Jimmie Johnson NASCAR Preview - Pocono
TEAM LOWE'S RACING EAGER FOR POCONO RETURN Johnson, Knaus hope for repeat performance at Pocono Raceway POCONO, Penn. (July 23, 2002) - Team Lowe's Racing crew chief Chad Knaus is looking forward to the team's return to Pocono Raceway this weekend for the Pennsylvania 500. Just last month, Lowe's rookie driver Jimmie Johnson was able to post a third-place finish in his first race at Pocono. Johnson and Team Lowe's Racing will be looking to build off of its successful run during the June race and post another strong finish. Jimmie Johnson on Pocono Raceway "We ran well in last month's race at Pocono. It is one of the more enjoyable tracks to race on with the mixture of three different turns and the speeds you can reach on the straightaways. This will be only my second race at Pocono, so I still have some learning to do, but the experience I gained from the first race will undoubtedly help me out a lot." Chad Knaus on Pocono Raceway "Pocono is one of the hardest racetracks to setup and prepare a race car for. It has three distinctly different turns and long straightaways that offer teams the opportunity to really open it up and get some serious speed. Trying to maximize speed and get the handling down is always a challenge, but something we did well in the first race. "Rarely are you able to get the race car to handle well in all three turns because they are all so different. In addition, aerodynamics plays a roll with the long straightaways. "We're looking forward to this weekend's race. Team Lowe's has more experience now and Jimmie has a Pocono race under his belt, which is very valuable experience. Just like every other week this season, our main goals heading into Pocono will be to finish in the top-15 and on the lead lap." Jimmie Johnson Fast Facts * Ranks third in the Winston Cup Series championship standings * Leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition by 21 points * Has won two NASCAR Winston Cup races this season (California and Dover) * Is tied for the fastest modern day driver to reach two wins * Has two wins, five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 19 races * Has been the highest finishing rookie 11 times this season * The 12 top-10 finishes are tied for second most in the Winston Cup Series (Las Vegas - 6th, Atlanta - 3rd, Darlington - 6th, Bristol - 7th, Texas - 6th, Talladega - 7th, California - 1st, Lowe's Motor Speedway - 7th, Dover - 1st, Pocono - 3rd, Daytona (Pepsi 400) - 8th and Chicagoland - 4th) * Has three Bud Pole positions this season, tied for the most in NASCAR Winston Cup (Daytona, Talladega and Lowe's Motor Speedway) * Ranks first in Winston Cup laps led this season (554) * Ranks first in Winston Cup miles led this season (789.78) * Only the third rookie in history to win the Daytona 500 pole * Only the second rookie in history to win a pole at Talladega Superspeedway * Holds the NWC qualifying record at Lowe's Motor Speedway * Has led seven Winston Cup Series races this season (Las Vegas, Talladega, California, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Dover, Michigan and Chicago) * Won his first Winston Cup race of his career at California Speedway, his home racetrack * Won the inaugural NASCAR Busch Series event at Chicagoland Speedway in 2001 Jimmie Johnson at Pocono Raceway * Johnson's only race at Pocono was last month's Pocono 500 * His Winston Cup record at Pocono Raceway is: * Pocono 500 - 2001: started 2nd and finished 3rd No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Fast Facts * Team Lowe's Racing will bring car 4866 * This is the same Lowe's Monte Carlo that Johnson drove to a third-place finish at Pocono last month and a sixth-place finish in Darlington earlier this season. Broadcast Schedule Qualifying - Friday, July 26 3 p.m. (ET) on TNT 3 p.m. (ET) on MRN Race - Sunday, July 28 12:30 p.m. (ET) on TNT 12:30 p.m. (ET) on MRN