FORT WORTH, Texas (November 3, 2009) – No race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has swung the pendulum in favor of one driver more than the Dickies 500. Three-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson can attest to the importance of Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson has used the eighth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a springboard in two of his three consecutive championships and walked away with the points lead following the Dickies 500 in each of those previous three seasons. On two of those occasions, he erased a points deficit with a strong outing in the Dickies 500 to wrestle control of the championship lead. 

Johnson, who leads Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin by 184 points in the Chase, heads to “The Great American Speedway!” with history at stake as he looks to become the first Sprint Cup Series driver to win four consecutive championships. The Dickies 500 has been the site of some of Johnson’s most important moments of his championship bids. In 2006, a runner-up finish helped turn a 26-point deficit into a 17-point lead over Matt Kenseth for his first championship. The following year he found himself second in the championship again, but his victory in the Dickies 500 helped him overtake teammate and owner, Jeff Gordon, by 30 points en route to his second championship.

Last season, Johnson finished 15th while his closest pursuer, Carl Edwards, won the Dickies 500, but still left Texas with a comfortable 106-point lead.

“It’s been a real pivotal track for me,” Johnson said. “It’s been a good track for me in the past to get some points and have some good momentum going into Phoenix.”

None of the other 11 Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders have performed as well as Johnson at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite only having one victory, Johnson has statistically dominated “The Great American Speedway!” as he ranks first for most top-10 finishes (9) and top starting (8.91) and finishing averages (8.50).

Johnson has finished second or better in four of the last six races at Texas Motor Speedway, including a runner-up finish in April’s Samsung 500. Add to that success his consistency through the first seven Chase races. He has not finished outside the top 10 and has been buoyed by three wins and 720 laps led. Despite Johnson’s success and comfortable points lead, he understands that his closest competitors, teammates Martin and Gordon, have each fared well at the 1.5-mile speedway. Both owns wins at Texas Motor Speedway – Gordon in April’s Samsung 500 and Martin in 1998 – and rank among the career leaders in top-five and top-10 finishes at “The Great American Speedway!”

“I know Texas will be a good race for me, but at the same time it will be a good race for my teammates,” Johnson said. “We finished second in the spring so as excited as I am for myself going back to Texas Motor Speedway, I know Jeff and the No. 24 team won there and Mark has been super strong on the mile-and-half tracks all season. We’ll have to see.”

Even with his 184-point lead, Johnson said he is going to continue to battle for the win each week. Johnson knows that one mistake can erase his advantage and spoil his chance at history. And those who remember his 2007 Dickies 500 win will recall Johnson potentially risking his championship hopes with a daring side-by-side battle with Kenseth late in the race to capture the victory.

“I’m not going to let up and lose focus of the job I need to do and allow the championship to be in the forefront of my mind until it’s mathematically locked out,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing and try to close this thing out as soon as possible. Racing will reach up and bite you at any point and anything can happen.”

Tickets remain for the Dickies 500 and are available by calling (817) 215-8500 or by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com.