Jimmie Johnson certainly has the tools to make up ground after an unusual and disappointing end to the first and biggest race of the season. The El Cajon, Calif., native brings his No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet to the Phoenix International Raceway mile oval after a lap-two accident took him out of the running at the season-opening Daytona 500.
With no time to focus on the misfortune of Monday night’s rain-delayed race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Johnson turned his attention to the “Valley of the Sun” and the possibility of adding to his four previous wins at the newly configured track. “We’ll just go on to Phoenix and set our marks on winning that race,” Johnson said after his race ended prematurely on Monday evening.
A visit to Gatorade Victory Lane is certainly a possibility for Johnson, who has been able to handle the pressure of winning at Phoenix with the championship on the line. Three times he has won the November race at Phoenix on his way to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title (2007, 2008, 2009).
He has completed 99.99 percent of the laps contested and has been running at the end of the 17 races he has competed in at the track. He also scored nearly perfect driver ratings along the way – 149.9 and 149.6 during the November races in 2008 and 2009 (150 is the maximum rating per race).
Johnson’s Phoenix International Raceway Quick Stats:
· Johnson has four wins at Phoenix, including the sweep of both 2008 races, and one pole.
· His most recent win came in November 2009. The win helped pave the way for his record-setting fourth consecutive championship.
· Johnson has earned 11 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 17 starts.
· His average start is 12.9 and average finish is 5.4.
· He has completed 5,373 of 5,374 laps (99.99 percent) and led 876 of them.
· Has finished every race he’s contested at the mile oval.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, Driver of the No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports:
How are you approaching Phoenix?
“We have a rule about putting the previous week’s race behind us by a certain time the next day. It doesn’t do any good to rehash what went wrong all week long. That’s certainly the case for us this week. We have a short turnaround, so that obviously helps. But I’m really focused on getting on track and putting up a better finish in the Kobalt Tools Chevy this weekend. It’s obviously a good place for us, so I’m looking forward to getting on track in a few days.”
How is the new configuration, and will anything be different this time around?
“I don’t think much will be different. We’ve obviously already raced once on the surface and all the test sessions, so that always helps get more rubber down on the track surface. We started to get a second groove going during the race weekend in November and I think that will be even better this time around. Phoenix is a great track and I think the new configuration is fun to drive. I think, like with any new track surface, you will see the racing evolve and we will have that again this weekend. It’s going to be a good race.”
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