Subscibe to our feedJohnson Hopes for Good Things in Pocono for Team 48
Less than a week after making history as the only driver to win back-to-back NASCAR events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson must now turn his focus to the next track – 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway.
Johnson has 15 starts at the Long Pond, Pa. venue and has posted two wins, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. With a little momentum behind the Lowe’s team, Johnson believes they keep things going in the right direction.
“Pocono’s been tough on us since we won in 2004,” said Johnson. “We've been getting closer to winning a race again though. I think the spring race we were in contention and running second at the end, ran out of gas. So I'm excited coming off of Indy. Those tracks are somewhat similar. We'll see how it works.”
But despite the similarities between Indianapolis and Pocono, Johnson confesses he and crew chief Chad Knaus will hold on to their race-winning Kobalt Tools Impala that visited Victory Lane last weekend.
“We're going to hang on to that car and use it in the Chase,” said Johnson. “It worked out where it debuted at Indy. We know it's a good car. We're going to hang on to it for the Chase.”
Sunday’s 160-lap, 400-mile race will be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
RACE NOTES
Pocono Raceway
- Johnson has made 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, posting two wins, five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
- The three-time champion has completed 99.7% (2876 of 2885) of competition laps at the 2.5-mile tri-oval and has led 399.
- Johnson has an average start and finish of 7.1 and 9.6.
Chassis
- Johnson will pilot chassis No. 534 in Sunday’s race. He last drove it to a seventh-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June.
- The backup chassis, No. 504, was last driven to a 13th-place result at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.