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| Jimmie Johnson is 7/2 to win at Homestead and 2/1 to win Sprint Cup. |
“I couldn’t have dreamed this big. I never even thought I could win one race or one championship, and here we are poised for a shot at a seventh title. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport and you never know when your last win will be. It’s incredible to be in this position with this No. 48 Lowe’s team and to have a shot at it. We have some serious competition, and we know what we need to do. I’ve never had to go to Miami in the position to win it. With the other formats I either knew what I needed to gain points or defend a lead. This Chase format is intense and we are focused on the goal.”
No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus on competing for the championship at Homestead
"We are just thrilled to have a shot at it. That's all you can hope for in this sport, is just to have a shot at it."
Jimmie Johnson will be available to the media following qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the track media center.
CHAMPIONSHIP 4 IN THE BIG APPLE: Before heading to Miami, Johnson joined his fellow competitors in New York City on Tuesday for a media tour. Stops included "The Dan Patrick Show" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
#SE7EN: If Johnson is able to attain a seventh championship title, he will tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Johnson won five consecutive titles from 2006-10 and his most recent in 2013.
ONE DRIVER, ONE SPONSOR: Lowe’s has been the primary sponsor for Johnson since the No. 48 team’s inception in 2001. Since then, the home improvement retailer has been on board for all six Sprint Cup championships, 79 victories and numerous milestones, including two wins in the Daytona 500 and four in the Brickyard 400. Hendrick Motorsports’ relationship with Lowe’s is one of the longest-running driver-team-sponsor partnerships in NASCAR.
KNAUS ON TELECONFERENCE: No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus will be on the NASCAR teleconference on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 11:30 am ET. Knaus has been paired with Johnson since 2002 and the duo has recorded 77 wins together along with six championships. Legendary crew chief Dale Inman currently holds the record for most championships won with eight, while Knaus' six are second all-time. He holds the distinction of being the only crew chief to win more than two Sprint Cup titles in a row.
PERFORMANCE IN MIAMI: Johnson has posted four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 15 races at Homestead-Miami. He has two pole positions and two runner-up finishes as well. The runner-up results came in 2004 and 2010.
STILL SEEKING VICTORY: The South Florida track remains one of the four venues on the current Sprint Cup schedule where Johnson has yet to score a win. The others are Chicago, Kentucky and Watkins Glen.
SOLID YEAR: Heading into Sunday's race, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS has earned four wins and 10 top-five finishes in 2016. Johnson has led 734 total laps and 468 of them have been in the last nine races.
DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Johnson has the sixth-best driver rating at Homestead-Miami with a score of 96.8 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
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