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| Jimmie Johnson is a three-time winner at Daytona. |
“Chicago was a huge step forward for this No. 48 team. Huge. I’m proud of the organization. Everyone is working hard. This gives us some momentum, but this weekend in Daytona is such a different animal, you know. We go down there, want to be fast, hope to be lucky and good. We obviously had great cars in February, had fast cars at Talladega, you just have to hope not to get caught up in anything.”
SPARKLE AT CHICAGO: Although Jimmie Johnson did not win at Chicagoland Speedway, he led 10 laps and scored his best finish of the season. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion qualified fourth and jumped to an early lead on Lap 11, but was interrupted by a serious bout of inclement weather. Once the track dried and racing resumed hours later on the 1.5-mile oval, Johnson completed Stage 1 in fourth, Stage 2 in fifth and took the checkered flag in fourth. The driver had a 46-point day and moved from 17th to 14th in the point standings.
ONE MORE LOOK AT CHICAGO: How good was Johnson at Chicago? His average running position of 4.24 was his best in a race this season. He spent 97 laps in the top two, 238 laps in the top five, and 245 of the 267 total laps in the top 10, all of which marked his best performances of the season. In addition to his best finish of the year, he collected his third Stage 1 top-five finish and first Stage 2 top-five finish, leading laps for the fourth time this season.
APPLES TO APPLES: Compared to last season's performance at this time, Johnson has a pole, two top-five finishes and 78 laps led in 2019 after having no poles, two top-five finishes and 40 laps led in all of 2018.
FLASHBACK TO FEBRUARY: Right out of the gate, Johnson and No. 48 team crew chief Kevin Meendering won the non-points race “The Clash” leading into 2019 Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. While Victory Lane has eluded Johnson since 2017, he is closing in on his 84th career victory and as history has it, two of the last three Daytona races were won by drivers who gave their crew chiefs their first career wins. Johnson was able to win the 2006 Daytona 500 with interim crew chief Darian Grubb, which was Grubb’s first win on top of the pit box.
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS: The last time Johnson won at Daytona in the summer was on July 6, 2013. He led 94 laps and scored his third victory at the 2.5-mile superspeedway under the lights after starting eighth. His best finish since then was on July 5, 2015, when he started 12th, led 35 laps and finished second behind former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
TEAM CHEVY STAGE: Johnson will make a public appearance at the Team Chevy stage at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, July 6, at 4:30 p.m. local time for a question-and-answer session.
ROBERTS' TAKE: Jimmie Johnson (25/1) - He won the Clash at Daytona the week before the Daytona 500 and he raced like the most starved driver in the circuit scratching an clawing for any kind of win. His winless streak in points-paying races is now up to 76 races. I think we'll see the same thing here and I believe he'll have a good car like his Hendrick Motorsports teammates did at Talladega when they finished 1-2. Talladega was the first race on a superspeedway using the new package featuring aero ducts, taller spoilers and engines producing 550 horsepower. The second time this package will be used is Saturday night. He comes in with some momentum of finishing fourth at Chicagoland last week, but the top reason I'm supporting him this week is the desperation and him knowing this is a race he can win because of the randomness where most of the cars are equal. Look for him to run a smart race and be ready to make his winning moves in the last 10 laps. He's a three-time winner at Daytona.
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