RED CROSS RELIEF FUND WINS BIG AFTER HARD-FOUGHT FINISH AT CHICAGOLAND

Team 48 Driver Jimmie Johnson and Lowe’s Racing for Relief Raises Thousands

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson’s efforts on the track last weekend raised $12,816 to benefit the American Red Cross as part of Lowe’s Racing for Relief program. Johnson completed 267 laps at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Lowe’s had pledged $48 per lap completed. The funds raised will help the Red Cross to provide food, clean-up supplies, counseling and other assistance to victims of the recent Central U.S. floods and tornadoes.

The Racing for Relief program continues at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Red Cross logo displayed on the deck lid of the No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS. Lowe’s will donate $48 for each lap Johnson completes during this race. If Johnson wins the event, Lowe’s will contribute an additional $4,800.

HELMET OF HOPE UPDATE

STEP, Inc. (Rocky Mount, Va.) and the American Diabetes Society (Alexandria, Va.) are the newest charities chosen to be featured on Jimmie Johnson’s race helmet for the Sprint Cup event at Auto Club Speedway in August.

Jimmie and Chandra Johnson announced that in conjunction with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation’s Second-Annual Golf Tournament in San Diego, Calif., race fans and media members nationwide would have the chance to participate in the Helmet of Hope initiative, allowing them the opportunity to nominate charities which they feel should be featured on the helmet.

Fans can nominate their charity by visiting www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org and explaining why their organization should be chosen.

Johnson drew the third and fourth winners during the Chicago race weekend.

NASCAR Scene’s Kenny Bruce nominated STEP, Inc., an organization that provides “exceptional services for people seeking to improve their quality of life through community, economic, personal, and family development.” In nominating this organization, Bruce says he “applauds the wide-ranging reach of the program which seeks to help young and old.” For more information, visit www.stepinc.com.

Amy Thurman of Ooltewah, Tenn. chose the American Diabetes Society, whose mission is “to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.” Thurman says her father was diagnosed with the disease and despite exercising, eating right and taking his medications, passed away. She says, “I miss my daddy so much and would give anything to be able to sit at home on Sunday afternoons with him watching the No. 48 win another race.” For more information on this organization, visit www.diabetes.org.

Johnson will draw two charities each race weekend through the Michigan event in August, collecting a total of 12 winning organizations. The first two winners were Monarch (Albemarle, N.C.) and Breakthrough Manchester (Manchester, N.H.).

Johnson will choose two more winning charities, one submitted by a fan and the other by a member of the media, during his 1 p.m. media availability at IMS on Friday.

Media members may pick up charity-nomination forms at the front desk of the media center.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

PREVIEW

After a well-deserved weekend off, the Sprint Cup Series travels to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Brickyard event.

Johnson’s six starts at the 2.5-mile track have produced one win and two top-five finishes. He and the Team Lowe’s Racing crew kissed the bricks in 2006.

Last season, Johnson hoped to follow up his win with another solid finish but fell victim to two accidents by Lap 61. The Lowe’s driver was caught up in an eight-car wreck on Lap 45 and then cut a tire and hit the wall on Lap 61. He finished 39th.

JOHNSON QUOTES:

ON GOING BACK TO INDY: “We’ve struggled at Indy for some reason - it’s definitely on our list of tougher tracks. We were able to get a win there a couple years ago so we know we’re a team capable of winning there. We just have to have all the pieces fall into place for us.

“It seems like it hasn’t been bad performances that have kept us from good finishes. We just tend to get caught up in a wreck or have some bad luck in the pits. A solid finish is definitely within reach if we can just stay out of trouble.”

ON ENJOYING THE LAST OFF WEEKEND OF THE SEASON: “It was great. Chani and I were out of the country so it was a nice, relaxing way to spend the last off week. I think there are only like six or seven races left before the Chase gets started, so it’ll probably be pretty intense between now and the end of the season.”

RACE NOTES:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Johnson has made six Cup Series starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing in the top-five two times. He won the 2006 event. He has completed 80.2% (771 of 961) of competition laps at the 2.5-mile oval and has led 33. Johnson has an average start and finish of 20.2 and 23.5.

Chassis

Johnson will pilot chassis number 504 in Sunday’s race. The two-time champion piloted that chassis to a sixth-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June. The backup chassis, No. 480, was driven to a fourth-place result in May’s Sprint Cup Challenge.

CAREER NOTES:

Career Wins

Johnson has 34 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career. 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 six full-time seasons. Johnson’s most recent victory at Phoenix (April 12, 2008) moved Johnson past legendary “Fireball” Roberts for 18th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. Johnson has the fourth-highest win total among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (81), Bill Elliott (44) and Mark Martin (35). Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but seven (Bristol, Michigan, Infineon, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Kansas, Homestead) of the 22 tracks in which the series competes. Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 were 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 Championship ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles

Johnson has collected 14 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 four in both 2002 and 2007. Johnson’s most recent pole position was in the Feb. 17 Daytona 500.

Career Starts

Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002. In 238 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 91 top five and 143 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 6,103 laps (of 68,497) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 91,692 miles. He has finished on the lead lap 181 times.