Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Pocono 500 - Jimmie Johnson Notes

Team 48
Pocono Raceway Preview

Lowe’s Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson and the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series travel to Pocono Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s 500-mile race. Johnson owns two victories at the Pennsylvania track including a sweep of both races in 2004. The 2006 Nextel Cup Champion finished 15th in Monday’s race in Dover, Del. and is second in the 2007 points race trailing Jeff Gordon by 152 points. Johnson’s four victories are the most of any driver in 2007. Johnson will drive a Chevrolet Monte Carlo at Pocono this weekend.

DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES:

POCONO: "I have had good years there where we have shown up and we couldn't do any wrong and have won and then other times where we miss it. It is so tough to figure out. If you are off a little bit there it really shows up and you feel like you are way off in left field. With how long the straight-aways are, in racing, every corner leading onto the longest straight away is the most important corner. Coming off of turn three, you have a mile long front straight away, if you get off the corner slow, you pay for it for a mile. It is four or five tenths of a second by the end of the front stretch. That is a lot in racing. It is a tough place and very challenging. I have to admit that I liked it a lot more when we were down shifting, it made the track a lot more exciting and entertaining for the drivers. Right now, it is kind of boring and you have got maybe one passing opportunity because we are not shifting and you kind of just wait for that chance every lap."

CHALLENGES: “The track is old. It's fun in the respect that it's very sensitive to the sun. I think it puts a lot back in the team and drivers' hands as the sun comes out and the track heats up. It's a tough track to get hold of and I like that challenge.”

NEXT YEAR, WITH THE NEW CAR, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF SHIFTING COMING BACK? "I am not sure. I have not heard if they would open that back up. I would think that they would leave it the same, because the reasons of not shifting, they were afraid that was an expense that some teams couldn't afford, which is crazy. We all have transmissions and change gear and go. I don't think that it will come back."

NOTES

Chassis

Johnson will drive chassis 385 while chassis 297 will serve as the backup at Pocono. See chart below for chassis results.

Pocono Raceway

In ten starts, Johnson has completed all 1,979 laps. He owns an average starting spot of 8.6 and average finish of 8.1. He has two victories and six top ten finishes. He has led 275 laps at Pocono.

2007 Season

Johnson is the only driver with four victories. Only Jeff Gordon has three victories.

Chevrolet has won 12 of the season’s 13 races.

Hendrick Motorsports has won 9 of the season’s 13 races including 9 of the last 11 races.

Hendrick Motorsports has won five of the six “Car of Tomorrow “races.

Johnson has led in 8 of 13 races for 612 laps in 2007.

Career

Johnson has won at least three 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 victory at Richmond on May 6 was the 27th of his Nextel Cup career. This win gives him sole possession of 22nd place on the list for most victories since 1949.

Johnson’s owns nine poles in his career. He has won a pole in each of his first five seasons – the longest streak among active drivers.

History
In 196 starts, Johnson has posted 74 top-5 finishes and 119 top-10 finishes. He has a top-10 finish at every track on the NASCAR Nextel Cup series circuit. Kansas is the only track where he has not posted a top-five finish. Johnson has led 4,807 laps and driven 56,899 laps in his Nextel Cup career covering over 75,707.5 miles. He has finished on the lead lap 150 times. He owns a career average start of 12.3 and an average finish of 12.1.