 92.2% (5168 of 5603) of competition laps at the .75-mile oval and has led 369.
* Johnson has an average start and finish of 11.9 and 17.5.

Chassis

* Johnson has driven primary chassis No. 520 four times previously and has won the race each of those four times. Those races include last year’s fall events at Richmond, Martinsville and Phoenix, and Martinsville this season.
* He also has four top-10 starting spots in the chassis.
* The backup chassis, No. 461, was last driven to a runner-up finish at Loudon last fall.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:

What is the key to a good run at Richmond? “We’ve been very good there the last few times. Things will cross over from Phoenix to Richmond. I’m not sure if we’ll have that same tire or not, but that tire at Phoenix threw us for a loop and I think threw a lot of the teams for a loop. Once we get a good idea of the tire we can work on our set-up and either expand on last year’s set-up if it’s the same tire from last year or if it’s the Phoenix tire we could be a little better and have to work on that and make the car turn the corner a little faster. I’m looking forward to it – it’s been a great track for me. I’ve always loved the racing at Richmond and just recently started running well there so I can enjoy it from that perspective as well. I’m excited for it.”

What did you do to figure Richmond out? “I really did have one of those moments. I tried for a lot of years to get it right, from the Nationwide through the Cup Series and all of the sudden it clicked. The way Jeff [Gordon] drives the car, I had to really consciously think about that and change my style to run better at those tracks – Phoenix, Richmond and Martinsville – and it worked. It was a similar period of time where I picked up on that style.”

Is Richmond a place where you race the car, the competitor or the track? “It’s tough to pass people. With them not putting any sealer down on it recently, the grooves from top to the bottom, there is a fair amount of grip. Granted you get smoking around there pretty quick and you get sideways easily, but it’s not like at Darlington where you just have to focus on the track. To me, you just have to go like hell and try as hard as you can every single lap because track position is so important there. You can get along side someone, but you can’t pull the pass off. To me it’s like Saturday night racing. I just run every lap as hard as I can.”

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, 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 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 264 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 105 top five and 162 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 7,754 laps (of 76,356) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 102,006 miles.
* He has finished on the lead lap 203 times.

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