Quaker State Racing Update

Team 48 Bud Shootout/Qualifying Preview

05/02/2009

The 2009 Sprint Cup Series season commences Saturday night, Feb. 7 with the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, followed by qualifying on Sunday for the Feb. 15 Daytona 500.

• Quotes from Jimmie Johnson
• Highlights
• Daytona 500 Qualifying Notes
• Jimmie Johnson - Budweiser Shootout Statistics
• No. 48 At-Track Crew List

Three-time champion Jimmie Johnson hopes to earn his second victory in the non-points race after taking top honors in the 2005 event.

Johnson, who finished third in last season's race, has never finished outside the top-10. The 28-driver field will draw for starting positions on Thursday night.

Johnson will look to add a third pole position to his Daytona 500 resume in Sunday afternoon's qualifying session. He led the field to the green flag in his 2002 Daytona 500 debut and again last season.

Quotes from Jimmie Johnson

Talk about being a part of this year's Bud Shootout.

"Without any testing this year, the Shootout is going to be a great practice session for all the teams. It's always been a benefit to be a part of it, but this year probably more than ever. I'm really excited to get back in the car and get back racing. I've been eagerly awaiting the start of our season and that's really the first part of it."

How important is qualifying and starting position at Daytona?

"These days, your starting position and track position in general have been very, very important at Daytona. These cars punch such a big hole in the air that from fifth on back you can't really even stay in the draft once the tires get old.

"If you can start up front and stay up front it'll really do a lot for you, especially in the daylight hours. Once the sun goes down I think the grip comes back to the track and it's a little easier to stay in the draft. The start of the race last year we were really spread out and that front starting position was really important."

How was the off-season?

"We've been busy. There have been some neat opportunities based on our third championship, so there's been a lot going on. Nick (Lachey) and I were down in Tampa for our Super Skins tournament and the Super Bowl last weekend, so I was excited about that. 

"I went to the BCS championship game to watch OU in Miami and that was a good time. Chani and I went on a great vacation and got away for a little bit. So it's been a good mixture of business and pleasure."

Top

Highlights

Chassis

Johnson will pilot chassis No. 457 in Saturday's race. The car was last driven to a runner-up finish at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2007.
Johnson drove the backup chassis, No. 474, to a ninth-place finish at Talladega last October.  

Top

Daytona 500 Qualifying Notes

• Johnson started from the pole position in last year's Daytona 500. He also earned the top spot in his Daytona 500 debut in 2002.
• In seven Daytona 500 starts, Johnson has only qualified outside the top 10 only once. He started 21st in 2007.

Top

Sprint Cup Series Career Notes

Career Wins

• Johnson has 40 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 9.

• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is 15th on NASCAR's all-time wins list.

• He also has the third-highest win total among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (81) and Bill Elliott (44).

• 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 seven full-time seasons.

• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but six (Bristol, Michigan, Infineon, 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 19 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 in the Nov.  9 event at Phoenix International Raceway. 

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 one of two drivers that has been in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup each year since its inception in 2004. Matt Kenseth is the other.

• In 255 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 101 top five and 156 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 7,443 laps (of 73,512) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 98,371 miles.

• He has finished on the lead lap 196 times.

Top

Jimmie Johnson - Budweiser Shootout Statistics

Top

No. 48 At-Track Crew List

Top