NASCAR Cup

Richmond II: Jimmy Johnson preview

Will the second time be the charm at Richmond? Johnson's late wreck while going for the lead ended team's hopes for win. RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2002) - Team Lowe's Racing is returning to Richmond International Speedway, the site where they almost ...

Edited: Sep 7, 2002, 8:27 AM

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Will the second time be the charm at Richmond?
Johnson's late wreck while going for the lead ended team's hopes for win.

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2002) - Team Lowe's Racing is returning to Richmond International Speedway, the site where they almost made it two straight victories in a row earlier this season. Johnson was just coming of his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory at California Speedway and was battling with the No. 41 race car of Jimmy Spencer when Johnson lost control of the Lowe's Monte Carlo and made contact with the wall. The accident left Johnson with a 31st place finish and a hunger to return to Richmond and produce a better result.

Jimmie Johnson on if Richmond is a good track for him

"Yeah. I'm excited about it. We were racing Jimmy Spencer for a win there late in the race in the spring, and spun out. We will try to keep all the fenders on it and maybe have a win."

Johnson on his tire test at Richmond earlier this year

"I think there was a debate about whether the tire was an issue or the sealer on the race track was an issue for the spring race there. The way it appears, we had to run the race in the daytime and with all the heat of the cars, the sealer started to pull up and kept us from having an outside groove. The track was dirty on the outside. But now, after the IRL has raced there and after our race there and the Craftsman Truck race and the Busch race, the sealer has been down and the groove is very wide and I don't think we're going to have a problem like we did in the spring."

Jimmie Johnson Fast Facts

* Ranks fifth in the Winston Cup Series championship standings, 167 points out of first

* 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 15 top-10 finishes in 25 races

* Is second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Competition (305-300)

* Has been the highest finishing rookie 13 times this season

* The 15 top-10 finishes are the 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, Chicagoland - 4th, Indianapolis - 9th, Michigan - 7th and Darlington - 9th)

* Has three Bud Pole positions this season, second most in NASCAR Winston Cup (, Daytona, Talladega and Lowe's Motor Speedway)

* 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 nine Winston Cup Series races this season (Las Vegas, Talladega, California, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Dover, Michigan, Chicago, Pocono and Darlington (Southern 500))

* Won his first Winston Cup race of his career at California Speedway, his home racetrack

Jimmie Johnson at Richmond International Raceway

* In Winston Cup, Johnson has only one career start earlier this season when he started 26th and finished 31st

* In the Busch Series, 22nd was his average qualifying position and 16th was his average finish

* His Busch Series record at Richmond International Raceway is:

* Hardees 250 - 2001: started 10th and finished 12th, 2000: started 35th and finished 12th

* Autolite/Fram 250 - 2001: started 20th and finished 19th, 2000: started 26th and finished 22nd

No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Fast Facts

* Team Lowe's Racing will bring car 4847

* This is the same Lowe's Monte Carlo that Johnson drove during the last Richmond race. It is also the same race car that Jeff Gordon used in the three previous races at Richmond. Out of those three races, Gordon won the fall race in 2000, finished second in the spring of 2001 and took the pole in the fall 2001 race.

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