Catchfence

Jimmie Johnson
Current Driver Point Standings: 2nd Points Behind Leader: -10
Finish in Dover: 1st September 2008 Kansas Finish: 1st

RACE NOTES

Kansas Speedway

• Johnson has made seven Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, earning one win, two top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 98.4% (1783 of 1812) of competition laps at the track and has led 251.
• He has an average start and finish of 4.9 and 10.4.

Chassis

• Johnson will pilot chassis number 558 in Sunday’s race. He started third at Atlanta Motor Speedway in that car in September, but finished 36^th after suffering a broken axle.
• Johnson drove backup chassis number 534 to a 13^th-place result at Pocono Raceway in August.

Jimmie Johnson - Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

ON RACING AT KANSAS NEXT WEEK: “It’s always been a good track for us. We got the win there last year. The track is kind of like Chicago. They are real similar. I think Texas comes in there a little bit the way you run the top and make things work. It’s nice to see the track; the asphalt actually, as old as it is, and allowing there to be multiple grooves to race with. I think Carl (Edwards) and I showed that last year that you can run all around the race track and put on a good show and I think we’ll put on a good show when we go back.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF CARL EDWARDS TRYING TO BOUNCE THE CAR OFF THE WALL TRYING TO PASS YOU (AT KANSAS LAST YEAR)? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT THE TIME AND WHAT DID YOU THINK AFTER YOU SAW THE REPLAY? “I know he caught some criticism, but I thought it was pretty awesome. It caught my attention when he went flying by and I could still hear him in the throttle. I thought, where in the hell is he going? His plan was to rim-ride it around, obviously. I thought it was a great move. Some people thought it was risky. But there was enough room for us to cross paths and not get together and that kind of thing. I kind of liked the move myself.”

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN ANY FORM OF RACING? ANYTHING THAT CRAZY?
“No, not since I’ve raced on tracks with walls. Some of the dirt track stuff you could go in there and clean someone out and handle things differently but not since I’ve been on a track with walls. I’ve never thought, if I hit this wall hard enough and stay in the gas it will redirect me and maybe get me to the finish line first. I’ve never been faced with that decision. I think we all started thinking about it a little more after Carl tried it.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES

Career Wins

• Johnson has 44 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is tied for 14^th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. Bill Elliott also has 44 wins.
• He is also tied with Elliott for total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (81).
• 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 21 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. 25, 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 283 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 112 top-five and 173 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 8,980 laps (of 81,483) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 109,007 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 219 times.

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