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| Jimmie Johnson's last Martinsville win was 2016. |
“In Martinsville, the inside lane is so important, but so is having a strong race car. Passing is tough and you will see the ‘bump and run’ a lot – sometimes you just have to rough someone up to get by them, but you have to be smart, because as soon as you get by them, they will be right back on your bumper into the corner and could pay back the favor. It’s obviously one of my favorite tracks. I am looking forward to this weekend.”
WINNING PERFORMANCE: Jimmie Johnson has the third-best winning percentage at Martinsville Speedway all-time. In 34 starts, he has nine wins, which means he has won 26.5 percent of the time he has raced at Martinsville. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty has the most wins at the 0.526-mile track (15), Darrell Waltrip has 11 and Johnson is tied with former teammate Jeff Gordon for third all-time with nine.
LAST WIN AT MARTINSVILLE: Johnson’s most recent win at Martinsville came on Oct. 30, 2016. The win – his second of three in the playoffs that season – placed Johnson in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he earned his record-tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship.
KEVIN HAS A CLOCK, TOO: No. 48 team crew chief Kevin Meendering has also won a race at Martinsville Speedway. Meendering was the lead engineer on the No. 88 team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. when the driver won his first race at Martinsville on Oct. 26, 2014.
NINE CLOCKS AND COUNTING: Johnson is responsible for nine of Hendrick Motorsports’ 24 wins at Martinsville. Martinsville is one of four tracks at which Johnson has earned at least seven wins. He has won three of the last 13 races at Martinsville.
'SPIN' WITH JJ: Johnson recently went for a spin with ESPN on-air personality and friend Marty Smith at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The spot was filmed to showcase how easy it is to fill out an NCAA bracket on ESPN.com. Smith is shown in a Chevrolet Camaro spinning a basketball on his finger while Johnson is driving approximately 160 mph at the 1.5-mile track. Click here to see the clip.
CHASING 84: Johnson is on the verge of 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.
Q&A WITH THE CHAMP: Johnson will take part in a question-and-answer session with fans at the pre-race experience at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 24, at 11:15 a.m. local time. The stage is at the start-finish line inside the track.
JOHNSON ON BABBITVILLE RADIO: Johnson recently recorded a podcast episode on Babbittville Radio with host Bob Babbitt, an IRONMAN historian and Hall of Famer, regarding his quest to compete in the Boston Marathon next month. Johnson and Babbitt talk about racing, training and working with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. To listen to the episode, click here.
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