Jimmie Johnson is heading to Darlington Raceway this weekend looking to turn around his poor luck from last weekend at Talladega. "The Track Too Tough To Tame" has proved to be just that in his last two visits, finishing 15th in 2011 and 36th in 2010. Johnson and Team 48 hope to live up to the "Never Stop Improving" slogan this weekend and return to their Top 10 ways of 2012.

When asked what he thought it would take to get to Victory Lane on Saturday, Johnson responded: “On the old track, when it was worn out and ugly, nasty to drive, we were great there. Since they have repaved it, it’s been a bit of a challenge. It’s just so tough to pass there. I think your race strategy, fuel strategy, tire strategy is really more important than speed in the car. So hopefully we play that game right and put ourselves in a great position at the end of the race to win.” 

Race Stats

• Two wins in 13 starts (March and November 2004) and a top starting spot of second (August 2003).
• Six top-five finishes (46.2 percent) and nine top-10s (69.2 percent).
• Average start of 13.3 and average finish of 9.8.
• 4,365 of 4,555 laps completed (95.8 percent) and 409 laps led.
• Johnson is one of only 25 drivers in NASCAR history with more than one win at Darlington. He is tied for third among active drivers with multiple wins. Jeff Gordon (seven) and Bill Elliott (five) have the most wins among active drivers.
• Sprint Cup’s fourth-best driver rating (100.6 average out of a possible 150 points).
• Leads all drivers this season in percentage of miles led, 420.936 of 3,730.430 (11.28 percent) and percentage of laps led, 376 of 3,120 (11.76 percent).

Broadcast Information

• Practice 1 - Friday, 11:30 AM ET (SPEED)
• Practice 2 - Friday, 2:00 PM ET (SPEED)
• Qualifying - Friday, 5:00 PM ET
• Race - Saturday, 6:30 PM ET (FOX)