- Johnson and Montoya on QVC: Sprint Cup drivers #48-Jimmie Johnson and #42-Juan Pablo Montoya are scheduled to appear live on QVC For Race Fans Only with QVC on-air host and NASCAR enthusiast Dan Hughes, live from Talladega, Ala. For Race Fans Only will be broadcast Friday, April 25, 2008 from 8-10 pm/et.(QVC PR)(4-24-2008) Comment here
- Johnson wins at Phoenix: #48-Jimmie Johnson won the Subway Fresh Fit at Phoenix International Raceway for his 1st win of the 2008 season and 34th of his career [is now alone in 16th in all time wins]. #07-Clint Bowyer finished 2nd [Bowyer and Johnson stayed out and didn't get a late splash of fuel and made it...barely] then #11-Hamlin, #99-Edwards, #8-Martin, #31-Burton, #88-Earnhardt Jr., #1-Truex Jr., #16-Biffle and #18-Busch. The pole sitter, #12-Ryan Newman lost an engine early and finished last/43rd. There were only 10 lead changes among 4 drivers [Johnson, Martin, Earnhardt and Newman] and there were 8 caution flags for 42 laps.
For race results, awards and more, see my Phoenix Race Results page.
Points Standings on my Drivers/Owners Points after Phoenix page.(4-12-2008)
- Johnson to unveil new 'Concourse of Champions' at TMS: Two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will officially christen Texas Motor Speedway’s new “Concourse of Champions” display Friday by unfurling his 2007 Dickies 500 champion’s banner on the frontstretch concourse. Johnson will join Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage for the debut of the Concourse of Champions, a display that will feature 8-foot-by-10-foot banners to celebrate every driver in the Sprint Cup Series and Indy Racing League IndyCar Series that has won at Texas Motor Speedway since it opened in 1997. The display will go the length of the concourse beneath the frontstretch grandstands, from Gate 1 to Gate 7, and consist of 32 banners of former champions. The event will begin at 10:40 a.m. Friday in the concourse area located at Gate 4 with a designated media area with Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, and Gossage. All the gates are scheduled to open at 11 a.m. CT Friday, but Texas Motor Speedway will be opening Gate 4 for ticketed fans who are interested in watching or photographing the event with the two-time series champion at 10:30 a.m. The first 200 fans who arrive early for the unveiling ceremony will receive a free Lowe’s key chain.(TMS)(4-3-2008)
- Latest on the HMS engines: Jeff Andrews, head engine builder for Hendrick Motorsports, said that the team sent all its race engines back to the team's race shop Wednesday night after finding problems with the lifters. Andrews said the engines were being rebuilt and would return to the track Friday night. "Because of the wear we were seeing ... you end up with this debris in the engine,'' Andrews said. "You have to take [the engine] apart. Not only are you changing those parts, but you're taking apart and cleaning, washing everything and going back through it and fitting everything up again." Andrews said he saw no problems with the Hendrick engines after Thursday's first qualifying race.(Roanoke Times)(2-16-2008) Comment here
- Hendrick museum closes for renovations: The Hendrick Motorsports museum, located on the team's racing complex in Concord, has been temporarily closed to the public while it undergoes a full renovation. The redesigned facility will reopen in time for NASCAR's annual visit to Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. Hendrick Motorsports is located one mile from the race track. Also undergoing a facelift is Hendrick Motorsports' team store, which will reopen in a temporary location on Jan. 28. The store will operate under its regular business hours in the race shop of drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson until construction on the new facility is completed. Other areas of the Hendrick Motorsports complex, including the team race shops, will remain open to the public during the museum renovation.(HMS Site)(1-25-2008) Comment here
- Johnson Named NMPA Driver of the Year; Houston Named to Hall of Fame: There was little doubt about who was going to be chosen the National Motorsports Press Association's driver of the year for 2007. The question, instead, was whether Jimmie Johnson would personally accept the Richard Petty trophy. The answer, for the second year in a row, was no. Johnson, who repeated as NASCAR champion last season, was announced as 2007's top driver Sunday at a luncheon during the NMPA's annual convention. When he was unable to attend last year's awards presentation, Johnson videotaped an acceptance message. He did likewise this time, too, but the video wouldn't play. It's the third time in four years that Johnson was voted the NMPA driver of the year, and it was part of the spoils that went with a 10-win season by the 32-year-old native of El Cajon, Calif. Johnson is the fourth driver to win the NMPA award more than twice. Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough each captured the trophy three times, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. won it by himself four times and shared it with Tim Richmond in 1986. The trophy has been given annually by the media group since 1969.(Fayetteville Observer)
AND: On Saturday night Tommy Houston, one of the truly significant figures in the history of what was previously known as the Busch Series, joined the National Motorsports Press Association's Stock Car Hall of Fame. Like most of the men honored by the NMPA, the honor clearly moved Houston. He basked in the attention, answered every question and went out of his way to be cooperative. Houston's last words to the audience -- the dinner was near Lowe's Motor Speedway at the Concord Convention Center and Embassy Suites hotel -- were, "Thank you for remembering me, and good night."(Gaston Gazette)(1-21-2008) Comment here
- No urgency on Johnson extension with Hendrick: neither #48-Jimmie Johnson nor Hendrick Motorsports has much sense of urgency to extend a contract that expires after the 2010 season. "We want to race with Jimmie Johnson as long as Jimmie Johnson wants to be racing and we've had discussions around that," Hendrick general manager Marshall Carlson said. Carlson said discussions will "probably take their own pace," presumably, he said, because "the discussions have been, 'Hey, would you like to look into something long-term?' and there have been affirmatives on both sides." Hendrick Motorsports signed four-time champion Jeff Gordon to a lifetime driver contract in 1999, which included an equity stake in his and what became Johnson's team. He is officially listed as Johnson's car owner. "The sport has changed a lot since Jeff formed that deal with Rick," Johnson said. "It's hard for me to even think of that. It's nothing I've ever thought was possible. I certainly would look at that and would love that opportunity. I don't plan on going anywhere else. This is home for me. In a way, I feel like we already have that understanding." Lowe's sponsorship agreement with Hendrick for the #48 Chevrolet also expires after the 2010 season.(Yahoo Sports)(1-9-2008)
- Johnson signs with CAA to broaden his appeal: #48-Jimmie Johnson has signed Creative Artists Agency to represent him in marketing, licensing and endorsement deals.
Michael Levine, co-head of CAA Sports, will lead a team that will attempt to capitalize on Johnson's success on the track. Johnson's signing is the latest win for CAA Sports, which represents more than 350 athletes, including LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Sidney Crosby, LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson and David Beckham. CAA Sports football agents Tom Condon and Ben Dogra also last week signed Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in this year's NFL draft. In recent months, CAA Sports has signed the New York Yankees, the AVP Tour and MMA brand TapouT as well. Johnson considered eight agencies before selecting CAA Sports and Wasserman Media Group as his finalists.(Sporting News/SportsBusiness Journal)(1-8-2008)
- Johnson wins 2007 Driver of the Year Award: #48-Jimmie Johnson crushed the competition for Driver of the Year - 2007, much like he trampled his rivals on the way to his second-straight Nextel Cup Series championship. It was also Johnson's second-consecutive title in the United States most prestigious award in auto racing because the voting is done by an elite panel of journalists and broadcasters from coast-to-coast. The California-born driver becomes only the third driver to achieve this honor after Darrell Waltrip (1981-1982) and teammate, Jeff Gordon (1997-1998). "I am truly humbled to be honored as Driver of the Year. I appreciate this award and the recognition from the press," said Johnson. He added "they watch every race and for them to think I did the best job is awesome!" About the only surprise was that the vote, while conclusive, wasn't unanimous. In the year-end ballot each panelist votes for only one candidate. Johnson tallied 14 votes, while Champ Car champion, Sebastien Bourdais, earned two votes, the World of Outlaws' - Donny Schatz - and Carl Edwards, a Cup regular and Busch Series champion, also received one vote apiece. Johnson, who also won the fourth quarter ballot, will receive a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch to be presented at a later date. Go to www.dotyaward.com to see a new website devoted to Driver of the Year news, opinions and reader comments.(DOTY PR)(1-7-2008)
- New tire changers for Johnson in 2008: Jimmie Johnson said he expects to have two new tire changers with his Hendrick Motorsports team in 2008. Rear-tire carrier Ron Malec, the car chief, remains with the #48 team as does Kenneth Purcell, who was jacking the car during the latter part of 2007. Front-tire carrier Art Simmons also will return, a team spokesman confirmed Sunday night in clarifying Johnson's earlier remarks over the team's changes. "It was a tough thing, we've won championships with these guys," said Johnson, who was at Daytona International Speedway testing Sunday for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. "But we just felt like we could be a little faster and we needed to make some changes. It didn't go over easily with everybody, but [crew chief] Chad [Knaus has] got to make those decisions and we feel it will make our team stronger." Rear-tire changer Tim Ladyga has moved to the #24-Jeff Gordon team, Johnson said.(SceneDaily.com)(1-7-2008)
- Germany wins Nations Cup: During the stop-and-go, 10-mile trek from his hotel to Wembley Stadium on Sunday morning, #48-Jimmie Johnson voiced concern that he wasn't acclimated to the four-wheel drive rally car he would pilot later that day in a highly anticipated duel with seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher. Those reservations would prove warranted, as Schumacher single-handedly eliminated Team USA from the Race of Champions Nations Cup, then joined teammate Sebastian Vettel in defeating England then Finland to win the overall team Nations Cup championship. It is Germany's first such victory. Schumacher opened the competition by outrunning Johnson to win by a landslide. Afterward, Johnson was visibly steamed. "Hell yeah I'm [upset] -- I want to win," said Johnson, the two-time defending NASCAR Nextel Cup champion. "I went out and did all that I could. I just do not understand the four-wheel drive, hand brake, rally car driving. I don't have a lot of experience at it, and to show the level that he showed in the car, I think he's had some days in it. He certainly navigated." Other than ROC, Johnson has never driven a four-wheel drive car in competition. Then again, the same goes for Schumacher, who would later stall the same car -- the Fiat Abarth rally car -- in which he beat Johnson at the starting line in a loss to Finnish F1 star Heikki Kovalainen. Despite Johnson's loss, it wasn't over for Team USA just yet. Johnson's teammate, Travis Pastrana, kept the U.S. team alive by beating Vettel in a race of Aston Martins. That set up a Schumacher/Pastrana matchup in rear-wheel drive buggies to decide which team advanced to the quarterfinals of the team competition.(ESPN.com)(12-17-2007)
- Johnson to race Schumacher in ROC: Two-time NASCAR champion, Jimmie Johnson, will face the man widely billed as one of the world's greatest drivers, Michael Schumacher, in The Race of Champions this weekend. The Team USA driver, who faces the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion in the first round of The ROC Nations Cup, says he has the greatest respect for the European superstar, which motivates him all the more to snatch victory for The United States. The ROC Nations Cup aims to determine the fastest country in the world, with two drivers from each pitted against each other in identical cars. This year The Race of Champions is being held at Wembley Stadium, London, England, and the famous landmark has been transformed into a parallel track, using 1,800 tons of tarmac, for the unique event this Sunday. "I've raced The ROC before and did OK," said Johnson, who won The ROC Nations Cup in 2002. "My team-mate, Travis Pastrana, was the unexpected success of the event last year, almost winning the whole thing single-handedly after I pulled out with an injury. That's got to give us the edge this year!" The ROC Nations Cup will begin about 9 a.m. on Sunday with The Race of Champions starting at 2:00pm/et. All the action will be shown live on The ROC website, www.raceofchampions.com/live.(GMR Marketing PR)(12-14-2007)
- Jimmie Johnson to run three Nationwide Series races in 2008: Lowe's and Hendrick Motorsports announced that two-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will drive the #5 Lowe's Chevrolet in three Nationwide Series races in 2008. Johnson will once again race in Lowe's Motor Speedway's May 24 and Oct.10 races plus California Speedway's race on Aug. 30. He has driven in these three races in 2006 and 2007. Johnson has 87 Nationwide Series starts winning the Chicagoland Speedway race in 2001.(GMR Marketing PR)(12-13-2007)
- Report rates value of NASCAR sponsorships: Miller Brewing Co. is getting a high rate of return on its sponsorship of driver #2-Kurt Busch, at least when it comes to broadcasters and Busch himself mentioning one of his sponsors on the air, according to research released by SportsBusiness Journal. Busch ranked second among NASCAR drivers for on-air audio mentions of Busch and a sponsor, reflecting a monetary value for the media exposure of about $3.64 million. That was the conclusion of a recent report that captured and assessed the more than 96,000 sponsor impressions through NASCAR's 37-race Nextel Cup Series schedule, including the Nextel All-Star Challenge. Nearly 400 sponsors were tracked, analyzing primary and secondary car and driver partners, all race venue signage, and the myriad graphics and audio mentions from the races' TV broadcasts. As far as audio mentions, Busch ranked second in NASCAR with 124 "detections" equating to 10 minutes and 20 seconds of air time. Jeff Gordon, driving the #24 Du Pont Chevy, ranked the highest with 178 detections, equaling 14 minutes and 50 seconds of air time valued at $5.07 million. Busch didn't rank among the top five when both audio and video detections were evaluated. Nextel Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, driving the #48 Lowe's Chevy, was the top driver with 7,845 detections valued at $55.98 million. Among the beer brands, Miller Lite lost out to main rival Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.'s Budweiser brand, an official sponsor of NASCAR. Miller Lite had 2,099 detections valued at $18.48 million, compared with Budweiser's 3,024 detections valued at $45.54 million.(Milwaukee Business Journal)(12-12-2007)
- Johnson no longer a Gillette 'Young Gun':#48-Jimmie Johnson and Gillette have "severed ties on the 'Young Guns' program," and Johnson is looking for "an agency to help him market his on-track success," according to Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal. The story in this week's issue says the Hendrick Motorsports driver wants to capitalize on winning back-to-back Cup titles "with the type of off-track deals that will broaden his appeal and take his endorsement reach beyond the race track." In other Young Guns news, Gillette began shooting its 2008 campaign last week and is "adding at least one driver" to the program, though no new drivers have been announced.(SceneDaily.com)(12-11-2007)
- 2007 All-America Auto Racing Team Selected: With voting completed for the 2007 All-America Auto Racing Team, five drivers emerge as contenders for the Jerry Titus Award. Tony Schumacher, the 2006 Titus winner, is bidding to be only the third driver ever to win the award in consecutive years, after Mario Andretti in 1977-78 and John Force in 1999-2000. For the second consecutive year Schumacher won the NHRA Top Fuel championship on the final run of the season, claiming his fifth career championship and his fourth in a row. The Titus, given in remembrance of the late racer/journalist, signifies the top vote-getter on the All-America team regardless of category, and is not announced until the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's banquet Jan. 12 at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis, which is open to the public. Challenging Schumacher, are the champions of both major open-wheel series, four-time Champ Car World Series titlist Sébastien Bourdais and Indianapolis 500 winner/Indy Racing League champion Dario Franchitti. Also in the hunt are Jimmie Johnson, the 2006 and 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, and Ron Hornaday Jr., who won his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Nextel Cup champion Johnson easily led the Stock Car category, with his teammate and Cup runner-up Jeff Gordon easily taking the other First Team slot. NASCAR Busch Series champion Carl Edwards was joined by Clint Bowyer on the second team. In Touring Series it was Craftsman Truck Series champion Hornaday and nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel who dominated the category. Young phenom Joey Logano, who won the NASCAR Busch East title at age 17, was joined on the Second Team by USAR Hooters Pro Cup champion Bobby Gill.(AARWBA PR)(12-10-2007)
- Hendrick donates van to injured soldier: Nurses arranged John Hyland's hospital bed in Texas with safety in mind. And it's a good thing, the Charlotte native said, because he almost fell out of it early Saturday when he got a phone call from his mother. That's when Hyland, an injured U.S. Army corporal, learned that Charlotte car dealer Rick Hendrick had offered to give the family a new Honda Odyssey, equipped for handicapped use. Hendrick said he was moved to donate the vehicle after reading a story that described how Hyland, 37, needed a specially equipped van to return home to his family after he was badly injured in Iraq. Hendrick said he called Hyland's mother Saturday morning, minutes after reading the Observer story and seeing the photographs that ran with it. The story described how a blast split Hyland's Humvee in Iraq's Diyala province Sept. 10, crushing his feet and fracturing bones in his back and pelvis. He has spent 10 weeks in a Texas military hospital, but it has been a struggle for his wife and two young sons to visit him there. They live two hours away in Fort Hood, Texas, but they don't have a working car. Hendrick phoned Hyland on Saturday afternoon and told him he appreciated the sacrifices he had made for his country. He learned during that phone call that Hyland was a NASCAR fan. Hendrick, who owns Hendrick Motorsports, says he'll also ask Jimmie Johnson to call Hyland. The van -- worth more than $50,000 -- will be delivered to Hyland's wife Monday or Tuesday, a Hendrick spokeswoman said. The general manager of the company's Hickory dealership will travel to Texas to present the car, the spokeswoman said.(Charlotte Observer)(12-10-2007)
- Jimmie Johnson Up For For United States Sports Academy's Athlete Of The Year Award: On the heels of his second consecutive Nextel Cup Series championship, #48-Jimmie Johnson has the opportunity to acquire another title - that of Athlete of the Year. Feted during last week's Champions Week activities in New York City, Johnson again is among the candidates listed for the 2007 United States Sports Academy Athlete of the Year presented by USATODAY.com and MSNBC.com. Johnson, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, finished third in last year's voting for Male Athlete of the Year. The 2007 ballot for male athletes includes Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay, Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker, U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps and golfer Tiger Woods. (NASCAR PR)(12-6-2007)
- Johnson Wins 4th Quarter Driver of the Year Award: When Jimmie Johnson learned that he won the 4th Quarter, Driver of the Year, by a unanimous vote he was surprised. He was probably the only person to be astonished by that fact. In the last quarter Johnson (who went on to beat his teammate, Jeff Gordon for his second-straight, Nextel Cup Title) he went on a tear, winning four-in-row. In a very rare situation Johnson tallied all 17 votes first-place votes cast in the fourth quarter ballot. He beat France's, Sebastien Bourdais, by more than double the points 153 to 72.(DOTY PR)(12-4-2007)
- Johnson to race in Rolex 24: #48-Jimmie Johnson, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and Lowe's Home Improvement will join forces for the 46th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 26-27. Johnson will co-drive with defending Daytona Prototype champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, plus 1996 Champ Car champion Jimmy Vasser in the #99 Lowe's/GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac-Riley in America's premiere sports car race. The team began testing on Nov. 14 at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the race. Fogarty and Gurney won the pole at this race in 2006 then went on to win the July race at Daytona and the series championship. Team owner Bob Stallings is anxious to begin defending his team's 2007 championship title. The normally red painted #99 will also carry the blue and silver Lowe's paint scheme similar to paint scheme Johnson drives each weekend in Nextel Cup racing. The team will participate in the traditional three-day Rolex 24 test on Jan. 4-6.(GMR Marketing PR)(11-29-2007)
- 2007 Championship Facts:
.. Jimmie Johnson won the 2007 Nextel Cup Series Championship, scoring his second series championship in six full-time Nextel Cup seasons.
.. Johnson is 32 years old and is from El Cajon, Calif.
.. Johnson finished the season with 10 victories and 24 top-10 finishes, including four victories and eight top-10s in the 10-Chase for the Nextel Cup.
.. Johnson finished the season with four victories in the final five races and came from 68 points behind then leader Jeff Gordon following the event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to claim the title by 77 points.
.. Johnson became the 15th driver to post multiple championships in NASCAR’s premier series.
.. This is the 14th time in the history of the Nextel Cup Series that a driver has posted back-toback championships, including the only three consecutive championships by Cale Yarborough (1976-78).
.. Johnson has finished in the top 10 of the final standings in each of his six full-time seasons in Nextel Cup Series, including back-to-back runner-up positions in 2003 and 2004. He finished fifth in his other two full-time seasons.
.. Rick Hendrick won his seventh Nextel Cup Series championship, second only to Petty Enterprises (nine). Petty Enterprises had one season (1954) where Lee Petty won the driver
championship but the owner champion ship went to Herb Thomas.
.. Hendrick is in his 24th full season as a Nextel Cup car owner.
.. Hendrick has won championships with three different drivers: Jeff Gordon (1995, ’97, ’98 and 2001), Jimmie Johnson (2006 and 2007) and Terry Labonte (1996).
.. Hendrick has posted 11 titles in NASCAR’s top three series: Nextel Cup Series (seven), Busch Series (one),Craftsman Truck Series (three). He is joined by Jack Roush and
Richard Childress as the only owners to have won championships in all three series.
.. Chad Knaus won his second Nextel Cup Series championship.
.. Knaus is 36 years old and hails from Rockford, Ill.
.. He has participated in six full-time seasons as a crew chief – all with Jimmie Johnson and Rick Hendrick.
.. He became the 15th crew chief in Nextel Cup history to claim multiple series titles.(NASCAR Statistics)(11-18-2007)
- Lifetime deal in the works for Johnson? No surprise, if it's up to Rick Hendrick, Jimmie Johnson will drive a Hendrick Motorsports racecar for the remainder of his career.
Hendrick said he is fully prepared to do whatever it takes to retain Johnson's services for as long as he drives professionally in the Nextel Cup Series. Money. Assets. Car dealerships. And most importantly, championship-caliber racecars. "My goal with him is real simple -- to keep him with me for as long as he races," Hendrick said. "It's a flattering comment, and I think I kind of knew that," Johnson said. "But it's something we've never talked about or put on the table." Back in 1999, Hendrick made a landmark decision to sign Jeff Gordon to a lifetime driving contract. With that came equity partnership in the company, and eventually partial ownership of the #48 car Johnson drives. Hendrick co-owns Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in San Diego, and the two have commercial real estate partnerships together, as well. Like Gordon, Johnson presents the unique package that includes both elite driving talent and premiere marketability. He signed a long-term contract extension in 2006 that runs through 2010, but in a sport in which premiums are placed on the aforementioned attributes owners are often required to renegotiate contract extensions long before their current deals are set to expire. Hence, a lifetime deal is a possibility.(in part from ESPN.com)(11-17-2007)
