MEMBER LOGIN
WELCOME
You are logged in as | Click to logout
Team 48 Richmond preview
04/30/2008
Team 48 Richmond International Raceway

Jimmie Johnson and Team Lowe's Racing are looking to make it three in a row at Richmond International Raceway (RIR) this weekend as they vie for another victory at the .75-mile track.

In addition to his two wins, Johnson has three top-five finishes and two poles in his 12 career Cup starts at RIR.

TEAM LOWE'S RACING QUOTES

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON THE RICHMOND RACE: "I'm excited to go to Richmond. We've won the last two there, and that's been one of my toughest tracks. So I'm really excited to go back. Our short-track program is working really well for us, and hopefully we can visit victory lane again."

CHAD KNAUS ON RACING AT RICHMOND: "I enjoy going to Richmond. It's good, it's fun. We didn't run well at all there for a long time, and then we started running a lot better and I started enjoying it a lot more. I don't care so much about it being a night race verses a day race, we just want to be competitive. We've won the last two (races) there and hope we can do it again this weekend."

RACE NOTES

Chassis

Team Lowe's Racing will use chassis No. 461 as its primary in the May 3 race at RIR. In addition to a fourth-place finish at Martinsville in March, Johnson drove this chassis to two victories last fall -- at Martinsville in October and at Phoenix in November. In its only start, backup chassis No. 419 finished 29th at Las Vegas in March.

Richmond

In 12 Cup Series starts at the Virginia short track, Johnson has completed 4,368 of 4,793 competition laps (91.1%). He has won the last two events at RIR and has three top-five finishes. His average starting spot is 12.7 and average finish is 17.8.

Career

Johnson has won at least three Cup 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 (April 12, 2008) was the 34th of his Sprint Cup career. The win moves Johnson past 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 (81), Bill Elliott (44) and Mark Martin (35).

Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but seven (Bristol, Michigan, Infineon, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Kansas, Homestead) of the 22 tracks where the series competes.

Johnson's 10 wins in 2007 is the highest number 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 228 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 90 top-five and 138 top-10 finishes. He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit. Johnson has led 5,896 laps and driven 65,752 laps in his Sprint Cup career, covering more than 87,730 miles. He has finished on the lead lap 174 times.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Richmond International Raceway

Friday, May 2

Sprint Cup happy hour, 11 a.m. ET (broadcast at 1:30 p.m. ET on SPEED)

Sprint Cup qualifying, 5:30 p.m. ET on SPEED

Saturday, May 3

Sprint Cup pre-race, 7 p.m. ET on FOX

Sprint Cup Series race, 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX

PRIMARY CAR: CHASSIS NO. 461 HISTORY

Car Date Event Start Finish
48-461 8/21/2007 Milwaukee Test n/a n/a
48-461 9/16/2007 New Hampshire Race 4 6
48-461 10/21/2007 Martinsville Race 4 1
48-461 11/11/2007 Phoenix Race 6 1
48-461 3/3/2008 Phoenix Test n/a n/a
48-461 3/30/2008 Martinsville Race 10 4

BACKUP CAR: CHASSIS NO. 419 HISTORY

Car Date Event Start Finish
48-461 8/21/2007 Milwaukee Test n/a n/a
48-461 9/16/2007 Loudon Race 4 6
48-461 10/21/2007 Martinsville Race 4 1
48-461 11/11/2007 Phoenix Race 6 1
48-461 3/3/2008 Phoenix Test n/a n/a
48-461 3/30/2008 Martinsville Race 10 4

JOHNSON'S RICHMOND STATISTICS

Race Start Finish Laps Status Laps Led
5/5/2002 26 31 360/400 Running 0
9/7/2002 1 13 399/400 Running 1
5/3/2003 10 19 393/393 Running 0
9/6/2003 26 11 400/400 Running 0
5/15/2004 5 2 400/400 Running 91
9/11/2004 3 36 338/400 Running 32
5/14/2005 28 40 80/400 Accident 0
9/10/2005 24 25 399/400 Running 0
5/5/2006 5 12 400/400 Running 0
9/9/2006 19 23 399/400 Running 4
5/6/2007 4 1 400/400 Running 105
9/8/2007 1 1 400/400 Running 104

JOHNSON'S 2008 STATISTICS

Race Site Start Finish Laps Status Laps Led Pts Pts total Pts. Pos.
1 Daytona 1 27 200/200 Running 1 87 87 25
2 Fontana 1 2 250/250 Running 76 180 267 8
3 Las Vegas 33 29 265/267 Running 0 76 343 14
4 Atlanta 13 13 325/325 Running 0 124 467 13
5 Bristol 1 18 504/506 Running 14 114 581 13
6 Martinsville 10 4 500/500 Running 135 165 746 10
7 Texas 5 2 339/339 Running 65 175 921 6
8 Phoenix 7 1 312/312 Running 120 195 1116 4
9 Talladega 10 13 188/188 Running 1 129 1245 5

NO. 48 AT-TRACK CREW LIST

Name Shop Job Track Job Hometown
Knaus, Chad Crew Chief 48 Crew Chief 48 Rockford, IL
Bazzell, Kyle Truck Driver 48 Truck Driver 48 Fairburg, IL
Bosserman, Todd Shock Specialist 48 Shock Specialist 48 Waynesboro, VA
Bradshaw, Marcia N/A Scorer 48 Charlotte, NC
Claridge, Joe Mechanic Mechanic 48 Barrington, NH
Emerick, Danny Engine Tuner Engine Tuner 48 Bryn Mawr, PA
Evans, Brandon Engineer Engineer South Hill, VA
Gober, Ken Truck Driver 48 Truck Driver 48 Manchester, NH
Gutierrez, Rich Mechanic Gas Man 48 Yorba Linda, CA
Ives, Greg Race Engineer Race Engineer 48 Bark River, MI
Kerlin, Sean Mechanic Tire Specialist 48 Marysville, PA
Knauer, Mike Mechanic Catch Can 48 Cambridge, MD
Lingerfelt, Mike Mechanic Front Tire Changer 48 Greenville, SC
Malec, Ron Mechanic Car Chief 48/Rear Tire Carrier 48 Franklin, WI
Morin, Greg Pit Crew Coach Pit Crew Coach Waltham, MA
Nicely, Bobby Asst. Pit Crew Coach Asst. Pit Crew Coach Virginia Beach, VA
Puchalski, Marc Mechanic 48 Mechanic 48 San Jose, CA
Purcell, Kenneth Mechanic Jackman 48 Savannah, GA
Reeves, Stevie Machinist Spotter 48 Speedway, IN
Simmons, Art Chassis Set Up Front Tire Carrier 48 Kirksville, MO
West, Jeremy Mechanic Rear Tire Changer 48 Harbor City, CA
Lowe's Racing - Article Image
Home | Store | Jimmie Johnson | Race Coverage | Fan Zone | Adrian Fernandez | Membership | Lowes.com | Employees