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Jimmie JohnsonCONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 14, 2015) – Lowe’s Companies Inc. has extended its longtime relationship with Hendrick Motorsports after signing a two-year agreement that will continue its full-season primary sponsorship of the No. 48 NASCAR Sprint Cup team and six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson in 2016 and 2017.

In addition, Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports have agreed to a two-year contract extension that will keep the driver behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS through 2017.

 

The agreements build upon a partnership launched in 2001 when Johnson was selected to drive for the new No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. Now in its 14th full season, the sponsor-driver-team relationship has become one of the most successful in NASCAR history. Lowe’s, whose NASCAR involvement dates back to its first car sponsorship in 1960, has been Johnson’s primary sponsor for each of his 497 career Sprint Cup starts.

“Lowe’s has a longstanding history with NASCAR and knows its fans are some of the most loyal in all of sports,” said Tom Lamb, chief marketing officer of Lowe’s. “Our partnership with Jimmie and Hendrick Motorsports has been an amazing ride as we chase history, and more than 265,000 Lowe’s employees are proud to be part of such a legacy.”

Since his first full-time Sprint Cup season in 2002, Johnson has earned 74 victories — the most in the series during that span — and averaged a third-place (3.07) championship points finish.

“My relationship with Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports means so much,” said Johnson, 39, who has won four races in 2015. “To me, this just reinforces how committed Lowe’s is to our sport and to our partnership. It says a lot to have one sponsor and one team for this amount of time. I couldn’t be prouder to represent everyone at Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports. This is my home, and I’m looking forward to many more victories together as a team.”

Led by crew chief Chad Knaus, whose contract with Hendrick Motorsports runs through 2018, the No. 48 Lowe’s team has scored at least three Sprint Cup wins in each of its 14 full seasons (2002-15). Johnson’s six championships trail only first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, who each posted seven.

“Lowe’s history in racing goes back more than 50 years,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Their dedication over that time, not only to Hendrick Motorsports but to the NASCAR community and our fans, has been absolutely incredible. We’re fortunate to work with a company that’s truly passionate about our sport and shares many of our organization’s core values.

“The contributions Jimmie and Chad have made to Hendrick Motorsports can’t be overstated. When Lowe’s took a chance by sponsoring the No. 48 team back in 2001, we never could’ve envisioned the results. It’s a championship combination and genuine partnership that we’re proud to continue and committed to develop even further.”

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1 2 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
2 4 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy/American Heritage Chocolate Toyota
3 1 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
4 24 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Foods/Waffle House Ford
5 29 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet
6 25 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
7 23 24 Jeff Gordon 3M Chevrolet
8 3 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
9 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
10 26 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota
11 7 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota
12 11 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet
13 31 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet
14 6 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
15 8 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
16 19 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Cargill Ford
17 5 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Online Dream Machine Toyota
18 20 5 Kasey Kahne HendrickRideAlong.com Chevrolet
19 14 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet
20 13 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
21 15 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
22 17 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet
23 28 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford
24 21 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Bush’s Beans Chevrolet
25 18 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet
26 22 27 Paul Menard Libman/Menards Chevrolet
27 12 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet
28 32 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Go Bowling/Draft Kings Ford
29 10 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
30 35 40 Landon Cassill(i) Precon Marine/Interstate Moving Services Chevrolet
31 38 16 Greg Biffle Cheez-It Ford
32 16 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet
33 30 38 David Gilliland The Pete Store Ford
34 43 26 JJ Yeley(i) Maxim Toyota
35 37 34 Brett Moffitt # Dockside Ford
36 33 83 Matt DiBenedetto # James Madison University Toyota
37 36 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
38 34 35 Cole Whitt MDS Ford
39 41 23 Jeb Burton # Estes Toyota
40 42 32 Jeffrey Earnhardt(i) BeerFrost.com/CorvetteParts.net Ford
41 40 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford
42 39 95 Michael McDowell Thrivent Financial Ford
43 27 46 Michael Annett Switch Hitch Chevrolet

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during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.

Sept. 12, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

But JGR’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer.

Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by .951 seconds over his teammate.

Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie Johnson and JGR teammate Kyle Busch, meant the 16 drivers who started the race in playoff-eligible positions stayed there. Jamie McMurray (13th-place finisher), Jeff Gordon (seventh), Ryan Newman (20th), Clint Bowyer (10th) and Paul Menard (26th) all earned berths in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup based on position in the standings — without a victory between them.

Joey Logano ran third, followed by Aric Almirola, whose gallant bid to crack the Chase grid fell 17 points short of the final position claimed by Menard. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home fifth.

The victory was Kenseth’s second at Richmond and the 35th of his career. Joe Gibbs Racing has won seven of the last nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, with Logano the only other driver to score a win during that stretch.

Emblematic of JGR’s dominance at Richmond was a restart on Lap 126. Hamlin surged from fourth to first on the restart lap, pulling his three teammates with him. The four Gibbs cars quickly separated from fifth-place Kyle Larson, establishing a gap of two seconds back to the No. 42.

It was akin to watching Prototypes streak away from GT Class cars at the Rolex 24 Hours sports car race at Daytona.

Kenseth overtook Hamlin for the top spot on Lap 139, but for 60 straight laps the JGR teammates ran 1-2-3-4, until McMurray (who had qualified for the Chase simply by taking the green flag to start the race) passed Carl Edwards for the fourth position on Lap 186.

The only suspense during that stretch came when Kenseth and Edwards rubbed fenders while fighting for position early in the run.

Logano was the only non-JGR driver who could stay within hailing distance of Kenseth, but the ultimate third-place finisher stayed out on old tires for that restart on Lap 126 and did a creditable job holding the 10th spot before the fourth caution on Lap 209 gave him a chance to pit for fresh rubber.

Notes: Roush Fenway Racing failed to place a car in the Chase for the first time in the organization’s history… McMurray and Menard earned Chase positions for the first time in their careers… Newman made the Chase without a victory for the second straight year… In his final season as a full-time Sprint Cup driver, Gordon qualified for his 11th Chase in 12 tries.