Despite not having a win at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) last season, Jimmie Johnson is still a favorite heading into this weekend's Coca-Cola 600, the longest event of the season.

Over the last 10 races at the 1.5-mile track, Johnson has accumulated 1,715 points, more than any other driver. Second on the list is Bobby Labonte with 1,373. In addition to his five wins at LMS, Johnson has started from the pole twice and brought home two victories in the track's All-Star event.

The Sprint Cup champion will also be making his season debut in the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in Saturday's Nationwide Series race. Johnson has made 87 Nationwide Series starts and has won once, at Chicagoland Speedway in 2001.

MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE: In honor of Memorial Day, Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet will feature a special "Salute the Troops" logo on its deck lid during Sunday's Sprint Cup event.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES

YOUR THOUGHTS IN GENERAL ON COMING BACK TO A TRACK WHERE PEOPLE SAY, "THIS IS YOUR HOUSE": "It has been very good to us for a few years. Last year, we had the speed and I think we finished second. I ran well in both races, but we didn't have that dominating fashion that we did before. I am glad that people still say that. It means a lot to Hendrick to run well here ... also the No. 48 here at Lowe's Motor Speedway. We want it, we are going to show up and hopefully have that. But the tricks that used to work here for me aren't here anymore. They have resurfaced the track a few times. It is just not the same Charlotte that we had such a good feel for. But I still think we are going to be in the hunt."

ON PREPARING FOR A LONG RACE LIKE THE 600, IS THERE A DIFFERENT MINDSET? "I don't really treat it much different than any long race. I've had some bad luck at the start of some of those events; thankfully it's been a 600-mile race. I think I passed Bobby Labonte coming to the checkered one time. If it was a 500-mile race, that would have never happened because we had some difficulties. The long races really suit the 48 team. I think the challenges from day to night help us. We usually do a good job staying on top of that. I think that our team is well prepared, I'm well prepared physically and that all shows up in a 600-mile event, too. It's really one of our strongest races on the calendar year in and year out."

ON SATURDAY'S NATIONWIDE SERIES EVENT: "I'm looking forward to working with Chad (Walters) and that group again. We had a top-10 finish at this race last May, so hopefully we'll be able to do the same this time around. This will be my first race in a car for JR Motorsports, so it'll be fun to go out and see what we can do at LMS."

RACE NOTES: SPRINT CUP

Chassis

A brand new chassis, No. 502, will be the primary for Team Lowe's Racing in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. The backup will be chassis No. 480, which Johnson drove to a 13th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

Lowe's Motor Speedway

Johnson has made 13 Cup starts at Lowe's Motor Speedway, tallying five wins, eight top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. He has completed 96.9% of competition laps and has an average start of 8.7 and average finish of 6.8.

Career

Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first six full-time seasons.

Johnson's most recent victory at Phoenix (April 12, 2008) was the 34th of his Sprint Cup career. The win moved Johnson past legendary "Fireball" Roberts for 18th on NASCAR's all-time wins list. Johnson has the fourth-highest win total among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (81), Bill Elliott (44) and Mark Martin (35).

Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but seven (Bristol, Michigan, Infineon, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Kansas, Homestead) of the 22 tracks where the series competes.

Johnson's 10 wins in 2007 is the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.

The four consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the Championship tied a modern-era NASCAR record.

History

In 230 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 90 top-five and 138 top-10 finishes. He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit. Johnson has driven 66,519 laps in his Sprint Cup career, leading 5,896 and covering more than 88,532 miles. He has finished on the lead lap 175 times.

SPRINT CUP BACKUP CAR HISTORY: CHASSIS NO. 480

RACE NOTES: NATIONWIDE

Chassis

Johnson will be piloting brand new chassis No. 495, the newest in the JR Motorsports fleet, in Saturday's Nationwide Series event. The backup chassis, No. 403, was driven to a 22nd-place finish by Casey Mears at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2007.

Lowe's Motor Speedway

Johnson has made 11 Nationwide Series starts at LMS, collecting one top-five and three top-10 finishes. He's completed 80.5% of competition laps and has an average start of 18.3 and average finish of 22.3.

History

In 87 Nationwide Series starts, Johnson has posted one win (Chicago 2001), eight top-fives and 22 top-10 finishes. He also has two pole positions.

NATIONWIDE BACKUP CAR HISTORY: CHASSIS NO. 403

JOHNSON'S CUP STATISTICS AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY

* -- Coca-Cola 600

JOHNSON'S NATIONWIDE STATISTICS AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY