Jimmie Johnson heads to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., following two days of Jimmie Johnson Foundation activities in his hometown.
SPECIAL PAINT SCHEMES: Johnson will pilot the No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event and the No. 5 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Nationwide Series race.
HELMET OF HOPE: The two-time reigning Sprint Cup Series champion will wear the "Helmet of Hope" in Sunday's Sprint Cup event. The race helmet was part of a new Jimmie Johnson Foundation Initiative, which allowed race fans and members of the media to nominate charities they believed should be recognized. Twelve charities were selected to adorn the helmet, which was auctioned off during Tuesday night's dinner/auction.
CALIFORNIA HIGHLIGHTS
Johnson picked up his first career Sprint Cup Series win at Auto Club Speedway on April 4, 2002.
He has collected more points than any other driver in the last 10 races at the Southern California track.
Johnson has finished in the top five seven times in 11 starts.
His lowest finish is 16th.
He has an average finish of 6.4 at the two-mile oval.
The two-time Sprint Cup Champion has completed 100% of the competition laps since he began competing there in 2002 (2,755 laps).
JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES
ON MAKING A STOP IN SAN DIEGO FOR JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION EVENTS ON THE WAY TO FONTANA: "The Jimmie Johnson Foundation (has) an annual golf tournament that's taking place Wednesday. (Tuesday), we are heading out to the build site where we are building four homes with Habitat For Humanity through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. It's an exciting day. My wife and I are all dressed up and ready to have a good day today, and then we have dinner tonight with some auction stuff that's going on, a lot of people are participating, and I want to thank them for that. And that helmet will be auctioned off tonight, and I will be wearing that on Sunday afternoon."
FROM A DRIVER'S PERSPECTIVE, ANY THOUGHTS ON THE SHUFFLE OF ATLANTA, FONTANA AND TALLADEGA ON THE SCHEDULE? IS THAT A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE FOR YOU? "I don't see it being a problem for us. All of the tracks are good for the 48. When I heard of the changes, I understood with the weather and things like that how they would make the change. So I don't see any big impact on myself. I think that it's going to be nice for the California fans to have a race a few months later so the climate is better and things like that, and the Atlanta race, it will certainly be hotter and hopefully we won't have any weather."
RACE NOTES: SPRINT CUP
Auto Club Speedway
Johnson has made 11 Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway. He has seven top-five finishes and seven top-10s there.
He has won two pole positions there -- April 2002 and September 2007.
Johnson has completed 100% (2,755 of 2,755) of competition laps at his home track and has led 295.
Johnson has an average start and finish of 10.6 and 6.4.
Chassis
Johnson last drove this weekend's primary chassis, No. 504, to victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. He also finished sixth in it at Pocono Raceway in June. He started on the pole at Indy and second at Pocono.
Johnson qualified first and finished third in the backup chassis (No. 502) at Pocono in August.
CAREER NOTES: SPRINT CUP
Wins
Johnson has 35 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career.
Johnson's most recent victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 27, 2008) moved the reigning champion into a tie with Mark Martin for both 17th place on NASCAR's all-time wins list and 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 six full-time seasons.
Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but seven (Bristol, Michigan, Infineon, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Kansas, Homestead) of the 22 tracks in which the series competes.
Johnson's total of 10 wins in 2007 was the highest 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 Championship tied a modern-era NASCAR record.
Poles
Johnson has collected 16 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season (2002). He had a career-high four in both 2002 and 2007.
Johnson's most recent pole position was in the Aug. 3 event at Pocono.
Miscellaneous
Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season (2002).
In 243 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 93 top-five and 146 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 6,222 laps (of 69,629) in his Sprint Cup career, covering 93,470 miles.
He has finished on the lead lap 185 times.
RACE NOTES: NATIONWIDE
Auto Club Speedway
Johnson has made five Nationwide Series starts at Auto Club Speedway, collecting one top-five finish.
He has completed 99.7% of competition laps (748 of 750) and has an average start and finish of 22.8 and 13.4.
Chassis
Johnson will be piloting JR Motorsports' chassis No. 295 in Saturday's Nationwide Series event. Landon Cassill last drove that chassis to a ninth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in June.
History
In 89 Nationwide Series starts, Johnson has posted one win (Chicago 2001), eight top-fives and 23 top-10 finishes. He also has two pole positions.
SPRINT CUP TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, Calif.)
(All times Eastern)
Friday, Aug. 29
Sprint Cup practice, 3 p.m., SPEED
Sprint Cup qualifying, 6:30 p.m., SPEED
Saturday, Aug. 30
Sprint Cup practice, 7 p.m., SPEED
Sprint Cup happy hour, 8 p.m., SPEED
Sunday, Aug. 31
Sprint Cup pre-race, 7 p.m., ESPN
Sprint Cup race, 8 p.m., ESPN
SPRINT CUP PRIMARY CAR: CHASSIS NO. 504 HISTORY
| Car | Date | Event | Start | Finish |
| 48-504 | 6/8/2008 | Pocono Race | 2 | 6 |
| 48-504 | 7/27/2008 | Indianapolis Race | 1 | 1 |
SPRINT CUP BACKUP CAR: CHASSIS NO. 502 HISTORY
| Car | Date | Event | Start | Finish |
| 48-502 | 5/25/2008 | Charlotte 600 Race | 10 | 39 |
| 48-502 | 6/15/2008 | Michigan Race | 6 | 6 |
| 48-502 | 7/12/2008 | Chicagoland Race | 5 | 2 |
| 48-502 | 8/3/2008 | Pocono Race | 1 | 3 |
NATIONWIDE CAR: CHASSIS NO. 295 HISTORY
| Car | Date | Event | Start | Finish |
| 295 | 4/5/2008 | Texas Race | 10 | 7 |
| 295 | 5/24/2008 | Lowe's Race | 22 | 10 |
| 295 | 5/17/2008 | Nashville Race | 6 | 9 |
JOHNSON'S AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY SPRINT CUP STATISTICS
| Race | Start | Finish | Laps | Money | Status | Led |
| 4/28/2002 | 4 | 1 | 250/250 | 176,750 | Running | 62 |
| 4/23/2003 | 20 | 16 | 250/250 | 89,025 | Running | 0 |
| 5/2/2004 | 19 | 2 | 250/250 | 194,675 | Running | 37 |
| 9/5/2004 | 16 | 14 | 250/250 | 103,800 | Running | 1 |
| 2/27/2005 | 8 | 2 | 250/250 | 235,041 | Running | 4 |
| 9/4/2005 | 5 | 16 | 254/254 | 137,316 | Running | 0 |
| 2/26/2006 | 3 | 2 | 251/251 | 235,936 | Running | 0 |
| 9/3/2006 | 16 | 11 | 250/250 | 141,986 | Running | 0 |
| 2/25/2007 | 23 | 3 | 250/250 | 212,811 | Running | 31 |
| 9/2/2007 | 2 | 1 | 250/250 | 289,411 | Running | 84 |
| 2/25/2008 | 1 | 2 | 250/250 | 252,336 | Running | 76 |
JOHNSON'S AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY NATIONWIDE STATISTICS
| Race | Start | Finish | Laps | Status | Led |
| 4/29/00 | 30 | 15 | 149/150 | Running | 0 |
| 4/28/01 | 33 | 16 | 149/150 | Running | 0 |
| 9/3/05 | 27 | 11 | 150/150 | Running | 2 |
| 9/2/06 | 16 | 21 | 150/150 | Running | 0 |
| 9/1/07 | 8 | 4 | 150/150 | Running | 3 |
JOHNSON'S 2008 SPRINT CUP STATISTICS
| Race | Site | Start | Finish | Laps | Status | Led | Points | Pt. total | Pt. pos. |
| 1 | Daytona | 1 | 27 | 200/200 | Running | 1 | 87 | 87 | 25 |
| 2 | Fontana | 1 | 2 | 250/250 | Running | 76 | 180 | 267 | 8 |
| 3 | Las Vegas | 33 | 29 | 265/267 | Running | 0 | 76 | 343 | 14 |
| 4 | Atlanta | 13 | 13 | 325/325 | Running | 0 | 124 | 467 | 13 |
| 5 | Bristol | 1 | 18 | 504/506 | Running | 14 | 114 | 581 | 13 |
| 6 | Martinsville | 10 | 4 | 500/500 | Running | 135 | 165 | 746 | 10 |
| 7 | Texas | 5 | 2 | 339/339 | Running | 65 | 175 | 921 | 6 |
| 8 | Phoenix | 7 | 1 | 312/312 | Running | 120 | 195 | 1116 | 4 |
| 9 | Talladega | 10 | 13 | 188/188 | Running | 1 | 129 | 1245 | 5 |
| 10 | Richmond | 12 | 30 | 400/410 | Running | 0 | 73 | 1318 | 7 |
| 11 | Darlington | 3 | 13 | 367/367 | Running | 0 | 124 | 1442 | 6 |
| 12 | Charlotte | 10 | 39 | 351/400 | Engine | 35 | 51 | 1493 | 9 |
| 13 | Dover | 4 | 7 | 399/400 | Running | 2 | 151 | 1644 | 7 |
| 14 | Pocono | 2 | 6 | 200/200 | Running | 59 | 155 | 1799 | 6 |
| 15 | Michigan | 6 | 6 | 203/203 | Running | 65 | 160 | 1959 | 5 |
| 16 | Infineon | 2 | 15 | 112/112 | Running | 27 | 123 | 2082 | 5 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 23 | 9 | 284/284 | Running | 0 | 138 | 2220 | 5 |
| 18 | Daytona | 30 | 23 | 162/162 | Running | 4 | 99 | 2319 | 5 |
| 19 | Chicagoland | 5 | 2 | 267/267 | Running | 15 | 175 | 2494 | 5 |
| 20 | Indianapolis | 1 | 1 | 160/160 | Running | 71 | 195 | 2689 | 4 |
| 21 | Pocono | 1 | 3 | 200/200 | Running | 34 | 170 | 2859 | 4 |
| 22 | Watkins Glen | 4 | 7 | 90/90 | Running | 2 | 151 | 3010 | 3 |
| 23 | Michigan | 2 | 17 | 200/200 | Running | 12 | 117 | 3127 | 3 |
| 23 | Bristol | 34 | 33 | 482/500 | Running | 0 | 64 | 3191 | 4 |
JOHNSON'S YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP STATISTICS
| Year | Starts | Wins | Top-5s | Top-10s | Poles | Final pts |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 2002 | 36 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 4 | 5 |
| 2003 | 36 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 2004 | 36 | 8 | 20 | 23 | 1 | 2 |
| 2005 | 36 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 5 |
| 2006 | 36 | 5 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 1 |
| 2007 | 36 | 10 | 20 | 24 | 4 | 1 |
| 2008* | 24 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 4 |
* to date
NO. 48 AT-TRACK CREW LIST
Name Shop Job Track Job Hometown Knaus, Chad Crew Chief 48 Crew Chief 48 Rockford, IL Bazzell, Kyle Truck Driver 48 Truck Driver 48 Fairburg, IL Bosserman, Todd Shock Specialist 48 Shock Specialist 48 Waynesboro, VA Bradshaw, Marcia N/A Scorer 48 Charlotte, NC Claridge, Joe Mechanic Mechanic 48 Barrington, NH Emerick, Danny Engine Tuner Engine Tuner 48 Bryn Mawr, PA Evans, Brandon Engineer Engineer South Hill, VA Gober, Ken Truck Driver 48 Truck Driver 48 Manchester, NH Gutierrez, Rich Mechanic Gas Man 48 Yorba Linda, CA Ives, Greg Race Engineer Race Engineer 48 Bark River, MI Kerlin, Sean Mechanic Tire Specialist 48 Marysville, PA Knauer, Mike Mechanic Catch Can 48 Cambridge, MD Lingerfelt, Mike Mechanic Front Tire Changer 48 Greenville, SC Malec, Ron Mechanic Car Chief 48/Rear Tire Carrier 48 Franklin, WI Michel, Peter Asst. Race Engineer Asst. Race Engineer 48 Cobleskill, NY Morin, Greg Pit Crew Coach Pit Crew Coach Waltham, MA Nicely, Bobby Asst. Pit Crew Coach Asst. Pit Crew Coach Virginia Beach, VA Puchalski, Marc Mechanic 48 Mechanic 48 San Jose, CA Purcell, Kenneth Mechanic Jackman 48 Savannah, GA Reeves, Stevie Machinist Spotter 48 Speedway, IN Simmons, Art Chassis Set Up Front Tire Carrier 48 Kirksville, MO West, Jeremy Mechanic Rear Tire Changer 48 Harbor City, CA
