Jimmie Johnson Using Runner-Up Fontana Chassis at Texas This Week

Johnson and Gordon mixed it up last year in Texas, adding some spice

JIMMIE JOHNSON RACE NOTES

Texas Motor Speedway
• Johnson has made 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, where he has earned one win, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 95.9% (4816 of 5020) of competition laps and has led 118.
• He has an average start and finish of 9.3 and 10.1.

Chassis Selection
• Johnson will pilot chassis No. 650 in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event. This car raced to a runner-up finish at California two weeks ago. (Corrected by editor)
• Backup chassis No. 623 crossed the finish line fifth at Phoenix International Speedway in Nov. 2010.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES
LOOKING AHEAD AT THE TEXAS NIGHT RACE NEXT WEEK, THERE IS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT ABOUT THAT. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?: “My first thought is what the hell are we doing with this weird schedule at Texas? We practice on Thursday night and all the other stuff that’s going on. So I’m still trying to get my head around that (laughs). But we’re excited to go back to Texas; obviously is a great spot for our circuit with a lot of great fans. Night races are always good. I hope it’s warm. We have a chance where it can be awfully cold there. But I’m looking forward to going back. The Dallas/Ft. Worth area has been very supportive of NASCAR and it’ll be good.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins

Johnson won at Texas in 2007

• 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’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
• 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 333 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 137 top-five and 206 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 11,247 laps (of 96,196) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 128,371 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 258 times.

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