Five-Time Champ Jimmie Johnson to Celebrate Start of 2011 Season With Phoenix Fans!

Five-time defending Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson will visit the Valley of the Sun today to celebrate the start of the 2011 NASCAR season with local fans from Phoenix International Raceway. Johnson – driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet – will participate in a one-of-a-kind fan event at Casino Arizona’s Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale and will help PIR unveil a 48-hour ticket special for the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™ at PIR on Feb. 27.

The ‘48-hour Special’ will offer fans a unique discounted opportunity to take in NASCAR Sprint Cup action at PIR this February. Beginning at noon today and ending at noon on January 14, race fans can purchase a regularly-priced $90 ticket to the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™ for just $48. This ticket, located in the Upper AJ Foyt Grandstand, offers a full view of PIR’s one-mile oval and pit road. ‘48-hour Special’ tickets will be available at PhoenixRaceway.com/Jimmie-Johnson at noon on January 12.

Lowes’s Partners With PIR To Bring Kobalt Tools 500 To Track In November!

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced recently that Lowe’s and Kobalt Tools have joined the track’s team of corporate partners. As part of this new relationship, Kobalt will act as the official title sponsor for the track’s November 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event: The Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

“We’re excited to bring the Kobalt Tools 500 to Phoenix this year to let race fans in the West experience Kobalt as the next generation of tough tools,” said Tom Lamb, senior vice president of marketing and advertising at Lowe’s. “Lowe’s has been active in the Phoenix community for many years, so it was a natural fit to bring this race to our Kobalt fans in the Phoenix market.”

Lowe’s and Kobalt have seen their No. 48 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team make plenty of headlines in Phoenix. Four-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson – driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports – is a PIR record-holder with four Sprint Cup wins, including the last three November Sprint Cup events in Phoenix.

“We are thrilled to be working with Lowe’s and Kobalt Tools for NASCAR’s semi-final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup here in Phoenix,” Sperber said. “Trusted brands like Lowe’s and Kobalt Tools line up perfectly with the quality of racing and overall quality of event that race fans have come to expect at PIR each November.”

Although this is Lowe’s first time sponsoring a Phoenix race, it has been supporting the Phoenix community for years. Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation (LCEF) have given more than $2 million in donations to education and community improvement projects in Arizona. Most recently, the LCEF gave a $50,000 grant to the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Phoenix to renovate its teen center.

Today, Kobalt and Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program recognized the Metro Tech Vocational Institute of Phoenix as one of more than 400 schools across the country who is receiving a Kobalt tools package worth more than $1,100 to help prepare and educate the next generation of skilled trades professionals.

As the Semi-Final Race in the Chase, the Kobalt Tools 500 will begin at 1 p.m. MST on Sunday, November 14, with television coverage provided by ESPN and radio coverage by the Motor Racing Network. Tickets for the Kobalt Tools 500 and all other events throughout NASCAR’s Semi-Final Weekend at Phoenix International Raceway are available for purchase now at PhoenixRaceway.com.

NASCAR All-Star Race Preview Video

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers return to their Saturday night racing roots at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and a 10-lap shootout for the fans. Last year’s Fan Vote and race winner, Kasey Kahne, and Jeff Gordon — in search of a record fourth all-star victory — talk about the competition and the fans. Plus, find out why the top racer in Driver Rating will have to race his way into the main event.

And, if you want to watch something really entertaining, check out this video with Ric Flair inviting fans to watch the All-Star Race.

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Two To Go: Can the #48 team maintain their lead and all but secure their place in NASCAR history?

Jimmie Johnson is the undeniable King of the Chase, with 12 wins out of 48 total Chase races to date. The competition is mystified and, to some extent, frustrated with the dominance Johnson has displayed over the course of his past two, and most likely third straight championship.

While the rest of the field continues to spin their wheels, Johnson and crew look to put another nail in history. Only Cale Yarborough has tasted the sweet success of three straight NASCAR Championships, the last coming in 1978.  A strong run this weekend at PIR, and Carl Edwards in his rear-view mirror, will all but seal the deal and allow Jimmie to put the 48 on cruise control at Homestead a week from Sunday.

An interesting note on this weekend – In last years Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, Jimmie Johnson defeated Greg Biffle by 0.87 seconds to gain his 10th Sprint Cup Series win of 2007 and move closer to a second consecutive series championship. Guess who was on the pole? Carl Edwards by turning a lap of 27.114 seconds (132.774 mph).