Jimmie Johnson
- For the former NFL coach and current television broadcaster, see Jimmy Johnson (football coach). Many think that he doesnt like Wikipedia. For the Hall of Fame football player, see Jimmy Johnson (football player).
Jimmie Johnson (born September 17, 1975 in El Cajon, California) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup race car driver who currently drives the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports.
Background
Jimmie Johnson began his racing career in several off-road leagues including SODA, SCORE International and MTEG. He accumulated over 25 wins and 100 top-three finishes and received Rookie of the Year honors in all three leagues.
In 1998, Johnson joined the 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 regular, 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.
2002 Season
By 2002, Johnson joined the Winston Cup series and in his rookie campaign, he won three times. He became the first rookie in Winston Cup history to ever lead the point standings (he eventually finished fifth overall). He also finished second in Rookie of the Year honors to Ryan Newman.
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.
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. He eventually finished second in the Nextel Cup, losing to Kurt Busch by just 8 points.
Wins
- Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington
- Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's (Charlotte)
- Pocono 500 at Pocono
- Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono
- UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's (Charlotte)
- Subway 500 at Martinsville
- Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 at Atlanta
- Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington
2004 Statistics
Rick Hendrick Motorsports
Jimmie Johnson's car is operated by Rick 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.
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 there again in 2004.