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| Jimmie Johnson is 7/1 to win Sunday at Dover. |
“Dover is really a tricky place. There are usually quite a few caution flags so you have to find a balance between a 'green' track for the first 10 or 15 laps to a longer run where there is a lot of rubber laid down on the track on a longer green flag run. Finding your balance is probably the most challenging thing at Dover. Corner entry is everything. Concrete tracks are poured in squares just like on an interstate so there are a bunch of expansion joints around the track and it really shakes and rattles the car. Its bumpy – and there are bumps in Turns 1 and 3. So if your car isn’t bottoming out and your splitter isn’t hitting, you are usually OK and it’s just part of the ride at Dover. I love Dover, wish we raced there more than twice a year, it’s a great race for this Lowe’s for Pros team and I absolutely cannot wait to get there.”
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at 9:30 a.m. local time on Friday, May 4, in the Dover media center.
TALLADEGA SURVIVAL: Jimmie Johnson earned stage points last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway with 10th- and seventh-place finishes, respectively, in the first two stages. Although Johnson demonstrated some serious car control skills during a 14-car incident on Lap 166, he had to settle for a 12th-place finish, stating his Lowe’s for Pros Chevy wasn’t the same after the minor body damage it sustained.
UNBELIEVABLE AT DOVER: In the last 13 races at Dover, Johnson is the only repeat winner. He has won five times at the one-mile oval during that span while no other driver has won more than once. Johnson has won a record 11 races at Dover with 3,105 laps led – the most all-time – ahead of legendary drivers Bobby Allison (2,803), Jeff Gordon (2,396), Richard Petty (2,205) and Dale Earnhardt (2,151).
COMPARING TO THE FIELD: Entering Sunday's race, Johnson's 11 wins at the "Monster Mile" put him just one victory shy of the combined total Dover wins of the rest of the field, which has accumulated 12.
LAST LAP, FINISH FIRST: There have been six occasions in Dover history when the winner passed for the lead in the final three laps to an exciting finish. Last June, Johnson passed leader Kyle Larson to take the checkered flag for his 83rd career win. He also did the same in May 2009, passing former competitor Tony Stewart with three to go to win his fourth event at the "Monster Mile."
ROOKIE SWEEP AT THE MONSTER: During his rookie season, Johnson turned some heads and proved that Dover’s concrete oval suited his driving style from his off-road truck racing days. In Johnson’s first two starts at the "Monster Mile" in 2002, he impressively swept both events, leading 188 and 170 laps, respectively, of the two 400-lap events.
NEXT UP, 84: Johnson's next trip to Victory Lane will be his 84th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series win. He secured his 83rd in June 2017 to tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time wins list. An 84th win would tie Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for fourth all-time. Johnson is currently 10 wins behind former teammate Jeff Gordon, who has 93 victories and is third on the list. Johnson has the most wins of all active drivers and No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus has the most wins of all active crew chiefs with 81.
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