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Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American stock car racing driver and a six-time champion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports.
Johnson was born in El Cajon, California, and began racing motorcycles at the age of four. After graduating from Granite Hills High School he competed in off-road series. He raced in Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group, Short-course Off-road Drivers Association and SCORE International, winning rookie of the year in each series. In 1998, Johnson and his team, Herzog Motorsports, began stock car racing. He moved to the national American Speed Association series for late model touring cars, and won another rookie of the year title. In 2000, he switched to the NASCAR Busch Series.
He moved to Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series in 2002. After finishing fifth in the points in his first full season, he was second in 2003 and 2004 and fifth in 2005. Johnson won his first Cup series championship in 2006 and with further wins in 2007, 2008, 2009 and in 2010 became the only driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive championships. During the 2011 season, Johnson finished sixth in points, while he finished third in 2012. In 2013, Johnson won his sixth championship, one fewer than Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt who have the record for the most championships. Johnson is also a two-time Daytona 500 winner, with victories in 2006 and 2013. Between 2002 and 2013, Johnson has recorded six championships, 66 wins, 272 top-tens, and 32 pole positions.
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