Jarit Johnson to Make Dover Debut

Last Race for First NASCAR Camping World East Season as Owner-Driver Thursday September 24, 2009 Dover, DE – The 2009 NASCAR Camping World East Series finale begins today at Dover International Speedway – ‘The Monster Mile’ in Dover, Delaware. Driver-Owner Jarit Johnson will pilot the no.74 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Karl Chevrolet for the Sunoco 150 to complete his first-ever season in the series as a driver and team owner. Johnson has only competed in a partial schedule this year and enters the final race 17th in the Championship Standings. Johnson’s team has been a contender in nearly all events despite running against teams with greater funding and resources. His finishes have not been reflective of the team’s ability to run inside the top ten. “I can count many races this year that we have been right up front in the top ten or higher and in the final laps something happens. Something breaks, we get wrecked or some circumstance drops us back,” expressed Johnson. “I’m not one for looking back and I’m certainly not making any excuses, but we have had some tough breaks. All that matters in racing at the end of the day is what you post as a finishing position.” “That’s really the goal at Dover. Get a good solid finish to end the year on,” added Johnson. “We’ve been operating race to race all year not really knowing if we’ll get to the next race. It’s hard to operate like that and have success under those kinds of pressures. I’m hopeful we can have a good solid run at Dover and then get some sponsorship going for next year.” It will be the first-ever time that Johnson has raced at the 1-mile concrete track known as the Monster Mile. Practice begins today at 2pm with the final practice ending at 5pm. Qualifying begins Friday at 12:40pm with the green flag dropping at 4:45pm. Follow all the LIVE action and updates at: http://localracing.nascar.com/node/3814