JIMMIE JOHNSON
2010 STARTS: 30 WINS: 6 TOP 5: 13 TOP 10: 17
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDING: 1ST
FINISH IN CALIFORNIA: 3RD OCTOBER 2009 FINISH AT CHARLOTTE: 1ST
NEWS
The fourth-annual Jimmie Johnson Foundation Golf Tournament and Dinner Auction, which took place Oct. 5-6 at the Grand Del Mar in San Diego, raised more than $525,000, the fourth-consecutive year that the charity has surpassed the half-million dollar mark.
All proceeds from the event will stay in the San Diego area to fund the 2010 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grants, which range from $25,000-$100,000. In addition, Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grants will be awarded to schools in North Carolina and Oklahoma – where the Johnsons live and Chandra Johnson’s home state. Funding for those grants will be determined through other foundation initiatives.
Applications for grants in eligible school districts in California, North Carolina and Oklahoma are being accepted through Fri., Oct. 15. For more information, visit www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.
RACE NOTES
Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Johnson has made 18 Sprint Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he has earned six wins, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 96.4% (6087 of 6314) of competition laps at the 1.5-mile venue and has led 1370.
• He has an average start and finish of 7.5 and 10.2.
Chassis
• Johnson will pilot a brand new chassis – No. 623 – in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race.
• Backup chassis No. 553 was driven to Victory Lane by Johnson at Auto Club Speedway in February.
QUOTES
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS EACH WEEK FOR THE CHASE?: “I think really it’s just don’t squander away a good start to the season and from there, after Talladega, form a strategy. After Talladega, you can finally breathe a little bit, you’re over the halfway point. If you’re behind, you know you need to take chances to catch up. If you’re ahead, you might start thinking about protecting something then and take it from there. I just try to simplify things.”
SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
• Johnson has 53 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 26, 2010.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Lee Petty.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson was the first driver to win three of the first five races in The Chase.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.
Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.
Career Starts
• In 30 2010 starts, Johnson has collected six wins, 13 top five and 17 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 321 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 130 top-five and 197 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 10,977 laps (of 92,293) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 123,779 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 247 times.
I’m so proud to be a fan of Jimmie’s. He shows me everytime he goes out on the track what a great driver he is and I want him to win this 5th title so much. He already done things nobody else can or will do. Make us proud and bring this title home again this year. I’m 72 and love racing. Look forward to it every week.