Funai 250 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

JIMMIE JOHNSON
NO. 5 LOWE’S / SHOP VAC CHEVROLET
RICHMOND PREVIEW

In addition to driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson is piloting the No. 5 Lowe's / Shop Vac Chevrolet Busch Series entry in several races this season, including Friday’s race at Richmond International Raceway.

Q&A WITH DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON

How have you enjoyed running in both the Busch and Nextel Cup Series? “Double duty has been fun for me. Last weekend (at Darlington) I got my first Busch pole, which I really wanted on my résumé. I had a good race. Unfortunately I had a tire go flat under caution at the end of the race, which cost us a good top-10 finish. But all in all, it was a great experience there and I really enjoyed it. I think that running in Richmond in the Busch car is going to be a little helpful for me. And since I’m there at the track, I’d rather be racing than sitting around. So I’m really enjoying the double-duty aspect of it. I enjoy working with the Busch guys.”

Do the drivers get as excited about the night races as the fans do? “I think to a small degree we do. But it is changing in a certain respect. We have more and more night races. We like the night races more. The tracks are lit up better. It’s cooler. The track is a little easier to get a hold of. There was a newness to it and some excitement to it because we didn’t have so many of them. Now we have a lot of them. I think everybody enjoys them but we don’t have the hype to them like we used to have.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF JIM LONG

You chose not to test at Richmond. What effect do you think that will have on your team’s performance? “I don’t think it will be a negative at all. All of the Hendrick teams have had success here at one time or another, and we’ve got a lot of great data to go off of from last year, so I think we’ll be fine. I mean, come on, we’ve got Jimmie Johnson driving the car this weekend. What more can you ask for? Plus, we’ve got Kyle (Busch) running the No. 57, and he dominated here last year, so I think we’re going to do just fine.”

GAME PLAN: Plans call for Johnson to also drive the No. 5 in the June 4 Busch Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. These races are in addition to the previously announced schedule of six Busch Series events in which Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet. Last weekend at Darlington Raceway, Johnson scored his first career Busch Series pole award behind the wheel of the No. 5, but a tire problem late in the race dropped Johnson to a 23rd-place finish. In his only other Busch Series start this season, Johnson finished third in the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Chevrolet in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT RICHMOND INT’L. RACEWAY: The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Busch Series team has never finished outside the top-20 at Richmond International Raceway. The team has scored consecutive top-five starting spots and top-five finishes in the past three Richmond Busch races. Last May, Kyle Busch won the pole award and led all but 14 laps of this event en route to the first win of his NASCAR career.

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S BUSCH SERIES HISTORY AT RICHMOND INT’L. RACEWAY: Jimmie Johnson has one top-10 qualifying effort (10th; May 4, 2001) in four Busch Series starts at Richmond. His best finish in a Richmond Busch event was 12th, which he accomplished twice (May 5, 2000, and May 4, 2001).

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 298- Chassis No. 298 was new to the Hendrick Motorsports stable in 2004. Most recently, Kyle Busch started on the pole and drove this car to a runner-up finish at Phoenix International Raceway last November. Busch also drove this chassis to fifth-place finishes at Gateway International Raceway last May and at Dover International Speedway last June, and placed third with it in the August night race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

STATS & FACTS