Jimmie Johnson Shades of Green

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

Darlington (S.C.) Raceway is an uncharacteristic track with some uncharacteristic nicknames. One of the more famous references to the 1.366-mile track is “Lady in Black.” The moniker supposedly comes from the walls surrounding the track, which are painted white but are often black by the end of the race due to drivers making contact with their tires. Or, in some cases, the paint from their car is left on the wall after making contact, also known as a “Darlington Stripe”.

Jimmie Johnson has his own stripes this weekend, albeit of a different hue but, in either case, he hopes the color doesn’t show up on the Darlington walls. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS will sport emerald stripes this weekend. The color was chosen as the 2013 PANTONE® Color of the Year, which is featured in the new PANTONE UNIVERSE™ Paint Collection by Valspar. (The PANTONE® name is the standard language for color communication, from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer.)

Johnson enjoys the quirky, egg-shaped Darlington track, having won there three times, including a sweep in 2004 and last year’s historic 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports. Despite the fact the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has never won a pole at the track, he notes that getting a good starting position is important for a solid finish. The statistics back this up. In 36 of the 109 races run at Darlington, the winner has come from the front row, including Johnson’s 2012 win from the outside pole position.

In addition to his three wins, Johnson’s Darlington resume includes seven top-five finishes in 14 races run. Those finishes are a pretty safe indicator that Johnson has kept his Lowe’s blue paint color on his car instead of the walls. He hopes to do it again Saturday night because, even though emerald happens to be in fashion right now, Johnson would prefer that the lady be wearing any color other than emerald at the end of Saturday’s 367-lap event.

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