Charlotte Final Practices: Johnson's Speeds Are Way Beyond Second Fastest

by M Roberts

Jimmie Johnson is at it again. During the final practice sessions for Saturday night’s NASCAR Banking 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Johnson set a blistering pace that no other driver had an answer for.

During the first session, Johnson wasn’t just good, he was off the charts good. His early lap of 187.162 mph was almost 2 mph faster than the second best time of teammate Mark Martin. That kind of speed differential rarely happens and is something he didn’t even do when he won an unprecedented five of six Charlotte races from off 2002 to 2005.

Greg Biffle was one of the drivers who was trying to keep pace with Johnson during the session - and did a decent job with the third best speed, noted that Johnson was just too quick in and out of turns three and four.

During Happy Hour, Johnson was just as good with the fastest lap of 185.478 mph early in the session followed once again by Martin with the second quickest lap. In just about all fazes of practice, Johnson dominated the day including having the best 10-lap average.

The chassis Johnson brought this week was the same one he led 17 laps with in Atlanta six weeks ago before having rear-end problems and finishing 36th. In the primary practice using race trim, Johnson was also fastest then and not so coincidentally, Martin was the second fastest then too, but not by such a wide margin.

Johnson’s dominance didn’t extend to just Friday. He was fastest in limited practice Thursday night just before qualifying. where he won the pole too. In what may be the most dominant display of consistency by two teammates, Mark Martin finished second fastest in every session including sitting on the front row with Jimmie. This is only the second time all season that one driver has lead all three practice sessions, and definitely a first for a 1-2 exacta.

A few of the areas that Johnson didn’t reign supreme at were some longer average runs. In the first session Juan Pablo Montoya - using the new chassis that finished fourth at Kansas - had the best average speed while running only 17 laps.

The driver that made a nice impression as someone who may be able to challenge Johnson was Kyle Busch who had the best 20 lap average among all drivers in the first practice session while running 43 laps, the most among all drivers. During Happy Hour, Busch was able to run the fifth fastest lap.

Busch brought his fifth place Richmond chassis this week with hopes that they can get that car dialed in like it was Memorial Day Weekend when Busch led the most laps in the rain shortened Coca-Cola 600. Despite not running well on the sister track of Atlanta in September, Kyle may be back to being a contender to win on a 1.5-mile track and he does have history on his side in Charlotte. He’s on a streak that has seen him finish in the top-6 in his last four starts.

Mark Martin leads all drivers with 17 top-5 finishes at Charlotte and brought the car that he won at Michigan with. He’s looking to take all those great practice times to the winners circle at Charlotte for the fifth time in his career, while also retaking the points lead from Johnson.

Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne, who won on the sister track of Atlanta last month comes in with good, but not stellar practice times. When he won in Atlanta, it was almost the exact same scenario where he was good in practice, but showed no signs of looking like a winning car.

Kahne should be okay Saturday based on history. He has an average finish of 3.3 in his last three starts at Charlotte with three wins overall.

Tony Stewart brought his winning Kansas Chassis to Charlotte this week and his practice times are looking very similar to what he ran in Kansas with very good average speeds.

Ryan Newman is happy to be visiting Charlotte again because it’s the site of his best start and finish of 2009. He brought his Chicagoland car, which finished sixth there, and ran sixth quickest in Happy Hour.


Friday’s Early Practice Session:
1) Jimmie Johnson 187.162 mph - AVG 24 laps @ 182.204race
2) Mark Martin 185.790 mph - AVG 33 laps @ 181.445
3) Greg Biffle 185.242 mph - AVG 25 laps @ 180.620
4) Matt Kenseth 184.805 mph - AVG 32 laps @ 179.745
5) Denny Hamlin 184.786 mph - AVG 41 laps @ 181.382
Top average speed: Juan Pablo Montoya 17 laps @ 182.509
Most laps run: Kyle Busch - 43

Friday’s Final Practice (Happy Hour)
1) Jimmie Johnson 185.478 mph - AVG 48 laps @ 181.094
2) Mark Martin 184.849 mph - AVG 44 laps @ 181.190
3) Denny Hamlin 184.685 mph - AVG 54 laps @ 181.033
4) Robby Gordon 184.237 mph - AVG 30 @ 180.198
5) Kyle Busch 183.974 mph - AVG 45 laps @ 181.211
Top average speed: Kyle Busch
Most laps run: Martin Truex Jr - 59

Top 10 Rated Drivers at Charlotte after all practice and qualifying sessions are completed. Rating will also consist of information from September’s Atlanta race along with other recent 1.5-mile races. Current state of the team will also have a slight bearing.
1) Jimmie Johnson
2) Mark Martin
3) Kyle Busch
4) Denny Hamlin
5) Kasey Kahne
6) Tony Stewart
7) Ryan Newman
8) Juan Pablo Montoya
9) Jeff Gordon
10) Greg Biffle

Lowe's (Charlotte) Motor Speedway Facts

compiled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services

At Lowe’s Motor Speedway:
History
• Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway, as Lowe’s Motor Speedway was then known, in 1959.
• The track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 19, 1960.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was May 29, 1982.
• The track was repaved midseason in 1994.
• The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999.
• The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at LMS was on May 16, 2003.
• The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.

Notebook
• There have been 101 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, two races per year since the track opened in 1960. In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week before the May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).
• 37 drivers have posted poles, led by David Pearson with 14.
• Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race, in 1960.
• David Pearson posted 11 straight poles at Lowe’s from the fall of 1973 through 1978
• Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles, with eight.
• Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring races between 1994 and 1998.
• 42 drivers have won races, led by Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with six each. David Reutimann became a first-time series winner in May after winning the Coca-Cola 600.
• Joe Lee Johnson won the first race, in 1960.
• Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson lead all active drivers in victories, each with five.
• There have been 13 back-to-back victories, including three in-a-row by Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 and both 1965) and four straight by Jimmie Johnson (both in 2004 and 2005).
• A sweep has occurred eight times, including each season from 2004-2007.
• 13 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson in the 2004 Coca-Cola 600.
• Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver with more than one LMS race to average top 10 finishes (9.1). He comes just short of the all-time best average finish there, held by Rex White (9.0).
• A number of active drivers earned their first win at LMS: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and David Reutimann.

NASCAR in North Carolina
• There have been 509 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in North Carolina.
• 414 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as North Carolina; 342 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
• There have been 42 race winners from North Carolina in NASCAR’s three national series; 28 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: