ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER

CONCORD – Believe it or not, Jimmie Johnson is looking for his first Coca-Cola 600 victory in five years.

That would have been hard to envision when Johnson dominated at what is now Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The track was then known as Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the sponsor that still backs Johnson’s car. The facility became nicknamed “Jimmie’s house” when in a six race stretch from 2003-05, he posted five victories that included triumphs in all three 600 milers in those years.

He came close with a second in 2006. Since then, he’s put up finishes of 10th, 39th and 13th in NASCAR’s longest race and didn’t grace victory lane again at the 1.5-mile track until last fall. He had been a little better in the fall with a second, 14th and sixth in addition to the win.

A bit surprised about his lack of CMS success, Johnson admitted part of the reason for the drop off in the 600 could be that the team was experimenting in preparation for the fall race, which has been part of the Chase for the Championship since the playoff format’s inception in 2004.

“If I was to say anything I guess it’s just that it’s earlier in the year and we’re still trying to refine packages and things like that,” Johnson said. “But I still have a feeling that we come here and we’re competitive, so I’m not sure why those results aren’t any better. In my head, I thought we were in the top five a bunch.”

Johnson showed flashes of his best CMS days when he dominated in winning the second and third segments of the All-Star race on Saturday. He lost the lead when he came out of the pits third at the start of the 10-lap final segment and never recovered.

Getting on the inside of Denny Hamlin as they battled for second with two laps to go, Johnson spun and plowed through the infield grass. He finished 13th.

“We’re obviously disappointed about where we finished in the All Star race but my car was all night long and I think that’s a good sign for the 600,” Johnson said. “Someone pointed out the other day that we haven’t had the finishes at the 600 that we’ve had in the past. I’m not sure, why but we’re certainly going to do everything we can to change that. I think we’ll be competitive this weekend.”

gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519