Johnson Wins Bud Shootout

Jimmie Johnson

Six times has the winner of the Bud Shootout gone on to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship.

Lowe’s Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson hopes he’ll be the seventh.

Johnson used the 2005 season-opening event Saturday night to pickup where he left off in 2004 when he notched eight victories and finished just a few points out of the championship.

Greg Biffle ran at the front most of the non-points race ultimately leading 44 laps while Johnson looked to have one of the fastest cars on the 2.5-mile track.

But on this night it was Johnson’s pit crew that made the difference.

Johnson started the first of the race’s two segments 17th of the 20 cars in the Shootout lineup. But, it didn’t take long for him to move to the front and eventually finish the first segment in second place.

In the final 50 lap segment Johnson stayed near the front of the pack. But a pit stop with 25 laps remaining vaulted Johnson to second place.

Just ten laps later he ran down Ryan Newman, who had stopped for only two tires, to take a lead he never relinquished.

"Really, at the end, it mattered most who came out first on that pit stop, and my guys got it done on pit road and got us out ahead of Biffle,” Johnson said. "He had a great car and when he was leading I really couldn't get a run on him. I knew that once I got into the lead he wasn't going to be able to get around me. It's just too hard to pass the leader.”

Johnson led Newman and teammate Jeff Gordon to the checkered flag earning over $212,000 for the night’s work as fireworks exploded over the Daytona backstretch.

The victory comes in just Johnson’s third career Bud Shootout – a race of pole sitters from the previous season.

Johnson and his crew turn their attention to single lap qualifying on Sunday for the Feb. 20 Daytona 500. Johnson was fifth quickest in the final practice on Saturday. The two fastest drivers on Sunday are automatically locked in to the front row of the Daytona 500 no matter how they fare in Thursday’s qualifying races.

Johnson and the Lowe’s team are one of the favorites for the “Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing” as well as the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship decided in November after 38 races.