Team 48 Texas Preview
Lowe’s Monte Carlo driver Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 travel to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the 500-mile NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Johnson’s third-place finish Sunday at Martinsville vaulted to the season points lead – 59 points ahead of Mark Martin. While Johnson calls Texas Motor Speedway a “tough track for us” his average finish of 6.2 is the best of all drivers.
DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:
ON GOING TO TEXAS: "It's really a tough track for us. The entries to the corner have really given me some problems. We just can't get our car into the corner right. The transition is pretty abrupt. We find that the valance comes off the ground and the front tires almost float into the corner. Then when the car lands and the valance seals off it grips real hard and makes the car loose. That combination from the straight away to maximum compression, we're still working on trying to get that better. We feel like what we've developed this year and the package that we're refining right now is going to be a lot better with that so I'm excited to go back."
IMPORTANCE OF TEXAS: “Texas Motor Speedway has always been important to the sport. The number of diehard race fans in that area is huge. So, just its location makes doing well there meaningful. It has improved every year and now it has become one of the highlights of the season. Not only did it get a second race, but a race in the "Chase for the Championship" has made Texas even more important to everyone in our sport.”
WHY DO YOU RUN SO WELL AT TEXAS? “I don't know why we run so well at Texas and places like Lowe's Motor Speedway. Our crew gives me a good car, and I feel comfortable on tracks like that. Our 1.5-mile program seems to be hitting on all cylinders and I certainly hope it stays that way for a long time.”
RACE NOTES
Chassis
Team 48 will use chassis No 48363 this weekend in Texas and No. 48264 as the backup. The primary car has never raced before while the backup last raced at Pocono in July.
Texas
Johnson has completed all 1,670 laps in his five starts at Texas Motor Speedway. He owns an average qualifying position of 10.8 and a finishing position of 6.2 – the best of all drivers. Johnson has five top-10 finishes in five career starts at Texas, the longest such streak by any driver.
Career
Johnson’s victory at Las Vegas was the 20th of his Nextel Cup career. This win tied him with Speedy Thompson for 30th on the list for most victories since 1949. Only eight active drivers have more victories.
Johnson’s pole at Martinsville was the ninth of his career
In 153 starts, Johnson has posted 57 top-5 finishes and 91 top-10 finishes. He has a top-10 finish at every track on the NASCAR Nextel Cup series circuit. Indianapolis and Kansas are the only two tracks where he has not posted a top-five finish. Johnson has led 3,561 laps and driven 44,010 laps in his Nextel Cup career covering 58,491.1 miles. He has a career average starting spot of 12.3 and an average finishing position of 12.6. He has finished on the lead lap 115 times.
Top 10
Johnson has ranked among the top 10 in the points standings since Atlanta in March 2004, a string of 75 consecutive races – the longest of any active driver.
2006 Season
He is the only driver with five top-10 finishes in six races this season.
Loves Superspeedways
All but one of Johnson’s career victories have come on superspeedways, with his win at Martinsville Speedway in October, 2004, as the lone exception.
Last Race at Texas
Last November, Johnson was 13th with just 16 laps remaining when debris brought out the final caution. While other drivers took two tires, Johnson took four tires and restarted in 13th. The green flag flew for the final time with just 11 laps remaining. That’s when Johnson used the four new tires to cut through the traffic and climb to fifth when the checkered flag fell.
