NASCAR organization information
Jimmie Johnson
NASCAR Daytona 500 Winner!
NASCAR Hall of Fame Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
Jimmie Johnson (born September 17, 1975 in El Cajon, California)
is a NASCAR Nextel Cup race car driver who currently drives the #48 Lowe's
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS owned by teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Rick
Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson finished second in the 2003 Winston Cup
and 2004 Nextel Cup standings, and won the 2006 Daytona 500.
Background
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson began his racing career in several off-road leagues
including SODA, SCORE International and MTEG. He accumulated over 25 wins and
100 top-three finishes and received Rookie of the Year honors in all three
leagues.
In 1998, Johnson joined the American Speed Association (ASA) circuit, finishing
fourth in the season while picking up Rookie of the Year honors. During this
time, Johnson also began racing in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving in three
events. In 1999, Johnson continued to run in both the ASA and the Busch Series,
winning twice and finishing third in the ASA point race. By 2000, Johnson became
a Busch Series driver with Herzog Motorsports, finished 10th in the points
standings and third in the Rookie of the Year standings. He won his first Busch
Series race in 2001 at the Hills Brothers Coffee 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
He currently resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife, Chandra.
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
2002 Season
By 2002, Johnson joined the Nextel Cup series and in his rookie campaign, he won
three times, first in his home region at California Speedway, and then sweeping
Dover International Speedway. He became the first rookie in Nextel Cup history
to ever lead the point standings (he eventually finished fifth overall). He was
runner-up to Ryan Newman for Rookie of the Year.
For the 2003 campaign, Johnson had three victories, 14 top-five finishes and 20
top-ten finishes. He finished the season second in the points standings to Matt
Kenseth.
Johnson also began is prowess of Lowe's Motor Speedway at the time, winning
Nextel All-Star Challenge, and the Coca-Cola 600, his first win in NASCAR's four
majors.
2004 Season
In 2004, Johnson started slowly, with some early disappointments in weeks two
and three at Rockingham and Las Vegas. However, he quickly rebounded with a week
five win at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Subsequent
victories at the Coca-Cola 600 and the Pocono 500 helped solidify his place in
the NASCAR Chase for the Cup towards the end of the season. However, poor
finishes at Talladega (37th) and Kansas (32nd) nearly sank his chances to win
the Nextel Cup, but four subsequent victories put him 18 points behind leader
Kurt Busch going into the final race. The second victory at the Subway 500 in
Martinsville, Virginia on October 24, 2004, was marred by tragedy when Rick
Hendrick's son, Ricky Hendrick, nieces and brother were killed in an airplane
crash en route to the race. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the
incident. He eventually finished second in the Nextel Cup, losing to Kurt Busch
by just 8 points.
Johnson also became the first NASCAR driver since Jeff Gordon to win two legs of
the Grand Slam, a feat no longer possible since then because of a settlement in
a lawsuit which removed the fourth leg, the Southern 500, of the sport's Grand
Slam.
Wins
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway
Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's (Charlotte)
Pocono 500 at Pocono
Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono
UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's (Charlotte)
Subway 500 at Martinsville, Virginia
Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 at Atlanta
Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington
2004 Statistics
2nd Place in NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Cup
Wins - 8
Top 5 - 20
Top 10 - 23
Average Finish - 12
[edit]
2005 Season
In 2005, Johnson stayed in the top five in the points standings all year, having
wins at Las Vegas, Lowes Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, and again
at Lowes Motor Speedway. Johnson now has four straight wins at his sponsor,
Lowes, sponsored track in Charlotte, North Carolina, and became only the second
driver to win three consecutive races in one of NASCAR's majors. (Owner Jeff
Gordon won four consecutive Southern 500 titles from 1995-1998, but that leg of
the Grand Slam was eliminated in the Ferko lawsuit.) Johnson had a chance to win
the championship coming into the November 20 season finale at Homestead Miami
Speedway, but finished 5th in points after crashing in the midway point of the
event. Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Mark Martin all finished
ahead of the #48 Chevrolet.
Wins
UAW/DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway
MBNA Racepoints 400 at Dover International Speedway
UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway
2005 Statistics
5th Place in NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Cup
Wins - 4
Top 5 - 13
Top 10 - 22
Average Finish - 11.9
2006 Season
The 2006 season got off to a bad start, with crew chief Chad Knaus being
suspended a week before the Daytona 500 for making illegal adjustments to the
car. However, with temporary crew chief and Hendrick engineer Darian Grubb atop
the pit box, Johnson was able to get his first victory in the Daytona 500, and
second consecutive win for owner Rick Hendrick.
Wins
Daytona 500
Hendrick Motorsports
Jimmie Johnson's car is operated by Hendrick Motorsports, a powerhouse in NASCAR
throughout the 1990's and continuing today. His Crew Chief is Chad Knaus, who is
in charge of working on the car on the day-to-day basis, and is in charge of
everything that happens with the Lowe's #48 Team at the track.
Other Recent Events
Johnson has also participated in some more-recent off-road events, including a
winning drive with Team USA at the 2002 Race of Champions. Johnson appeared
there again in 2004.
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