NASCAR Sprint Cup at Charlotte: Is It Jimmie Johnson's Race To Lose?

Since Jimmie Johnson came into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driving the Lowes No. 48, he has performed best on the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Johnson is so dominant on the track it has been nicknamed "Jimmie's House."

Jimmie Johnson Dominates on Most Mile and a Half Tracks

Johnson has always performed well on the mile and half tracks but Lowe's Motor Speedway has been his favorite since his first season in NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Johnson has won six times at Lowe's Motor Speedway and if he wins this weekend he will be the first NASCAR Sprint Cup driver to win seven times in the history of the track.  The two newest NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees, David Pearson and Bobby Allison both have ended their days in victory lane six times each at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Chad Knaus is So Confident This Weekend He Is Running a New Chassis

Johnson and Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief, have always performed better in the Memorial Day Coca Cola 600.  The 600 mile race involves more strategy by setting the car up to transition from day to night.  The October race in Charlotte is a Saturday night race but the day to night transition is not as drawn out as the Coca Cola 600.

Chad Knaus has elected to go with a brand new chassis for this race.  The chassis, No. 623 will be the primary car for the race and the backup chassis, No. 553 is the chassis Johnson piloted to victory at Auto Club Speedway in February.  Going with an untested chassis displays the confidence of this Lowe's Chevy team.

Inside Jimmie Johnson's Charlotte Motor Speedway Numbers

Johnson has 18 starts in his career at Lowes Motor Speedway, and in those 18 starts, he has won one third of the races he has started.  Besides Johnson's six wins, he has nine Top Five and 13 Top 10 finishes.

With Johnson racking up 53 wins over his short career, he only trails his car owner, Jeff Gordon with most wins among active drivers.  Gordon has been stuck on 82 wins since last season.  With Johnson in the points lead once again heading into the race at Charlotte, the target on his back is larger than his No. 48 Lowes Chevy. 

Las Vegas Has Jimmie Johnson as 3-1 Favorite to Win Saturday Night

Even though 42 other drivers will be determined to make sure Johnson does not finish first, he is still the odds on favorite to take home the hardware.  Johnson is listed as the favorite at the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook with ridiculously low odds of 3-1 to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Saturday. 

The odds are right.  Jimmie Johnson will qualify in the Top Ten and lead most of the race and unless there is a mechanical failure or catastrophic accident, Johnson will be holding the trophy over his head at the end of the night.