Jimmie Johnson
| Jimmie Johnson | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards | 2007 NEXTEL Cup Champion 2006 NEXTEL Cup Champion | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| Car no., team | 48 - Hendrick Motorsports | ||||||
| 2007 position | 1st | ||||||
| Best finish | 1st - 2006, 2007 (NEXTEL Cup) | ||||||
| First race | 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| First win | 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 (Fontana) | ||||||
| Last win | 2007 Checker Auto Parts 500 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| Car no., team | 5 - JR Motorsports | ||||||
| First race | 1998 Kroger 200 (Indianapolis Raceway Park) | ||||||
| First win | 2001 Sam's Club Presents Hill Bros. Coffee 300 | ||||||
| Last win | 2001 Sam's Club Presents Hill Bros. Coffee 300 | ||||||
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Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975, El Cajon, California) is a current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race car driver who drives the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Chevrolet Impala SS owned by his teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson is the current NASCAR Nextel Cup champion.
Early career
ha ha you suck. Jimmie Johnson began his racing career on 50cc motorcycles at the age of five. Johnson was successful on motorcycles at an early age. By the time he was eight, he won the 60cc class championship despite injuring his knee with several races left in the season. From motorcycle racing he made the move onto four wheels and competed in several off-road leagues including SODA, SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. He accumulated over 25 wins, 100 top-three finishes, six championships, and received Rookie of the Year honors in all three leagues. Johnson raced with Herzog Motorsports in the 1996 and 1997 SODA series. Johnson was a field reporter for ESPN in the SODA series.
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 only Busch Series race in 2001 at the Hills Brothers Coffee 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in his 81st series event.
During the 2000 Season, Johnson was left in a tight spot while racing in the Busch Series. Herzog Motorsports, which had fielded Johnson's cars for much of his career, was in a dilemma after their sponsor, Alltel left the team for Penske Racing after the Alltel Board of Directors recommended the switch, as Greg Penske, Roger's son, joined the Board of Directors at Alltel. During the Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Johnson asked Jeff Gordon, who was also in the race, for advice during the drivers' meeting. Gordon kept in touch with Johnson after the incident, and a few months later, Hendrick Motorsports, on Gordon's recommendation, offered him a driver development deal with the potential of advancing in 2002.
Johnson's pre-Nextel Cup career is also noted for a crash at Watkins Glen where his car's brakes failed heading into turn 11, causing him to crash at nearly full speed headon into the styrofoam insulation and guardrail. Johnson walked away uninjured. In fact, he got out and put his fists in the air in excitement. At the time, Johnson was largely an unknown.
NASCAR Cup series career
Some of Jimmie Johnson's notable accomplishments throughout his NASCAR career include: In his rookie year he became the first rookie in the Cup series to sweep both races at a track when he won both races at Dover International Speedway. He became the first rookie ever to lead in the point standings (and to date the only rookie to do so). He is the only driver to finish in the top five in the standings in his first five full seasons. He has never finished below fifth in the final NEXTEL Cup points standings and finished second twice (in 2003 and 2004) and won the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championships. Since his rookie season Johnson ranks second among all active drivers with an average of 4.5 wins a season (behind Jeff Gordon's 5.6) and second in average top 10 finishes a season with 21.25 (behind Tony Stewart's 21.28). In 2006, Johnson became the only driver to win the Daytona 500, Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Aaron's 499 and the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship all in the same year. He is the only driver to win three Coca-Cola 600s in a row. He also holds the record at Lowe's Motor Speedway with four straight wins and five total point race wins at the track. In 2007 he became the first driver since 1998 to win four straight races.
2002 Season
Johnson began racing in the Cup series in 2002. He won the pole at the 2002 Daytona 500 and ended up with a 15th place finish. He would only improve from there, winning three times, averaging a 13.5 place finish, and becoming the first rookie ever to both lead the series in points (he eventually finished fifth overall) and to sweep races at a track (Dover). Johnson's first Cup win was in his home region at California Speedway, in the NAPA Auto Parts 500. He then won the MBNA Platinum 400 and MBNA All-American Heroes 400, both at Dover. Despite finishing the highest of any modern era rookie in points (James Hylton has the highest points finish for a rookie: 2nd), he was runner-up to Ryan Newman for NASCAR Rookie of the Year because the Rookie of the Year award is based on a driver's 15 best finishes and not points. Johnson's total 2002 Cup season statistics include 21 top-10 finishes, with an average finishing position of 13.5.
2003 Season
For his 2003 Cup campaign, Johnson had three points-race victories: the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, and the Sylvania 300 also at New Hampshire. His 2003 Cup season statistics include 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-ten finishes, with an average finishing position of 11.4. He finished the season second in the points standings to Matt Kenseth. Johnson got his first and second wins in back to back weekends by winning the The Winston on May 18 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25, both at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Winston is a non-points event.
2004 Season
In 2004, Johnson started slowly 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 Chase for the Cup, towards the end of the regular season. However, poor finishes at Talladega (37th) and Kansas (32nd) nearly sank his chances to win the NEXTEL Cup. He began to improve, with a victory at the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
The second victory of the 2004 Chase, at the Subway 500 in Martinsville, Virginia on October 24, 2004, was marred by tragedy. Owner Rick Hendrick's son (Ricky Hendrick), twin nieces, brother, and chief engine builder Randy Dorton as well as Joe Turner, Scott Lathram were killed in an airplane crash en route to the race. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the incident, and Johnson was told after completion of the race.
Johnson passed Mark Martin with six laps to go the next week in Atlanta Motor Speedway to win the Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500. Johnson won under the lights at Darlington in the final Mountain Dew Southern 500, and became the first driver since Jeff Gordon to win two legs of NASCAR's Grand Slam in a season. Despite this, Johnson's efforts would be futile as he would finish second in points to Kurt Busch by only 8 points, the closest points finish in NASCAR history. Johnson's 2004 Cup season statistics include 23 top-10 finishes, with an average finishing position of 12.1.
2005 Season
In 2005, Johnson stayed in the top five in the points standings all year, winning at Las Vegas, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, and then again at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In total, Johnson had four straight wins at his sponsor (Lowe's) sponsored track in Charlotte, North Carolina, and became only the second driver to win three consecutive races in one of NASCAR's majors (his car 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 at the midway point of the event with a tire problem. Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Mark Martin all finished ahead of the #48 Chevrolet. Johnson's 2005 Cup season statistics include 22 top-10 finishes with an average finishing position of 12.7.
2006 Season
Johnson won his first Daytona 500 on February 19, even though his regular crew chief, Chad Knaus, had been suspended after a rule infraction during qualifying. His win was the second consecutive win at the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson finished second at the next race at California Speedway and then beat Matt Kenseth by half a car length with a pass on the final turn on the caution-extended UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson became the eighth driver to win a Career Grand Slam by winning the Aaron's 499 at Talladega by passing teammate Brian Vickers at the start of the final lap, finishing off an unprecedented streak of six wins in the past eleven majors. He won the final segment and million dollar bonus in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Johnson was trying to go for five straight wins at a superspeedway, but he finished second to Kasey Kahne at the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He came back from cutting his tire and going all the way down to 38th place to win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis, joining Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as drivers to have won the Career Grand Slam and the Allstate 400. He also went on to win the Subway 500 at Martinsville. Johnson's 2006 season ended with a 9th place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway, winning his first career NEXTEL Cup Series Championship. His total winnings for the 2006 season were a record $15,770,125. On December 6, 2006 it was announced that he was voted the 2006 Driver of the Year, which is a unique award, as it covers all racing series in the United States. Johnson's 2006 Cup season statistics include 24 top-10 finishes with an average finishing position of 9.7.
2007 Season
Johnson's 2007 season began with a DNF after he was knocked out of the Daytona 500 when he was bumped into the infield. He recovered quickly with a third place finish at California the next week, and went onto win the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, the Kobalt Tools 500, and the Goody's Cool Orange 500.
On May 6, 2007, Johnson won the Jim Stewart 400 at Richmond. During the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Johnson blew a tire and crashed hard into the outer wall. As the car erupted in flames, although suffering slight eyebrow burns, Johnson climbed out and was not injured.
On September 2, he clinched a position in The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup with his win at Fontana in the Sharp AQUOS 500; Johnson entered The Chase as the leader, with 5060 points, based on his six regular season wins. The next week, he won the Chevy Rock & Roll 400.
On October 21, Johnson won the Subway 500 at Martinsville for his seventh win of the season, breaking a tie with then-points leader Jeff Gordon for most wins on the season. On October 28, Johnson won again at the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, moving him to within nine points of Gordon in the race for the 2007 Nextel Cup Championship. Johnson donated all of his winnings from this race to the victims of the wildfires in San Diego, California.[1] He followed that victory with another at the Texas Motor Speedway on November 4. On November 11, he won his fourth straight race at Phoenix, making him the first driver since Gordon in 1998 to win four consecutive races.[2] Johnson's streak brought his win total for the year to ten Johnson is also the first driver to win ten times in a season since Gordon, who did it three consecutive years (the last being a record-tying 13 win season in 1998). With the win Johnson joined Gordon (three times), Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip (twice), Bill Elliott, Cale Yarborough, and Richard Petty as the only modern-era drivers to win 10 or more times during a season.
He won his second straight championship on November 18, 2007 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 7th place finish. He defeated Jeff Gordon by 77 points. The championship was the final one with NEXTEL as the series title sponsor. It was also the final championship to use cars based on the 1964 Holman Moody Ford Fairlane template.
Other racing
Johnson participated in two Grand Am Rolex Sports Car series races in 2007; Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (Jan 24-28) and the Porsche Brumos 250 at Daytona (July 5). His NASCAR sponsor Lowe's paired him up with the Riley factory entry driven by Jim Mathews and Marc Goossens.
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 at the event again in 2004 and was scheduled to appear alongside Travis Pastrana at the event this year, in Paris's Stade de France on December 16, 2006. Due to an injury, he would not be able to drive in the race, but would still go to offer support as a consultant.
Personal life
Jimmie Johnson attended Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California near San Diego. He went to the same high school as friend and current San Diego Padres second baseman Marcus Giles.
Johnson has been married to Chandra Janway since December 11, 2004.
He is an avid San Diego Padres and San Diego Chargers fan as they are his hometown teams. He also follows the Atlanta Braves and the Carolina Panthers (His adopted team since he is now based in North Carolina; the latter is based in Charlotte, close to Lowe's headquarters in Mooresville, NC). As is the custom on Fox's NFC Championship Game broadcasts (or Super Bowl when Fox has the Super Bowl that year), Jimmie appeared on the post-game show for the 2007 NFC Championship game when the Chicago Bears defeated the New Orleans Saints (The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion makes an appearance during that game). His interview aired directly opposite of the opening kickoff of the AFC Championship game.
Johnson maintains strong ties to the San Diego area. He is a part of one of the local San Diego Chevy dealers that carries his name (along with owner Rick Hendrick). Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in the Kearny Mesa section of San Diego County. Jimmie was named San Diego's Pro-Athlete of the Year by the San Diego Hall of Champions on January 31, 2007. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders also proclaimed January 31, Jimmie Johnson Day.
Johnson hosts a weekly radio show, "Not What You Expected", on XM Satellite Radio. Marty Smith, NASCAR journalist and friend of Johnson's, hosts it with him. They have had numerous guests on the show including Major League Baseball player and Johnson's high school friend Marcus Giles, fellow drivers Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon, crew chief Chad Knaus, singer and friend Nick Lachey, and others.
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation
Chandra and Jimmie Johnson launched the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in February 2006. The Jimmie Johnson Foundation is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need throughout the United States. The Foundation strives to help everyone, particularly children, pursue their dreams.
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation supports charitable organizations that further the mission of the foundation. Current and past projects include granting wishes for children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, assisting the American Red Cross with disaster relief efforts, building a four-lane bowling alley for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses at the Victory Junction Gang Camp, and hosting a golf tournament in San Diego, CA to raise funds to build a Habitat for Humanity home in Jimmie’s home town of El Cajon.
In 2007, Johnson won at his home track California Speedway in a special Jimmie Johnson Foundation paint scheme.
References
- ^ Johnson donated his winnings from this race to the California wildfire victims
- ^ "Johnson wins fourth in a row". Associated Press. LA Times. 11-11-2007. Retrieved 11-11-2007.
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External links
- Team Lowe's Racing: Jimmie Johnson's official web site
- NASCAR.com: Jimmie Johnson
- The Jimmie Johnson Foundation
- Career statistics at racing-reference.info
- Jimmie Johnson on IMDb