In the Loop

Johnson Looks to Break Out of “Slump”


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 21, 2008) – You know you’ve got a track figured out when consecutive finishes of 10th and 14th are considered a slump.

That’s the situation for Jimmie Johnson going into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Johnson was his normally strong self at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2007, but didn’t come away with his usual top-five finish. In fact, he did everything but come away with a top-five finish. Take a look at his statistics from the two 2007 races:

Johnson at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (2007)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15 DR
5/07 10 6.2 70 88.8% 121.1
10/07 14 7.1 72 83.1% 116.3
Total 12.0 6.7 142 86.0% 118.7
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating

In most years, those numbers would have probably equaled victory. Compare those stats to his 2005 season at LMS, when he swept.

Johnson at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (2005)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15 DR
5/05 1 7.8 24 88.0% 127.0
10/05 1 13.9 9 72.3% 101.7
Total 1.0 10.9 33 80.2% 114.4

In each of the above categories – except for the average finish – Johnson was better at LMS in 2007 than in 2005. In other words, there’s no slump at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for Johnson – just a product of the two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion setting the bar so high.

Statistically, Johnson is peerless at Lowe’s Motor Speedway over the last three year (six races). His numbers in key stats all rank first, and often trump those of the second-place driver:

Jimmie Johnson at LMS (2005-2007)
Driver Rating: 120.2
Avg. Running Position: 7.5
Fastest Laps Run: 246
Laps in the Top 15: 88.6%/1,956
Quality Passes*: 345
*Quality Passes: Passes of cars in the top 15 under green flag conditions

2nd-Place Driver in Key Stats at LMS
Driver Rating: Kyle Busch, 94.3
Avg. Running Position: Mark Martin, 11.9
Fastest Laps Run: Kasey Kahne, 163
Laps in the Top 15: Mark Martin, 75.4%/1,664
Quality Passes: Kyle Busch, 279

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The performance of Kyle Busch also will be an interesting factor. In eight career LMS races, Busch has only two top-10 finishes – and neither were in the Coca-Cola 600. In fact, he’s struggled in the 600 in his career. Take a look at his last three Coca-Cola 600s:

Busch at Coca-Cola 600 (2005-2007)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15 DR
5/05 25 11.8 20 71.0% 97.8
5/06 38 15.8 5 67.3% 79.0
5/07 30 15.7 10 60.0% 88.2
Total 31.0 14.4 35 66.1% 88.3
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating

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Loop Data Defined: NASCAR statistics generated from electronic scoring loops embedded around each track hosting races in NASCAR’s three national series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.