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Information AboutJimmie Johnson |
Jimmie Johnson was born on September 17 , 1975 in El Cajon, California and is a current 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 . One of the sport's most consistent and talented drivers, he never finished below fifth in the final Nextel Cup points standings and finished second twice in the 2003 Winston Cup and 2004 Nextel Cup. Since his rookie season Johnson ranks second among all active Nextel Cup 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). Johnson also won the 2006 Daytona 500 and is the only driver to win three Coca-Cola 600 s in a row. BACKGROUND Jimmie Johnson began his racing career in several off-road leagues including SODA , SCORE International and MTEG (Mickey Thompson Series). 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 first Busch Series race in 2001 at the Hills Brothers Coffee 300 at Chicagoland Speedway . For 2002 he moved up to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for Rick Hendrick's number 48 Lowe's Chevy Monte Carlo with Jeff Gordon as his car owner. He won the pole position for his first Daytona 500 , was the first rookie driver to win two races at the same track in the same year, and was the first rookie to lead the Championship Point Standings. He currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, Chandra. NASCAR NEXTEL CUP 2002 SEASON In 2002 Johnson joined the Nextel Cup series and in his rookie campaign, became one of the seasons biggest surprises. After winning three times and becoming the first rookie in Nextel Cup history to ever lead the point standings (he eventually finished fifth overall); all after a mediocre, at best, career at the NASCAR Busch Series level, where he only had one win and 22 top 10s in 81 races. Johnson's first Winston Cup win was at his home region of California Speedway , he then swept Dover International Speedway , the first time a rookie had ever swept a track's two races. He was eventually runner-up to Ryan Newman for Rookie Of The Year because Newman's 15 best finishes were better than Johnson's 15 best finishes, while Johnson outpaced Newman in the final championship standings overall. 2002 Statistics
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2003 SEASON 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 his 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. 2003 Statistics
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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, and it was told to the driver shortly after claiming his first grandfather clock. Johnson then raced with a heavy heart, passing Mark Martin with six laps to go the next week in Atlanta Motor Speedway , before storming to another electrifying finish, winning under the lights at Darlington in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 , the first driver since Jeff Gordon to win two legs of NASCAR's Grand Slam in a season. He eventually finished second in the Nextel Cup, losing to Kurt Busch by just 8 points. 2004 Statistics
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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 with a tire problem. Tony Stewart , Greg Biffle , Carl Edwards , and Mark Martin all finished ahead of the #48 Chevrolet . 2005 Statistics
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2006 SEASON The 2006 season got off to a bad start, with crew chief Chad Knaus being suspended until Bristol in late March. NASCAR said he put a device in the car that raised the back window 3/4 of an inch. This gave Jimmie an aerodynamic advantage. 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 said race win for owner Rick Hendrick. He 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 270th lap (of 267 -- a late-race caution had extended the race) to win the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway . Johnson finished off his Career Grand Slam by winning the Aaron's 499 with a pass starting the final lap of his teammate Brian Vickers. Current 2006 Statistics
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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. During Knaus' three race suspension Darian Grubb was the team's crew cheif during which they had two wins and one second place finish. 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 at the event again in 2004. EXTERNAL LINKS
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