- For the former NFL coach and current television broadcaster, see Jimmy Johnson (American football coach).
For the Hall of Fame football player, see Jimmy Johnson (American football).
Template:NASCAR current driver
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson was born on September 17, 1975 in El Cajon, California and is a current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race car driver who currently drives the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS owned by his teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports. He has never finished below fifth in the final NEXTEL Cup points standings and finished second twice (in 2003 and 2004). Since his rookie season Johnson ranks second among all active drivers with an average of 4.5 wins a season (behind Jeff Gordon's 5.6) and second in average top 10 finishes a season with 21.25 (behind Tony Stewart's 21.28). In 2006, Johnson became only the second driver to win the prestigious Daytona 500, and Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in the same year. He is the only driver to win three Coca-Cola 600s in a row.
Racing prior to NEXTEL Cup
Jimmie Johnson began his racing career in several off-road leagues including SODA, SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. He accumulated over 25 wins, 100 top-three finishes, six championships, and received Rookie of the Year honors in all three leagues. Johnson raced with Herzog Motorsports in the 1996 and 1997 SODA series. Johnson was a field reporter for ESPN in the SODA series.
In 1998, Johnson joined the American Speed Association (ASA) circuit, finishing fourth in the season while picking up Rookie of the Year honors. During this time, Johnson also began racing in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving in three events. In 1999, Johnson continued to run in both the ASA and the Busch Series, winning twice and finishing third in the ASA point race. By 2000, Johnson became a Busch Series driver with Herzog Motorsports, finished 10th in the points standings and third in the Rookie of the Year standings. He won his only Busch Series race in 2001 at the Hills Brothers Coffee 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in his 81 series events.
NEXTEL Cup
2002 Season
Johnson began racing in the NEXTEL Cup series in 2002. Johnson stunned the NASCAR world by winning the pole at the 2002 Daytona 500 and ending up with a quality 15th place finish. He would only improve from there, winning three times, averaging a 13.5 place finish, and becoming the first rookie ever to both lead the series in points (he eventually finished fifth overall) and the first to sweep races at a track (Dover). Johnson's first Winston Cup win was at his home region of California Speedway. Despite finishing the highest of any rookie in points, he was runner-up to Ryan Newman for NASCAR Rookie of the Year because of NASCAR's controversial 'Rookie of the Year' award being based on a driver's 15 best finishes, and not points.
2002 Statistics
- 5th Place in NASCAR Winston Cup points standings
- Wins - 3
- Top 5 - 6
- Top 10 - 21
- Ave Finish - 13.5
Wins
- NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway on April 28
- MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover International Speedway on June 2
- MBNA All-American Heroes 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 22
2003 Season
For the 2003 campaign, Johnson had three victories, 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-ten finishes. He finished the season second in the points standings to Matt Kenseth.
Johnson got his first win at Lowe's Motor Speedway at the time. He won in back to back weekends at the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and the Coca-Cola 600. The All-Star Challenge was a non-points event.
2003 Statistics
- 2nd Place in the NASCAR Winston Cup points standings
- Wins - 3
- Top 5 - 14
- Top 10 - 20
- Ave Finish - 11.4
Wins
- Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 25
- New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on July 20
- Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 14
2004 Season
In 2004, Johnson started slowly in weeks two and three at Rockingham and Las Vegas. However, he quickly rebounded with a week five win at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Subsequent victories at the Coca-Cola 600 and the Pocono 500 helped solidify his place in the Chase for the Cup towards the end of the regular season. However, poor finishes at Talladega (37th) and Kansas (32nd) nearly sank his chances to win the Nextel Cup. Four subsequent victories put him 18 points behind leader Kurt Busch going into the final race. The second victory at the Subway 500 in Martinsville, Virginia on October 24, 2004, was marred by tragedy. Owner Rick Hendrick's son (Ricky Hendrick), nieces, brother, and chief engine builder Randy Dorton were killed in an airplane crash on route to the race. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the incident, and Johnson was told after claiming the winner's grandfather clock. Johnson passed Mark Martin with six laps to go the next week in Atlanta Motor Speedway. Johnson won under the lights at Darlington in the Mountain Dew Southern 500, and became the first driver since Jeff Gordon to win two legs of NASCAR's Grand Slam in a season.
2004 Statistics
- 2nd Place in the NASCAR Chase for the Cup
- Wins - 8
- Top 5 - 20
- Top 10 - 23
- Average Finish - 12.1
Wins
- Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 21
- Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 3
- Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 13
- Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on August 1
- UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 16
- Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 24
- Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 31
- Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on November 14
2005 Season
In 2005, Johnson stayed in the top five in the points standings all year, winning at Las Vegas, Lowes Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, and again at Lowes Motor Speedway. Johnson now has four straight wins at his sponsor, Lowes, sponsored track in Charlotte, North Carolina, and became only the second driver to win three consecutive races in one of NASCAR's majors. (Car owner Jeff Gordon won four consecutive Southern 500 titles from 1995-1998, but that leg of the Grand Slam was eliminated in the Ferko lawsuit.) Johnson had a chance to win the championship coming into the November 20 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but finished 5th in points after crashing in the midway point of the event with a tire problem. Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Mark Martin all finished ahead of the #48 Chevrolet.
2005 Statistics
- 5th Place in NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Cup
- Wins - 4
- Top 5 - 13
- Top 10 - 22
- Average Finish - 12.7
Wins
- UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 13
- Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway on May 29
- MBNA Racepoints 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 25
- UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway on October 15
2006 Season
The 2006 season started with crew chief Chad Knaus being suspended until Bristol in late March. Hendrick engineer Darian Grubb was named temporary crew chief. Johnson won his first Daytona 500. His win was the second consecutive win at the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson finished second at the next race at California Speedway and then beat Matt Kenseth by half a car length with a pass on the final turn on the caution-extended UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson became the eighth driver to win a Career Grand Slam by winning the Aaron's 499 at Talladega by passing teammate Brian Vickers at the start of the final lap, finishing off an unprecedented streak of six wins in the past eleven majors. He won the final segment and million dollar bonus in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Johnson was trying to go for five straight wins at a superspeedway. Unfortunately, he finished second to Kasey Kahne at the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He came back from cutting his tire and going all the way down to 38th place to win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis, joining Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr as drivers to have won the Career Grand Slam and the Allstate 400. Heading into the last race at Homestead-Miami Speedway Jimmie must finish 12th or better to win his first Nextel Cup Championship. Current 2006 Statistics
- Wins - 5
- Top 5 - 13
- Top 10 - 23
- Average Finish - 9.7
Wins
- Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19
- UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12
- Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 1
- NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowes Motor Speedway (non-points race) on May 20
- Allstate 400 at The Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 6
- Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 22
Hendrick Motorsports
Jimmie Johnson's car is operated by Hendrick Motorsports, a powerhouse in NASCAR throughout the 1990's and continuing today. His crew chief is Chad Knaus, who is in charge of working on the car on the day-to-day basis, and is in charge of everything that happens with the Lowe's #48 Team at the track.
His 2006 season teammates are Jeff Gordon in the #24 DuPont Automotive Finishes car, Kyle Busch in the Kellog's #5, Brian Vickers in the #25 GMAC car, and Terry Labonte, who drives a limited schedule in the #44 Kellog's car.
Other Recent Events
- Johnson has also participated in some more-recent off-road events, including a winning drive with Team USA at the 2002 Race of Champions. Johnson appeared at the event again in 2004.
- Johnson, along with current teammate Brian Vickers, is part-owner of the Hollywood Fame, a 2006 expansion franchise of the American Basketball Association.
- Johnson hosts a weekly radio show, "Not What You Expected," on XM Satellite Radio. Marty Smith, Nascar journalist and friend of Johnson's, hosts it with him. They have had numerous guests on the show including Atlanta Braves player and Johnson's high school friend Marcus Giles, AJ Discala, fellow drivers Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon, crew chief Chad Knaus, singer and friend Nick Lachey, and others.
Personal life
Jimmie has been married to Chandra Janway since December 11, 2004.