Backstretch Motorsports

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI — Jimmie Johnson has accomplished racing’s version of the hat trick…. three championships in a row.

He did it with a 15th -place finish in southern Florida’s grand finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Carl Edwards won the battle, so to speak, but Johnson won the war.

On a day when he only needed a 36th-place finish to clinch his third title in a row, Johnson brought his Lowe’s Chevrolet into the thick of the battle, steadily clicking off position after position in the 267-lap race.

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ( – Jimmie Johnson’s 69-point lead over second-place Jeff Burton may look secure, but recent history indicates otherwise.
The points leader with five races remaining has failed to win the championship in each of the last two seasons.
In 2006, Johnson was in seventh place and 146 points behind leader Jeff Burton with five races remaining. He won the championship by 56 points, a swing of 202 points.

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Qualifying Fast Facts
Auto Club Speedway
Pepsi 500

Coors Light Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 32
Team : No. 48 - Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation
Owner: Jeff Gordon
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

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Speedway,IN) — Last year at Indy, Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy literally caught fire in a late race crash ending his day.

Today, Johnson and his team “caught fire” in qualifying, winning Coors Light Pole Award for the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard with a lap of 49.515 seconds, 181.763 mph.

This is his first pole in seven races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his 15th pole in 239 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

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MARK MARTIN TO JOIN HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS;35-TIME RACE WINNER WILL DRIVE FULL 2009 SEASON IN NO. 5 CHEVROLETS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 4, 2008) - “Since this has been such a well-kept secret” laughed Rick Hendrick, as he announced officially that Mark Martin, a 35-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner and the all-time leader in NASCAR Nationwide Series victories, has signed a two-year agreement to drive for Hendrick Motorsports beginning in 2009.

“they must’ve been reading our text messages” added Martin, grinning.

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Almirola to Pilot No. 8 Car Full Time in 2009
Rookie driver promoted to full-time Sprint Cup status next season: After spending two seasons sharing a car with veteran Mark Martin, 24-year-old Aric Almirola will take over the No. 8 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet full time in 2009. …Almirola, from Tampa, Fla., began sharing the Sprint Cup ride with Martin during the second half of the 2007 season and has continued in that role in 2008. During his 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, the rookie driver has shown vast improvement, posting a top-10 finish in his debut this season at Bristol and qualifying third a week later at Martinsville.

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CONCORD, N.C. (June 27, 2008) - Hendrick Motorsports and driver Casey Mears will part ways following the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

“We’ve put a ton of emphasis on the No. 5 program,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s been a total team effort, and Casey has worked as hard as anyone to help us improve. We’ve tested more than we ever have, but the results just haven’t come.”

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BROOKLYN, Mich. — Much to the delight of a screaming partisan crowd, Dale Earnhardt Jr. coasted across the finish line after a nerve-wracking restart to win the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was the highly-popular Earnhardt’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup points victory in 76 races.

And this one had everyone biting their nails and cracking their knuckles in suspense because Junior ran low on fuel.

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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 collected three top-five finishes and two poles in his 12 career Cup starts at RIR.

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.”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Subway Fresh Fit 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Fast Facts

Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 32
Team: No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet
Owner: Jeff Gordon
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

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