Home wins missing in Johnson reign

There was a time when Jimmie Johnson won so much at Lowe's Motor Speedway it seemed they named the place after him.

Well, they did. Sort of.

Lowe's, which sponsors Johnson's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has sponsored what was formerly called Charlotte Motor Speedway since 1999. The company, however, has elected not to renew its naming rights deal in 2010.

Johnson's run of four consecutive victories and five of six from 2003 to 2005 sparked numerous conspiracy theories among ran fans – the car sponsored by Lowe's winning at the track sponsored by the same company and all.

His stats at the track are unrivaled.

In 16 series starts at LMS, he has five wins, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He has completed 96.9 percent of the laps he's raced there and led 1,242 of 5,580 (22.2 percent). He has an average start of 8.1 and average finish of 9.1.

“It's been a track I have always loved,” Johnson said.

Yet Johnson has won the past three Sprint Cup Series championships without the benefit of a victory at LMS and he hasn't finished better than sixth in his past five races.

Going for a NASCAR-record fourth consecutive championship this season, Johnson would love to end his sponsor's run on the nameplate of the track with a victory. He can start Thursday night when qualifying for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 begins at 7:10 p.m.

“It has been a great relationship with the track and Lowe's and then all the victories we have had there have been really neat,” said Johnson, who currently leads the series standings after a victory last weekend at California.

“The track, I really think since it was resurfaced, it just changed the dynamic of the race for us. I had some lines that worked really well. I think our set-up worked really well for the abrasive track.

“Rough tracks with bumps and things like that seem to work well for me with my background.”

Even when LMS officials decided to smooth the track with a diamond-cutter in 2005, Johnson still ran well.

But the track was completely repaved in time for the 2006 season and since then Johnson hasn't visited Victory Lane, although he did finish second in both races that season.

“I really think the surface has a lot to do with it. It has made the track more forgiving than it was in the past and I think it helped close the gap,” Johnson said.

“I am hoping the track hurries up and ages and gets rough and bumpy and turns back in to the track it used to be.”

While Johnson waits that doesn't mean he and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, haven't tried to rekindle the magic of victories past.

“We work on stuff each time we go back. This time I think we'll be better yet,” he said. “The last the few times we have been there, we have just been super tight and needed more front grip with the car.

“I think we are a little smarter even from the all-star (race) and the Coca-Cola 600 weekend. We're smarter now than we were then and hopefully it makes a difference.”

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