Does Lowe's Motor Speedway still belong to Johnson?
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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CONCORD, N.C. – Is Lowe’s Motor Speedway still Jimmie Johnson’s house?
The two-time defending Cup series champion has seven victories at the track, five in Cup events and two in the all-star race. But he hasn’t won at the 1.5-mile track that bears the name of his Hendrick Motorsports team’s sponsor since 2006, when he won the all-star race.
Since then, Johnson finished second three times, 10th and 14th. One of the second-place finishes was in the ’07 all-star race. Yet, Johnson expects to run up front in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
“It has been very good to us for a few years,” Johnson said. “Last year, we had the speed, and I think we finished second. I ran well in both races, but we didn’t have that dominating fashion that we did before.”
Still, some say the track is still Johnson’s house.
“I am glad that people still say that,” Johnson said. “It means a lot to Hendrick to run well here. Also the No. 48 here at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. We want it, we are going to show up and hopefully have that.
“But the tricks that used to work here for me, aren’t here anymore. They have resurfaced the track a few times, [and] it is just not the same Charlotte that we had such a good feel for. But I still think we are going to be in the hunt.”
The four Hendrick teams have struggled on 1.5-mile tracks like Charlotte, but Johnson believes his No. 48 team is improving.
“Texas was great for us,” said Johnson, who finished second at Texas Motor Speedway. “Darlington, we started off the weekend a little slow, [but] gained some speed. Unfortunately I wiped out some cars in the process.
“At Darlington we don’t have the result to show for the progress we made. I look back at Darlington and look at the mistake I made during the race and tapped the wall. My teammates ran well, so I think the speeds we saw at Darlington, even though it is a smaller track, the speeds showed we are making progress on the mile-and-a-half tracks.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Jimmie Johnson
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