Team 48 Watkins Glen Preview
JIMMIE JOHNSON CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 2ND POINTS BEHIND LEADER: -197
FINISH AT POCONO: 13TH AUGUST 2008 WATKINS GLEN FINISH: 7TH
FANS AND MEDIA CAN NOMINATE THEIR CHARITY FOR THE HELMET OF HOPE
In support of the 3rd Annual Jimmie Johnson Foundation Golf Tournament to be held Oct. 7 in San Diego, the foundation once again will sponsor the Helmet of Hope. The initiative allows six race fans and six media members the opportunity to have their charity of choice featured on Johnson’s race helmet. The helmet will be worn in the October Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway where Johnson, the defending winner of the race, will drive a specially designed No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Impala SS.
To nominate your favorite charity visit www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.
New to the program this year, the foundation will donate $1,048 to each selected charity and distribute 100% of the proceeds from a special Helmet of Hope t-shirt between the organizations. The t-shirt will feature each charity’s logo and is on sale now at www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.
RACE NOTES
Watkins Glen International
• Johnson has made seven Sprint Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International, posting three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
• The 2.45-mile road course is one of only six Sprint Cup tracks on which Johnson hasn’t visited Victory Lane. The others are Bristol, Infineon, Chicago, Michigan and Homestead.
• The three-time champion has completed 89.4% (565 of 632) of competition laps at the New York track and has led six.
• Johnson has an average start and finish of 7.3 and 13.1.
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
YOU HAVE THREE WINS AT THE BRICKYARD BUT YOU'RE STILL LOOKING FOR THAT ROAD COURSE SUCCESS. YOUR GOALS HAVE BEEN TO WIN AT BRISTOL AND AT A ROAD COURSE. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE YOUR SHOT AGAIN NEXT WEEK AT WATKINS GLEN. THOUGHTS? "We are and we've made a lot of progress at Bristol and at Infineon, I had a speeding violation and was able to drive up through all the cars and find myself in fourth. So I think we're making great gains. I'm becoming much more aware of what these cars need on road courses. We were very fast at the race last year at The Glen, so I think we have a shot; our best shot yet."
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFINEON AND WATKINS GLEN? "The speed is the first thing that comes to mind. The speed of Watkins Glen is so much higher. But also the track is so much wider and the corners are low and much more sweeping, which gives you that speed. So they are two totally different approaches."
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 276 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 8,434 laps (of 79,291) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 106,638 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 214 times.