Subscibe to our feedNo. 48 Team Looks for More Success at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Jimmie Johnson has taken the lead in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings for the first time this season and his hoping this weekend’s visit to Lowe’s Motor Speedway will help widen the gap between him and second-place Mark Martin.
While the No. 48 Lowe’s team has had ample success at the 1.5-mile quad-oval, they haven’t won there since 2005 when they went on a four-race win streak beginning in the spring of 2004. In this race last year, Johnson finished sixth and led the most laps after starting from the top spot.
“It really would be nice to win there,” said Johnson, who has 12 top 10s in 16 Cup starts at the track. “It has been a great relationship with the track and Lowe's and then all the victories we have had there have been really neat. The track, I really think since it was resurfaced, it just changed the dynamic of the race for us. I had some lines that worked really well. I think our setup worked really well for the abrasive track. Rough tracks with bumps and things like that seem to work well for me with my background. It just worked. It was one of those tracks that just worked. They ground the track and it still worked well for us. We came back and it was resurfaced and we were competitive but we didn't have an advantage by any means. I really think the surface has a lot to do with it. It has made the track more forgiving than it was in the past and I think it helped close the gap. I am hoping the track hurries up and ages and gets rough and bumpy and turns back in to the track it used to be.
"We work on stuff each time we go back. This year I think we'll be better yet. The last few times we have been there, we have just been super tight and needed more front grip with the car. I think we are a little smarter even from the All-Star and the Coca Cola 600 weekend, we're smarter now than we were then and hopefully it makes a difference."
But even with the points lead and history of their success in Charlotte, Johnson knows that with six races remaining in the 10 race Chase, maximizing points is crucial.
"It's really hard just to get points,” explained Johnson when asked if it’s hard to get the points lead or maintain it. “I'm not focused on catching someone. I wasn't before. I don't want you to think that I didn't know where the No.5 car was and I wasn't paying attention to things like that. I am. But it doesn't change the effort that I put in or the effort the team puts in. It's the same moving forward. We just need to score as many points as we can every week and take it from there. At Homestead, there is a clear strategy of what you need to do at that point. But until then, it's all about getting every point you can."
Saturday night’s race will take place under the lights at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The event will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
RACE NOTES
Lowe’s Motor Speedway
- Johnson has made 16 Sprint Cup Series starts at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, earning five wins, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
- Johnson has completed 96.6% (5389 of 5580) of competition laps at the track and has led 1242.
- He has an average start and finish of 8.1 and 9.1.
Chassis
- Johnson will pilot chassis number 558 in Sunday’s race. He has only driven that car once, finishing 36th in Atlanta due to a mechanical issue.
- Johnson drove backup chassis number 465 to a ninth-place result at Kansas Speedway in October.