Dollar General 300 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

JIMMIE JOHNSON
NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
NO. 48 LOWE’S / KOBALT CHEVROLET
LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

JIMMIE JOHNSON COMPETING IN TWO NASCAR SERIES THIS WEEKEND: Jimmie Johnson will pull double duty this weekend, competing in two NASCAR series. In addition to his regular duties behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup Series, Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet in Friday’s Busch race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

This weekend’s race marks Johnson’s eighth Busch Series start of 2005. In addition to driving five scheduled races in the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, Johnson also drove the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet in three Busch Series events.

At Darlington Raceway in May, Johnson wheeled the No. 5 to his first career Busch Series pole position, and posted a top-five finish in the No. 5 at Dover International Speedway in June. Johnson’s best finish in the No. 48 Busch Series entry this season was a third-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

Hendrick Motorsports is fielding three Busch Series entries for this weekend’s race. In addition to Johnson’s No. 48 entry, Kyle Busch will drive the No. 57 Sta-Green Winterizer Weed & Feed Chevrolet, and Adrian Fernandez will be behind the wheel of the No. 5 Lowe’s / Hitachi Power Tools Chevy.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON

Lowe’s Motor Speedway: “For the Busch test, I was really nervous for the first half day. Nothing bad happened. It was still Charlotte; I have to say that. When the sun is out, the track is slick and it's tough to get a hold of. As night comes, the track gets faster and the grip level increases. So in my opinion, it's still Lowe's Motor Speedway and it still has those characteristics. As far as drivability, they've made improvements to the track. Before, we had the old surface in certain areas and the new surface in other areas. You had a huge change in grip level as you went through the corner and I think that caused a lot of problems.

“In the Busch test, it seemed as if the grip level was equal around the entire corner, which made things a little better. It's made it a lot faster. The faster the speeds, the less side-by-side racing you are going to have. My prediction is that the track has improved since the Cup test. They drug tires around the track and it really helped the surface. I think we're going to see a very fast race and possibly single file. I don't expect it to be as tough as it was in the spring. But then again we still have to remember when the sun is out and it's Lowe's Motor Speedway, it's a tough track to get a hold of."

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S BUSCH SERIES HISTORY AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Jimmie Johnson has one top-five finish in six Busch Series starts at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. In October, 2004, Johnson drove his No. 48 entry to a third-place result in what was his Busch Series start since 2001. Johnson’s next best finish in a Lowe’s Motor Speedway Busch event was 16th, which he accomplished twice (5/27/00 and 5/26/01).

TESTING: Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Busch Series team tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway two weeks ago. Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s PR department reported that Johnson posted the second-fastest lap time of the two-day test session.

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 299- Kyle Busch drove this chassis to a pole position and a 10th-place finish at Nazareth (PA.) Speedway last season. Earlier this year, Blake Feese drove this chassis to a 28th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in April.