It’s going on four years since Jimmie Johnson last won a Sprint Cup Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
For most drivers, such a streak is hardly worth mentioning. In Johnson’s case — considering his history at the track named after his team’s sponsor — it must seem a lifetime.
He’s also won three poles at the track, and turned one — at the 2004 Coca-Cola 600 — into a victory. He’ll try again during qualifying tonight for Sunday’s 600.
“You know, during my career I’ve had to work harder on qualifying and harder on sprints than anything. I feel that where I am now I can do both really well,” Johnson said. “But in the early years of my Cup career, definitely the longer races worked better.
“I still think the 600 race is a good race for us. That’s what we’re known for — for the long, grinding races and always staying on top of the adjustments for the car.” Kansas City Star
As Jimmie Johnson continues his push for a fourth consecutive Cup points championship, you have to believe he’s in the right place at the right time.
The driver of the Lowe’s-sponsored Chevrolet is at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600, and motorsports’ most grueling event also happens to be one Johnson has won three times.
Still, he hasn’t picked out a spot in victory lane just yet. The track surface is different these days than it was when he started schooling the competition in Charlotte.
“I think more than anything, when they resurfaced the track, it made the track much more forgiving and the setup that worked so well for us didn’t give us an edge at the track,” said Johnson, currently fourth in the points standings. “The track was a little rough (and had an) abrasive spot. As soon as I would hit that spot, I’d fly through 3 and 4 and pass two cars at a time sometimes through there.”
“It’s been tough to get a comfortable tire on the car with the speeds we’ve been running,” he said. “I think we’re there now. The speeds are so high and the track is — they almost did too good of a job repaving the track, and it took away the advantage that we had.”
Not that Johnson needs much of an advantage. The man who began as an understudy for Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports has become the home run hitter for the organization. Although Gordon currently leads the points race and Hendrick teammate Mark Martin has claimed two race wins in 2009, Johnson is still the man who boasts back-to-back-to back crowns in stock car racing’s premiere division.
One of the biggest challenges for Johnson and the rest of the field, of course, comes with Sunday’s 600-miler.
“The strategy changes some,” Johnson said. “So from the pit box, the guys have to focus on that. There’s certainly going to be more pit stops with the longer event. I think with the old track it was much more difficult for the crew members because whenever the pits were open we took tires. It was a lot like Atlanta.
“I think the repetition may be down because of the tire and the surface combination, but it’s a long race.”
A long race, but one Johnson looks forward to contesting — and completing. Anderson Independent Mail
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