Johnson wants one more Fontana win
Racetrack holds memories, success for California native
FONTANA, Calif. — So many of Jimmie Johnson’s best racing memories occurred on this weathered California asphalt about 100 miles north of his hometown.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is hoping to add one more incredible memory in his final start at Fontana.
Johnson is the king of Auto Club Speedway heading into the third race of his final Cup Series season as a full-time driver. The Californian has been the home favorite ever since he notched his first Cup win here back in 2002, and he eventually added five more trophies.
And after qualifying in an impressive second place Saturday, he’ll start on the front row with Clint Bowyer on Sunday as he goes for a historic finish in what’s likely his farewell to the home fans who have backed the California kid from the start.
“It would be insane,” Johnson said. “I’m very optimistic about this weekend. It would just be incredible to pull that off if we could.”
Johnson leads the Fontana record books with six victories, 980 laps led, 17 top-10 finishes, 13 top-five finishes and a 7.6 average finish. He has started 25 times here since that first win 18 years ago, and he has somehow finished every lap in every race.
After finishing fifth at Las Vegas last weekend in his Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet, Johnson is allowing himself to think about a seventh win at Fontana. He is already the only driver ever to win here in his 20s, 30s and 40s.
Fontana has put in plenty of effort to make a special weekend for Johnson. Images of his face and his cars throughout the years are plastered around the track on banners and murals. Johnson will lead the field in a five-wide salute to the crowd during the pace laps, while his friend and former teammate, motocross star Ricky Johnson, serves as the honorary pace car driver.
And then Johnson’s wife, Chandra, and daughters Genevieve and Lydia will drop the green flag.
“To come to my home track and see the effort that they put in to kind of honor me and my career means a lot to me, it really does,” Johnson said. “I feel a lot of support.”
Johnson wasn’t the first California driver to succeed in NASCAR, but he has long since surpassed the achievements of Dick Rathman, Ernie Irvan, Kevin Harvick and even Jeff Gordon to become the state’s biggest stock car star.
Johnson’s past is rosier than his present: He is stuck in a career-worst winless streak of 97 races.
So while Johnson can’t help thinking about the past, he is still grounded in the reality of day-to-day competition. His memories of his inaugural victory in 2002 are a bit more pragmatic than you might expect.
“That’s when I knew I was going to be employed,” he said with a laugh. “They told me they’d be patient and I had time, but in my heart I didn’t think that was the case, and I knew I needed to win.”