Johnson Gets Fifth Lowe’s Win, Share of Points Lead

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 15, 2005) – Jimmie Johnson vaulted himself into a tie for first in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings with a victory in the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Johnson overcame a myriad of setbacks to post his fourth consecutive win at the Concord-based track, where he now has five total victories. The team was forced to start from the rear of the field after making an engine change, which was followed by tire and alternator issues during the race. Johnson gave credit to crew chief Chad Knaus and his Team Lowe’s Racing crew. “This was an amazing run and we had to start from the back,” said Johnson, who led twice for 13 laps, including the final dozen. “We had a flat tire at one point. We had an alternator and battery issue. We had to change batteries under a pit stop. We just overcame a lot of stuff. “The guys did an incredible job of keeping their cool in the pits and changing out what we needed. Chad made a lot of great adjustments. We were burning up the right-rear tire and he worked some stuff around to take the load off the tire. “It was just a great night of teamwork. I can't thank these guys enough. I had a great race car. There was no doubt.” The performance marked the 13th win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for Rick Hendrick, who now has five more victories there than any other car owner. Hendrick drivers Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch finished 12th, 38th and 39th, respectively. Vickers moved up two positions to 15th in the standings, just 63 points out of the coveted 11th spot.