Jimmie Johnson 2010 Fantasy NASCAR Preview

[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=jimmie+johnson&iid=7811503″ src=”9/1/4/c/NASCAR_05_February_1aff.jpg?adImageId=9954994&imageId=7811503″ width=”234″ height=”156″ /]Jimmie Johnson

2009 Stats: Points Finish 1st, 4 Poles, 7 Wins, 16 Top Fives, 24 Top Tens, Average Finish 11.1, Average Position 8.7, Laps Led 2238, Driver Rating 112.2

There’s no denying how good Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team are.  Jimmie Johnson is the first driver  in NASCAR history to win 4 championships consecutively. Now he’s tied with Jeff Gordon in terms of overall championships, and in 2010 Jimmie Johnson will have a good chance of being the driver who finally completes “The drive for five”.

Strengths- Jimmie Johnson is strong at every type of track, that’s why he’s a 4 time champion. The 48 team is the most capable team in NASCAR at overcoming problems and no team in the series performs better in clutch moments.

Weaknesses- The four tracks on the circuit that I would avoid Jimmie Johnson are Daytona, Talladega, Richmond and Bristol. He was competitive at Bristol last year but I would still pass on him.

Intermediate Track Grade- A+, Jimmie Johnson was outscored last year by both Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon on intermediate tracks but he led 932 laps more then both of them combined. There’s not one intermediate track that’s bad for Johnson. Statistically speaking Michigan is his worst intermediate track but last year he nearly won both races leading about 75% of the laps in each race.

Flat Track Grade- A+, No driver was better on the flat tracks last year. He scored more points on this track type then any driver and he was the only one in the series who led laps at all 7 flat track races. He’s equally strong at both the big flats and the shorter ones.

Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B,  Does the 48 even race in the Daytona 500 anymore? Johnson did a pretty good job at surviving these tracks last year but I would pass on him at every restrictor plate race.

Short Track Grade- A-, Jimmie Johnson is as good as they come at Martinsville. Last year he was extremely competitive at both Bristol races. He has 3 wins at Richmond but he’s only finished in the top ten a quarter of the races he’s been in.

Road Course Track Grade- A-, Most people consider road courses Jimmie Johnson’s weakness, but I just don’t see it. Each year you can pencil in Jimmie Johnson for at least one top five on a road course. Last year he was good at both of them.

How to use Jimmie Johnson from a fantasy racing prospective in 2010?

Focus on using Jimmie Johnson at the intermediate tracks, flat tracks, and Martinsville. These tracks combined will provide you with more then enough Jimmie Johnson starts if your in an allocation league. Don’t be afraid of picking Jimmie Johnson, some people have a lot of pride and simply refuse to pick him.

Click HERE for more Jimmie Johnson stats

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