Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Jimmie Johnson Phoenix Preview: JJ Coming with Phoenix '09 and Loudon '10 Winning Car

Johnson will be using the same car that won at Loudon earlier this year  

Jimmie Johnson
2010 Starts: 34 Wins: 6 Top 5: 15 Top 10: 21

Current Driver Point Standing: 2nd
Finish in Texas: 9th November 2009 Finish at Phoenix: 1st
RACE NOTES
Phoenix International Raceway
  • Johnson has made 14 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway, where he has earned four wins, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
  • Johnson has won four of the last six races at Phoenix, including last fall’s event.
  • Johnson has completed 100% (4438 of 4438) of competition laps at the one-mile tri-oval and has led 857.
  • His average finish of 4.9 is his lowest average finish of any track on the Sprint Cup Series circuit.
  • He has an average start of 11.0.
Chassis
  • Johnson will pilot chassis No. 540 in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race. He last drove that car to a fifth-place result at Martinsville Speedway in October.
  • Back up chassis No. 520 has collected four wins in five starts – the most recent coming at Martinsville Speedway in March 2009.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES
WILL YOU TAKE MORE SATISFACTION IN WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP THAT IS A TIGHT POINTS RACE? “I don’t know. Initially I react and say not really because the reason we had a lot of points is because we went out and won races and the amount of wins we had in the Chase – it’s not like we backed into a championship and just kind of stumbled upon four in a row. I don’t want to take anything away from the stretches we’ve had and the races we’ve won. We’ve won a lot of Chase races. I guess I’ll know more if that comes together and I can look back on my emotions then. Right now I’m really proud of how we won these races and taken a lot of pride in winning 19 of 64 Chase races right now. That is pretty tough to do so I don’t want to take anything away from the past.”
YOU ARE IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY. NORMALLY THIS TIME OF THE YEAR YOU ARE THE POINTS LEADER AND NOW YOU ARE 33 POINTS BACK GOING TO PHOENIX AND HOMESTEAD. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET NOW?“Well the last four years we have been in a different position. I have lost plenty of championships in the past and this is racing and it doesn’t come easy and you are not going to get what you want every single year and every single weekend. I can promise you this. I am trying as hard as I can; I know my team is, and we are doing everything we can. Thirty-three points back is not where we want to be but we are going to work to get back on top.”
CHAD KNAUS QUOTES
COMMENT ON THE DECISION TO MOVE FORWARD THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR WITH THE 24 AND 48 SWAPPING CREWS: “Yea, you know. It’s a difficult decision for sure. There’s always emotions involved but I think the thing that everybody has to realize is when we set up this team it was a one team situation. That’s what we are and we always have been. We’ve had crew members from the 24 pit the 48, we’ve had crew members and mechanics on the 48 pit the 24. It’s always been like that and we’re going to continue to work that way. We set it up at the beginning of the year that we were going to have five or six tire changers, we were going to have three or four jackmen for the 24 and the 48 and that was explained to the guys at the beginning of the year and everyone understands that and that’s the way it is.”
YOU SAID ON SUNDAY THAT YOU WANTED TO GET YOUR GUYS BACK HOME AND REGROUP. HOW DID YOU COME TO THE DECISION TO MAKE THE CHANGE? “It was obviously a collective decision. We got everybody involved, Stevie (Letarte) and myself initially. We actually talked about it Sunday night quite a bit on the flight home from Texas. We had a couple of hours there where we could run through some ideas and how we wanted to approach it. We felt like it was a good thing for the 48 obviously. And it could be a definite positive for the 24 as well. We got the drivers involved. We got Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and Mr. Carlson (Marshall Carlson, President, Hendrick Motorsports) involved and we discussed it and came up with a choice. And then we got the guys together and we discussed it with them and they all bought into it 100% and there’s a lot of positive in it to be honest.”
SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
  • Johnson has 53 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 26, 2010.
  • The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Lee Petty.
  • 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 four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
  • Johnson was 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 25 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. 24, 2010.
Career Starts
  • In 34 2010 starts, Johnson has collected six wins, 15 top five and 21 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 325 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 132 top-five and 201 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 10,995 laps (of 93,649) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 125,544 miles.
  • He has finished on the lead lap 251 times.

Primary Car History – Chassis No. 540
DateEventStartFinish
04/18/2009Phoenix104
06/28/2009Loudon39
09/20/2009Loudon164
10/25/2009Martinsville152
11/15/2009Phoenix31
04/10/2010Phoenix163
05/01/2010Richmond310
06/27/2010Loudon101
09/19/2010Loudon2525
10/24/2010Martinsville195

Backup Car History – Chassis No. 520
DateEventStartFinish
09/07/2008Richmond31
10/19/2008Martinsville11
11/09/2008Phoenix11
03/29/2009Martinsville91
05/02/2009Richmond1536
Race 9 of Chase
Points ComingStartingFinishingPoints After
YearInto EventPositionPositionEvent
2004Darlington4412
2005Phoenix2272
2006Phoenix12921
2007Phoenix1611
2008Phoenix1111
2009Phoenix1311

Jimmie Johnson – Phoenix International Raceway
DateStartFinishLapsStatusLaps Led
11/10/20023715312/312Running1
11/02/200332312/312Running84
11/07/2004136315/315Running0
04/23/20051215312/312Running0
11/13/200527312/312Running0
04/22/2006107312/312Running0
11/12/2006292312/312Running28
04/21/200754312/312Running0
11/11/200761312/312Running55
04/12/200871312/312Running120
11/09/200811313/313Running217
04/18/2009104312/312Running1
11/15/200931312/312Running238
04/10/2010163378/378Running113
Jimmie Johnson – Year-by-Year Cup Statistics
YearStartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesFinal
Points
20013000052
200236362145
2003363142022
2004368202312
2005364132215
2006365132411
20073610202441
2008367152261
2009367162441
2010*346152122
* to date

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