Lowe's Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson returns this week to his home state for Sunday's race at California Speedway, the site of his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. Johnson went to Victory Lane at California Speedway in his rookie season on April 28, 2002, in just his 13th Sprint Cup Series start. Johnson is also the defending champion of the Labor Day weekend Sprint Cup Series race at the facility, having won the Sharp Aquos 500 on Sept. 2, 2007.

DRIVER JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES

ON RETURNING TO HIS HOME STATE OF CALIFORNIA: "You want to win every race, but you especially want to win in front of the home crowd. It can be a little bit of a challenge to try to visit with everyone, though. You can only do so much. I just try to spend as much time as I can with everyone, but when it comes time to get in the car, I set all that aside and focus on getting the job done."

ON LAST WEEKEND'S DAYTONA 500: "It was a disappointing finish, no doubt. When you start on the front row, you definitely want to try to finish there. We had a couple of setbacks, but as a team, we know it's how we respond to those setbacks that will dictate where we are in points at the end of the year. Even with the problems, we managed to stay on the lead lap. I'm proud of the team for that.

"We bounced back from a bad finish at Daytona last year, so last weekend didn't shake our confidence at all. You'd definitely like to head to California in the top 10 (in points), but this early in the season, you just have to try to be consistent and get the best finishes you can. Everyone's going to have a bad day at some point, so as long as we don't have too many bad days ourselves, it will all shake out."

RACE NOTES

Chassis

Team Lowe's Racing will race chassis 48465 in Sunday's Auto Club 500. The team tested with this car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and California Speedway earlier this year, but this weekend's event will mark the first race for this chassis.

California

In 10 Cup Series starts at California Speedway, Johnson has completed all 2,505 laps of competition.

Of the 24 drivers who've competed in 10 or more Cup races at California Speedway, Johnson is the only one to have completed every lap.

Johnson owns two victories, six top-five and six top-10 finishes at California Speedway. His average starting spot is 11.6 and average finish is 6.8, and he has won more than $1.8 million in California Speedway Sprint Cup Series events. Johnson's average finish is the best among active drivers who have five or more starts at California Speedway.

Johnson's two victories at California Speedway ties him with Matt Kenseth for the second-best win total among drivers. Only Jeff Gordon, who has won at California Speedway three times, has more.

Career

Johnson's win in last year's Sharp Aquos 500 at California Speedway on Labor Day weekend was his fifth victory of the 2007 season.

Johnson has won at least three races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first six full-time seasons.

Johnson's most recent victory at Phoenix was the 33rd of his Sprint Cup career. The win ties Johnson with the legendary "Fireball" Roberts for 18th on NASCAR's all-time wins list. Johnson has the fourth-highest win total among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott and Mark Martin.

Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series events at all but seven of the 22 tracks where the series competes.

Johnson's 10 wins in 2007 is the highest number of wins recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.

The four consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the Championship ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

History

In 220 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 86 top-five finishes and 134 top-10 finishes. He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup series circuit. Johnson has led 5,484 laps and driven 63,069 laps in his Sprint Cup career, covering more than 84,480 miles. He has finished on the lead lap 168 times.

JOHNSON'S CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY RECORD

NO. 48 AT-TRACK CREW LIST