Team 48 Pocono Raceway Preview
JIMMIE JOHNSON
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 2ND POINTS BEHIND LEADER: -192
FINISH AT INDY: 1ST AUGUST 2008 POCONO FINISH: 3RD
NEWS & NOTES
FANS AND MEDIA CAN NOMINATE THEIR CHARITY FOR THE HELMET OF HOPE
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation announced the launch of the 2009 Helmet of Hope program in Indianapolis on July 24. Fans and media members across the country have the opportunity to nominate their charity of choice to be featured on Jimmie Johnson’s Helmet of Hope. A total of 12 charities will be featured on the one-of-a-kind helmet - six chosen from fan and six by media submissions.
This year, Johnson will wear the Helmet of Hope in the Pepsi 500 at the Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 11. Selected charities will receive a grant of $1,048 and proceeds from the sale of a special Helmet of Hope t-shirt.
Submission forms are available online at www.JimmieJohnsonFoundation.org. Jimmie will select two charities each week beginning with the Watkins Glen race and concluding with the New Hampshire event.
RACE FANS STILL HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN BRICKYARD 400 CHAMPION JIMMIE JOHNSON’S CUSTOM DESIGNED MOMO WHEEL FROM THE INDINAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
A piece of race-winning Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS from the Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is available through a special eBay auction with funds benefiting the Jimmie Johnson Foundation.
The race-used, custom-designed MOMO steering wheel will be available on ebay.com/jimmiejohnsonfoundation through Sunday, August 2.
MOMO custom designed this JJF steering wheel for Johnson and generously donated it to the foundation to help with the organization’s efforts to assist those in need. The wheel features the JJF logo embroidered on the center pad and the embossed MOMO logo and the embroidered No. 48 logo on the 6 o’clock spoke. The wheel is covered with MOMO’s trademark racing suede and has been dyed blue for this special initiative.
RACE NOTES
Pocono Raceway
• Johnson has made 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, posting two wins, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
• The three-time champion has completed 99.7% (2876 of 2885) of competition laps at the 2.5-mile tri-oval and has led 399.
• Johnson has an average start and finish of 7.1 and 9.6.
Chassis
• Johnson will pilot chassis No. 534 in Sunday’s race. He last drove it to a seventh-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June.
• The backup chassis, No. 504, was last driven to a 13th-place result at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.
JOHNSON QUOTES
BASED ON WHERE YOU ARE IN POINTS CAN YOU APPROACH THIS RACE DIFFERENTLY AND JUST COMPLETELY FORGET ABOUT THE CHASE AND DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN? “I don’t think so. The way I’m looking at things now, we need to ramp up for the Chase and treat these races leading into the Chase like they are Chase races. Maybe my approach is wrong. I know some other guys probably think it’s more important to get wins but there’s a rhythm you need in the Chase and I think we’re close to it but we’re not on it yet. We need to get there before the Chase starts. That’s my goal. Chad (Knaus) may make the riskier call or something on pit road but I need to stop making mistakes. I’ve made more pit road violations this year than any other year and been caught up in some wrecks and caused some wrecks. I just need to tighten up my game as well and really get in that rhythm that I need to be in for the final 10.”
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MOMENTUM. “Momentum does matter and you can feel it but you can’t control it. There’s positive momentum that’s rolling your way and there’s negative momentum that’s pulling you down. It’s one of the few things that you can’t change but you can feel and sense with my experience at least. I think that consistency and running especially the way the No.14 (Tony Stewart) and the No.2 (Kurt Busch) has been real strong and the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) has been delivering, you’re going to have to I think the year that Jeff (Gordon) and I battled for the Chase the average finish was 5.0 and you’re going to have to be better than that. You’re going to have to do podium a lot in the Chase and that’s the rhythm I’m looking for and that’s what we need to get back.”
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 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 275 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 110 top-five and 170 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 8,412 laps (of 79,091) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 106,138 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 213 times.
Primary Car History – Chassis No. 534
Date Event Start
Finish
03/01/09 Las Vegas 3 24
04/05/09 Texas 9 2
05/16/09 All-Star 1 13
06/07/09 Pocono 3 7