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| Jimmie Johnson last won at Fontana in 2016. |
“Thinking of Fontana, my mind goes to Atlanta and how important handling was in Atlanta and that will be the case in Fontana. We do have more room to run around there, more lanes and options from that standpoint with really long straightaways, so it could be a pretty exciting race that involves a lot of drafting. I think the longer the straightaway, the better this package will show and the more competitive racing it will put on. California should be a really good test for it.”
Johnson on the rules package so far and if he thinks the field will be closer together at Auto Club Speedway:
“Yeah, from a being strung out or how close we will be, I think the more tire wear, the further the gaps will be. So, I anticipate there being some good gaps between competitors at California. You cannot get around the fact that the lead car has the best air and when you add such a big handling characteristic to the equation, you need that handling. So, Atlanta, Fontana, those tracks have high tire wear and we do have a lot of lanes to choose and run from, so that will hopefully close things back up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more gaps. I think tracks like Vegas we will have the closest kind of racing proximity to one another just because the tire is still there and you can run wide-open in somebody’s wake.”
PUTTING THE ‘ALL’ IN ALL-TIME: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, leads drivers in almost every category at Auto Club Speedway (ACS). In 24 starts at the track, Johnson is the all-time leader in wins (six), runner-up results (five), top-five finishes (13), top-10s (17) and laps led (980). His average finish at the track of 7.2 is also the best all-time and his best at any track in his career.
AIMING FOR 1,000: With 20 laps led this Sunday, Johnson would reach 1,000 laps led at ACS. He has topped that total at four tracks in his career – Dover, Martinsville, Charlotte and Texas. He has led 994 laps at ISM Raceway, just six away from the milestone.
STILL RUNNING: In each 24 starts at his home track, El Cajon, California, native Johnson has been running at the end of the race. Additionally, five of the six times Johnson has won in California, he has gone on to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016).
'SUPER' WIN: Johnson’s last win at ACS came on March 20, 2016, in the “Superman” Chevrolet. Later that season he scored his record-tying seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEVIN: No. 48 team crew chief Kevin Meendering will celebrate his birthday on top of the pit box as he turns 38 on Sunday, March 17. Fellow crew chief Alan Gustafson has won races twice on his birthday (Aug. 5) – last year with Chase Elliott and in 2012 with Jeff Gordon.
FIRST-TIME WINNERS: The only two drivers to ever win their first race at California as rookies drove for Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson scored his first win in just his 13th career start on April 28, 2002, at the track. Former teammate Kyle Busch was the other driver who scored his first Cup Series win during his rookie season at the venue in 2005.
WATER POLO?: Johnson grew up roughly 116 miles south of the Fontana, California, speedway in El Cajon, just outside of San Diego. Johnson started racing mini-motorcycles up and down the West Coast at age four. He graduated from Granite Hills High School in 1993, where he was a varsity water polo player.
VERGE OF A MILESTONE: 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.
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