- Johnson, Jimmie
-
▪ 2009Jimmie Kenneth Johnsonborn Sept. 17, 1975, El Cajon, Calif.In November 2008 race-car driver Jimmie Johnson won his record-tying third consecutive National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) driver's championship—matching fellow American Cale Yarborough's 30-year-old mark. With just seven seasons of racing in the top series (called the Nextel Cup until 2008, when it became the Sprint Cup), Johnson had already established himself as one of the best drivers in the history of NASCAR.Early in his career Johnson showed that he had what it took to one day be called a champion. He began racing at the age of five on 50 cc motorcycles, and at eight years old he won the 60 cc class championship. Eventually he moved on to four-wheel vehicles and began racing in off-road leagues, including Short-Course Off-Road Drivers Association, SCORE International, and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group.He won six championships and was named Rookie of the Year in each of those leagues before moving on to the American Speed Association, where he took Rookie of the Year honours in 1998. He began to race in NASCAR's Busch Series in 1998 and by 2000 was a member of Herzog Motorsports' Busch team, finishing third in that season's Rookie of the Year standings. When Herzog Motorsports lost its sponsor in 2000, Johnson was recommended to Hendrick Motorsports by NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.Johnson made his first appearance in NASCAR's top series on Oct. 7, 2001, finishing 39th at Lowe's Motor Speedway in a Nextel Cup race. He also earned his first Busch Series win at Chicagoland Speedway, winding up eighth in the Busch Series point standings. He began his rookie campaign in the 2002 Nextel Cup, winning three races and ending the season ranked fifth. Two of those victories came at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, making him the first rookie in series history to sweep both races at a track and the first to lead the point standings (for one week). He finished second in the standings in 2003, with three victories, and won a series-best eight times in 2004 to end up second in the inaugural Chase for the Championship. He finished fifth in the Chase in 2005 before starting his dominant run the following season.In the 2006 Nextel Cup, Johnson registered five victories, including the Daytona 500, and had 13 top-5 and 24 top-10 finishes. In 2007 he earned his second straight title, becoming the first driver to have 10 victories in a season (including 4 in a row) since his teammate Gordon won 13 races in 1998. In the renamed Sprint Cup in 2008, Johnson won seven races—three during the Chase—and built up enough overall points to secure his third consecutive driver's title with a 15th-place finish in the season-ending Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla., on November 16.Paul DiGiacomo
* * *
Universalium. 2010.
