jimmie johnson

Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975, El Cajon, California) is a current NASCAR Sprint Cup race car driver who drives the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Impala SS co-owned by Rick Hendrick and his teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson is the two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.
Jimmie Johnson began his racing career on 50cc motorcycles at the age of five years old. 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 NASCAR Busch Series. Herzog Motorsports, which had fielded Johnson's cars for much of his career, was in a dilemma after losing their sponsor, Alltel to Penske Racing shortly after Roger Penske's son Greg was named to Alltel's Board of Directors. During the driver's meeting before the Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway, Johnson asked fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon for advice. 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 that occurred at Watkins Glen when the brakes on his car failed heading into turn one. With his car running almost at full-speed, Johnson crashed head-on into the Styrofoam insulation and guardrail. Surprisingly Johnson emerged from the car uninjured, pumping his fists in the air in excitement.
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 tied a NASCAR record by winning four straight races, a feat last accomplished by his teammate Jeff Gordon in 1998Johnson began racing in the Cup series in 2002. He won the pole at the 2002 Daytona 500 and ended up finishing the race in 15th place. His rookie season would only improve from there, winning three races, finishing in the top-10 21 times, and having an average finish of 13.5 for the year. Johnson's first Cup win was in his home state at California Speedway, in the NAPA Auto Parts 500. Later in the year, he won the MBNA Platinum 400 and MBNA All-American Heroes 400, both held at Dover. Despite finishing the most points of any modern era rookie (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 is awarded based on a driver's 15 best finishes, not his total points.
[edit] 2003 SeasonFor his 2003 Cup campaign, Johnson had three points-race victories: first winning the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and later sweeping both races at New Hampshire International Speedway, the New England 300 and the Sylvania 300. His 2003 Cup season statistics include 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-ten finishes, with an average finishing position of 11.4. Johnson 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. Drivers competing in the The Winston (now known as the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge) do not earn points.
[edit] 2004 SeasonIn 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.
[edit] 2005 SeasonIn 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.
[edit] 2006 Season Jimmie Johnson under the Red Flag at PhoenixJohnson 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. Darian Grubb was the crew chief when Johnson won the Daytona 500. 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. After a horrible finish at New Hampshire International Speedway, Johnson fell to 9th in points, but then he went on to win the Subway 500 at Martinsville, raising him to fourth in the standings to eventually win the championship. 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.
[edit] 2007 SeasonJohnson'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, making him the first driver to win 10 or more 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.