Jimmie Johnson: No Wigging Out in Dover

Victory lane was awash in a rainbow of colors last June at Dover (Del.) International Speedway when Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the No. 48 Lowe’s team made a stop there to pick up their seventh trophy in 21 visits to the high-banked, concrete oval known as the “Monster Mile.”

While Johnson and his Lowe’s mates put on a monster of a performance during the 400-mile race, spontaneous mischief erupted afterward when the team, including driver Johnson, donned rainbow-colored circus wigs in victory lane. It was a playful homage to the paint scheme that decorated the No. 48 car that weekend, which featured the characters from the movie, “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.”

Safe to say there will be no wigging out for the No. 48 team when it arrives for Sunday’s AAA 400, the third of 10 races in the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Johnson’s record is stellar at the Monster Mile. His driver rating is tops among active drivers and his seven wins in 21 races ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for most wins at the track.

In the last nine Dover races, Johnson has just one finish outside the top-10 – a 16th-place run in the June 2010 event – and he has four wins in those nine races (June and September 2009, September 2010 and June 2012). Johnson and crew have only three finishes in 21 Dover races outside the top-15, twice due to accidents and the other being his 16th place in June 2010. Even more daunting is his finish at the track at Chase time, keeping himself in the hunt for the championship every year by 14th or better each September.

So while there is a lot on the line as the Sprint Cup competitors prepare for the third race in the Chase, including Johnson’s tenuous one-point lead atop the championship standings, he and the team know there’s no reason to wig out – at least if you look at the stats.

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