Jimmie Johnson "ready to roll" at Richmond after strong Bristol run

Jimmie Johnson is 20/1 to win at Richmond.

FIRST TOP-FIVE FINISH: Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros team departed Bristol Motor Speedway Monday afternoon on a positive note: Johnson scored his first top-five finish of the season with a third-place result. He qualified 17th but started the event at the rear of the field due to the post-qualifying discovery of a cut tire. His practice speeds throughout the weekend were in the top 10 and when rain forced NASCAR to postpone the event until Monday, Johnson was running eighth. In the race's final two stages, Johnson powered forward, running consistently inside the top five en route to the third-place finish. In the process, the No. 48 team jumped from 20th up to 17th in the point standings.

RICHMOND SWEEP: Johnson has three career wins at Richmond, and two of them came in the 2007 season, when the driver won both the spring and fall events, leading 104 and 105 laps in each event, respectively. His most recent win at the 0.75-mile track came in September 2008, when Johnson started third and led 32 laps en route to Victory Lane.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Over a seven-race span at Richmond since September 2014, Johnson has finished in the top 10 five times and just outside of it in 11th twice. That stretch has included a pair of top-five finishes -- both third-place results.

SHORT TRACK WINNER: Johnson has 14 total wins on short tracks around the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. In addition to his three victories at Richmond, Johnson has two at Bristol Motor Speedway and nine at Martinsville Speedway. His last win on a short track was in April 2017 at Bristol.

AT LEAST TWICE IS NICE: There are 17 tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit where Johnson has multiple wins. Among them: Dover International Speedway (11), Martinsville Speedway (nine), Charlotte Motor Speedway (eight), Texas Motor Speedway (seven), Auto Club Speedway (six), Atlanta Motor Speedway (five), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (four), ISM Raceway (four), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (four), Darlington Raceway (three), Daytona International Speedway (three), Kansas Speedway (three), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (three), Richmond Raceway (three), Pocono Raceway (three), Bristol Motor Speedway (two) and Talladega Superspeedway (two).

CLIFF DANIELS' HOME TURF: The race this weekend at Richmond hits close to home for team engineer Cliff Daniels, who is from Smithfield, Virginia. Prior to becoming an engineer in NASCAR, Daniels was a driver himself, racing Late Model stock cars at Langley, Southside and South Boston Speedways in Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and has been an integral part of the No. 48 team since December 2014.

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.

JJ LIVE ON FS1: Johnson will be a guest on FOX Sports 1’s “Special Edition of Race Hub Weekend” taking place live on Friday, April 21, at 3:30 p.m. ET from the Hollywood Hotel at Richmond Raceway. Johnson will banter along with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, and FOX analysts Jeff Gordon and Mike Joy discussing the “50 Greatest Drivers” in NASCAR history.

LAST WEEK TO NOMINATE FOR BLUE BUNNY HELMET OF HOPE: Nominations will be accepted through April 20 for the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. Five non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations will be eligible to receive $25,000 grants through the program, totaling $125,000 and will be awarded in May. The program, which started in 2008, gives fans the chance to nominate their favorite education-based charities to receive a $25,000 grant, a Blue Bunny ice cream party and special recognition on Johnson’s race helmet. Since its inception, the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program has given over $1 million to 101 different charities. To nominate a charity click here.

Jimmie Johnson on racing at Richmond after a top-five finish at Bristol:
“The finish in Bristol is exactly what this team needed. I’ve known that every week we have been getting better, but it's nice to finally have a finish to back that up. Now if we could just fix these bouts of bad luck we have been having. I’m already ready to get back in the Lowe’s for Pros Chevy and looking forward to Richmond. We have put together some solid runs there lately and with the momentum from Bristol, I’m ready to roll.”

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2018 Season 17th in standings 8 starts 0 wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 2 top-10 finishes 0 laps led     Career 587 starts 83 wins 35 pole positions 223 top-five finishes 343 top-10 finishes 18,663 laps led     Track Career  32 starts 3 wins 2 pole positions 7 top-five finishes 13 top-10 finishes 461 laps led

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