Jimmie Johnson 2013 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
Jimmie Johnson 2012 Stats: Points Finish – 3rd, 5 Wins, 18 Top Fives, 24 Top Tens, 9.2 Average Running Position, 11.2 Average Finish, 1,745 Laps Led, 109.54 Driver Rating
Strengths – Jimmie Johnson is the total package. He’s the best driver on the best team. Look for him to be a dominant driver at intermediate tracks and flat tracks in 2013.
Weaknesses – The only thing predictable about Daytona is that Johnson won’t have a good finish. Also with Johnson you need to beware that the #48 team might shift their focus to R&D for the Chase in the late summer months.
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Intermediate Track Grade- A+, Jimmie Johnson is the best intermediate track driver in NASCAR. Year in and year out he consistently performs at a high level. Last year on this track type Johnson won three races, had 10 top fives, 13 top tens, led 1,167 laps, had a 6.2 average start and a 9.2 average finish. He also scored the most points despite having some good finishes taken away from him late in races (Michigan, Homestead and Atlanta). Beyond those three races listed all of his other finishes were top tens with the exception of the Coca Cola 600 where he finished 11th. He had a good car in that race to but had a speeding penalty.
Flat Track Grade- A+, I would be happy to have Jimmie Johnson on my team at any flat track. Last season on flat tracks he scored the third most points and captured his Jeff Gordon tying record 4th win at Indy. If Johnson didn’t have a few problems at these tracks last season (Pocono 2 & Phoenix #2) he would’ve scored the most points in the series. When you exclude those races his average finish on this track type was 3.6. In the races where Johnson had problems he wasn’t bad. At Pocono he was leading but got into Matt Kenseth which brought out the caution and then the rain fell. At Phoenix Johnson had a tire go down while he was running in the top 8.
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Short Track Grade- A, Jimmie Johnson can get the job done on short tracks. Last season on this track type he scored the 2nd most points and captured his 7th win at Martinsville. In 2013 I wouldn’t be afraid to have Johnson on my team at any of these tracks.
At Martinsville he’s a living legend. His average finish is 5.5 and excluding his first start there his worst finish is 12th. Since 2006 Johnson has only failed to lead +60 laps in a race twice.
Richmond used to be a bad track for Johnson but since he started winning there in 2007 he’s been pretty good. Since 2007 he has 3 wins and seven top tens. In terms of ranking him I would place him in the second tier of drivers following Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.
Bristol track history is largely irrelevant now that the track has been changed. Last year in the first race on the new track surface he finished 2nd and led 52 laps.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B-, Restrictor plate racing isn’t a strength of Jimmie Johnson’s. Last season on this track type he had three finishes of 35th or worse and a best finish of 17th. Daytona has been a major struggle for him. Since he won the 2006 Daytona 500 he only has two top tens and a 27.3 average finish. In that 13 race stretch his average finish ranks as the 41st best in the series. One stat that also stands out about him in these races is that he’s only led 6 laps!
Johnson’s been better at Talladega but I still wouldn’t pick him there. He won the spring race in 2011 but he’s far to inconsistent. Only twice in his career has he finished in the top ten in back to back races at that 2.66 mile track.
The bottom line about Jimmie Johnson is that if you’re in an allocation league like Yahoo! don’t pick him at a plate track.
Road Course Track Grade- A-, Despite being a former road course winner I think Jimmie Johnson still remains very underrated on this track type. It’s just a matter of time until he gets his second win. Last season in the road course races he had finishes of 5th and 3rd. It’s hard not to like Johnson at both road courses. His respective average finishes are 13.2 (Watkins Glen) and 13.8 (Infineon). He has 11 starts at both tracks and at each venue he has 4 top fives and six top tens.
How to use from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2013? Johnson is such a versatile driver you can use him almost anywhere. The only tracks where I would consider avoiding him are Daytona, Talladega, Michigan (to many bad things happen to him there), and Homestead.
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