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| Chicagoland is one of three tracks Johnson has never won at. |
“I know the finish last week didn’t show it, we did have way stronger car than the finish showed. Our 1.5-mile track performances have really improved over the last few races and I am excited to see how we have built on that for this weekend. Chicago is a race that we have shown so much strength in the past and just never have been able to finish the job. It’s been so frustrating to have led so many laps and just been so close and not taken the checkers.”
1.5-MILE FINISHES IN 2019: Since the beginning of the 2019 season, Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Kevin Meendering and the No. 48 team have made some gains on 1.5-mile tracks. They recorded a 24th-place finish at Atlanta and a 19th-place finish at Las Vegas, but shortly after came a pole and fifth-place result at Texas Motor Speedway and a sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway. Johnson then finished eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. His three straight top-10 finishes at 1.5-mile tracks is the longest active streak in the Cup Series.
SO CLOSE AT CHICAGO: The 695 laps Johnson has the led around Chicagoland Speedway are the most all-time of any driver in NASCAR Cup Series history at the venue. Johnson has also won two pole positions, the most of any driver at the track, but has yet to find Victory Lane. Three of Johnson’s seven top-five finishes at Chicagoland have been runner-up results – the closest was July 12, 2008, when he was edged out by competitor Kyle Busch in a wild finish where the margin of victory was a mere 0.159 seconds. His most recent runner-up finish at the track came in 2012 when he started from the pole position and led 172 laps.
ONE OF FOUR: Chicagoland is one of just four tracks on the Cup Series circuit where Johnson has not scored one of his 83 career wins. The other tracks are Watkins Glen, Kentucky and the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
LONE XFINITY WIN: Though a Cup Series win has eluded Johnson so far at Chicagoland, he did record his only win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the inaugural event at the 1.5-mile track in 2001.
CHICAGOLAND TIES: Adam Wall, an engineer on the No. 48 team, is a native of Teutopolis, Illinois, but moved to North Carolina after high school and went to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to pursue his NASCAR engineering dreams. Tanner Andrews, front-tire changer for the No. 48 team, hails from North Aurora, Illinois, and graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in criminal justice. He was a four-year Greco-Roman wrestling standout and trained at the United States Olympic Education Center. Andrews was recognized as one of two recipients of the 2012 Jacob Curby Memorial Award, which is presented annually to a wrestler from each of USA Wrestling’s Olympic Training Centers for displaying strong personal character and commitment. He was a 2011 University Nationals champion at 70 kilograms and also won a bronze medal at the 2011 Dave Schultz Memorial International Championship. Andrews wrestled at the U.S. Open four times and placed fourth in his final tournament.
SONOMA RECAP: Johnson and the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team had a strong car for 20-lap runs at Sonoma, but the last run of the day was 28 laps. Johnson’s car became so tight he lost the grip on the front tires and slid from fifth to 12th in the closing eight laps, just missing a top-10 finish.
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