Jimmie Johnson: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Infineon Preview

Jimmie Johnson: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Infineon Preview

Jimmie Johnson: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Infineon Preview

Hendrick Motorsports


RACE NOTES

Infineon Raceway
• Johnson has made nine Sprint Cup Series starts at Infineon Raceway, where he has one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 99.3% (988 of 995) of competition laps at the 1.99-mile road course and has led 85.
• He has an average start and finish of 17.9 and 15.6.

Chassis
• Johnson finished 28th in primary chassis No. 543 at Watkins Glen International in 2010.
• Backup chassis No. 442 crossed the finish line seventh at Watkins Glen International in 2008.

Primary Car History – Chassis No. 543
Date Event Start Finish
06/21/2009 Infineon 11 4
08/10/2009 Watkins Glen 1 12
06/20/2010 Infineon 2 1
08/08/2010 Watkins Glen 9 28

Backup Car History – Chassis No. 442
Date Event Start Finish
06/24/2007 Infineon *** 17
08/12/2007 Watkins Glen 7 3
06/22/2008 Infineon 2 15
08/10/2008 Watkins Glen 4 7

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTE

ARE YOUR ROAD RACING SKILLS WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO BE?
“I’m in the window that I want to be in. In my eyes, I am kind of on the bottom side of the window in the middle portion of it. We had a great race in Sonoma – at the Glen we had a flat tire early and I was able to carve my way through traffic and I think something else crazy happened. Running well I got turned around by 18 (Kyle Busch) or I can’t remember off of turn 11. Long story short, I’m very confident now on road courses and move forward and am a threat. I still think I can be better though. Still choose to run Grand Am races when it works and anything I can for that matter on a road course to get more experience.”

DID YOU WORK WITH ANYONE TO GET BETTER AT ROAD RACING?
“I didn’t work with anyone directly. The closest thing to working with someone would have been at the Grand Am races I have competed in and looking at the data from the other drivers who have been Mark Goossens when I drove for Riley – Butch Leitzinger if you go all the way back when I first drove a DP car. Elliott Forbes-Robinson and then most currently with John Fogarty and Alex Guerny. In that environment you can and with the other stuff it’s really just been laps and seat time. I’ve been to the Bondurant school to learn – we’ve tested like crazy and I’ve run some Nationwide races just all trying to get reps and trying to let me search around and see what I need to do.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES

Career Wins
• Johnson has 54 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Lee Petty for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Rusty Wallace.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker - Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup 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 eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 342 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 139 top-five and 212 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 11,470 laps (of 98,949) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 132,469 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 265 times.

Career Recognition
• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver three times, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

You could get van insurance for as little as £276 (based on quotes provided to 10% of callers. (Source: MORE TH>N BUSINESS October 2009) when you buy online as well as other great offers when you buy a business insurance product.

With our home insurance policy, when you buy buildings insurance, we'll give you contents insurance up to £75,000 absolutely free! or for contents worth more, try our high value home insurance cover

Buy pet insurance online and benefit from a 20% discount! From 8 weeks old onwards, your pet cat or dog will be covered regardless of its age (covers each new injury or illness up to £7000).

Free helplines for legal advice, medical advice and post-accident counselling, and discounts on our breakdown cover with our car insurance UK based personal customer manager.

Apply at MORE TH>N and we'll give you the best quote from our panel of leading insurers to help find you the cheapest life insurance policy. Prices start from only £5 a month.

Choose a Newsfeed
use the newsfeed below to search the full Auto Racing Daily story archive