Team Lowe's Racing Heads to California Speedway
After a week of Jimmie Johnson Foundation events in his hometown area of San Diego, Calif., Jimmie Johnson will visit Auto Club Speedway this weekend to pilot the Lowe’s/ Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event.
This is the first season that Auto Club Speedway will hold an race during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. In the past it took place in late August, but this year it swapped dates with Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"We're excited to be racing in California,” said Johnson, who has three wins at the track, including the last two fall events. “It's been a very busy week and a very fun week. It's been a week that's been really rewarding for my wife and me. We went back to San Diego and saw the four (Habitat for Humanity) homes completed that we've been working on over the last two years.
"I've been just blown away by the generosity and by the support that our tournament has received. I have the great honor of running the Jimmie Johnson Foundation on the car this weekend and Lowe's again has stepped up in more ways than just being a team sponsor.
"Then we have the Helmet of Hope that we've all been looking at for the last six weeks and I'll be wearing that as weekend as well. At the auction, the helmet went for over $27,000, which really blew me away again. So it's just been an amazing week. Hopefully we can cap it off with a great performance and do what we need to in the grand scheme of things and gain points on Mark (Martin)."
With just seven races remaining in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Johnson is 18 points behind leader Mark Martin in the standings and hopes having the California venue on the schedule will help boost him toward his fourth championship.
“The remaining tracks are really great tracks for us,” said Johnson. “I think the season comes to us in a way. I know that we perform well in the Chase but I think the schedule is helpful for the No. 48 car. We have great results and it gives us a lot of hope going into these tracks but we still have to show up and get the job done. So we have a positive mindset looking forward to those tracks. It will make the week easier leading into those tracks but we still have to go in there and get to work. I’m excited for it.”
Sunday’s race will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
RACE NOTES
Auto Club Speedway
- Johnson has made 13 Sprint Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway, earning three wins, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
- Johnson has completed 100% (3255 of 3255) of competition laps at the track and has led 597.
- He has an average start and finish of 9.2 and 6.2.
Chassis
- Johnson will pilot chassis number 553 in Sunday’s race. He took that car to Victory Lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
- Johnson drove backup chassis number 534 to a 13th-place result at Pocono Raceway in August.