Jimmie Johnson Bringing Winning Vegas Chassis to Michigan This Week

Lowe's and Jimmie Johnson announced that the dirt Late Model stock car driven by Johnson in the Prelude to the Dream on June 9 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, will serve as a tribute to dads in the weeks leading up to Father's Day. Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe's/Powered By Dads Chevrolet in the all-star dirt Late Model race, and it will feature the names of 480 lucky dads, including Johnson's father, Gary.

Johnson has made 16 Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, where he has earned two five top-five and six top-10 finishes.

The two-mile track is one of only five venues on which the Sprint Cup Series competes that Johnson hasn't visited Victory Lane. (Michigan, Infineon, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead)

Johnson has completed 96.1% (3012 of 3135) of competition laps at the track and has led 510.

He has an average start and finish of 8.4 and 16.0.

Chassis: Johnson will pilot chassis No. 580 in Sunday's race. He finished first and second in that chassis at Las Vegas and Texas this season.

Backup chassis No. 553 has been driven four times, three of which resulted in victories (Indy 7/09, California 10/09, California 2/10).

TALK ABOUT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO GET A VICTORY THERE? "I feel like we have been snake-bit at Michigan a few times here lately. Obviously, last year we ran out of gas in both races leading. Years before that we have had some fuel mileage things that have come in to play that have kept us out of victory lane. We know that track is a fuel mileage race track and we're doing everything in our power to get better fuel mileage but I think with my driving style and with the horsepower we have built at Hendrick Motorsports, it's just tough to just really get an extra lap, especially on a track that big. On a short track, it's pretty easy to get a few laps but at Michigan it is impossible. Mark (Martin) was able to capitalize on (Greg) Biffle and I racing really hard. It really slowed down and just made it so it is tough to make up two-miles of race track. But, I feel very good about the way we have raced there over the last few years and I would love to shorten that list of tracks that we haven't won on with the No. 48 team."

TALK ABOUT GOING TO ELDORA UNDER 'TEAM KYLE BUSCH.' "The Eldora race; I'm really excited. Clint (Bowyer) is bringing me back again and building me a new race car. I don't know why he builds me new race cars when I only race them once a year and this is going to be my third time ever racing one, but he's generous enough to do that and we'll have a good time. It'll be weird having Kyle (Busch) as the team captain. When he worked for Hendrick Motorsports he was so young. He was like a little grade school kid. It's going to be crazy having him as the captain of the team. But we'll have fun."


SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
• Johnson has 50 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Bristol Motor Speedway March 21, 2010.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 10th on NASCAR's all-time wins list.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• 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 eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but five (Michigan, Infineon, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson is the first driver to win three of the first five races in The Chase.
• 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 23 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 Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20, 2009.
Career Starts
• In 14 2010 starts, Johnson has collected three wins, six top five and eight top-10 finishes.
• 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 305 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 123 top-five and 188 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 10,306 laps (of 88,313) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 118,016 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 235 times.