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| Jimmie Johnson last season at Sonoma. |
“I grew up on the West Coast, watched a lot of races at Sonoma Raceway that included the carousel, and I even did a driving school and learned how to drive that track as a teenager with the carousel. Then I showed up on the NASCAR circuit and they didn’t have the carousel (laughs). So, naturally, I am really excited that they are now opening that back up to us and we will be running through there this time around.”
CALIFORNIA KIDS: The “Golden State” is not only home to El Cajon, California, native Jimmie Johnson – the No. 48 team has two other members who also call California home. Race engineer Julian Pena hails from Aliso Viejo, California, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in mechanical engineering. Interior mechanic Matt Philpott originally hails from nearby Tracy, California, which is roughly 90 miles from Sonoma.
FINDING VICTORY LANE: Johnson has been able to sip wine in Victory Lane one time at Sonoma Raceway over the course of his career. His win at the road course came June 20, 2010, when he led 55 of 110 laps en route to the victory. He has finished inside the top 10 nine times at the venue, including most recently in 2015, when he led 45 laps before finishing sixth.
SONOMA STATS: At Sonoma, the seven-time Cup Series champion has the second-best average running position of all current drivers, 11.34, and an average finish of 11.0. Johnson has spent 77 percent of all laps run in the top 15 and has led 143 circuits around the now 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course.
STREAKING AT SONOMA: Johnson has not finished outside of the top 15 at Sonoma Raceway since a 17th-place result in 2007. He has finished outside of the top 17 just twice in his career at the track. In his last 10 races at the road course, Johnson has earned a win, three top-five finishes, seven top-10s and most recently an 11th-place result.
PICKING UP POINTS: In 2018, Johnson earned the fifth-most points of all drivers at road course races, earning 101 between events at Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Motor Speedway "roval."
EARL BARBAN Q&A: Longtime spotter for the No. 48 team Earl Barban will participate in a question-and-answer session Sunday, June 23, in the Save Mart/Lucky Breaking Zone at Sonoma Raceway at 9 a.m. local time.
OFF-WEEKEND FUN: Over the off-weekend break, Johnson, his wife Chandra and daughters Genevieve and Lydia enjoyed a vacation in Greece, traveling to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini.
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