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Officials with Hendrick Motorsports have announced two-year contract extensions for six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and primary team sponsor Lowe’s.
The extensions, which were announced today via press release, run through the 2017 season.
Johnson, 39, is the No. 1 seed in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which gets underway with Sunday’s myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
A four-time winner this season, Johnson is attempting to become only the third driver in series history to win seven premier series titles, joining Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.
He is a 74-time race winner in the series and is only two victories short of tying Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time win list. Johnson is the only driver to capture five consecutive Sprint Cup championships (2006-10).
He and crew chief Chad Knaus have been paired together at Hendrick since the 2002 season.
“My relationship with Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports means so much,” Johnson said in a team release. “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.”
Knaus, whose latest contract extension runs through 2018, won championships as a crewman with teammate Jeff Gordon in ’95 and ’97 prior to being named crew chief for Johnson.
“The contributions Jimmie and Chad have made to Hendrick Motorsports can’t be overstated,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “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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Lowe’s, the North Carolina-based home improvement chain, has been the No. 48 team’s primary sponsor since 2002. It also backed the team for three races in 2001.
The company funded the efforts of drivers Brett Bodine (’95-96) and Mike Skinner (’97-01) before aligning with Hendrick.
“Their dedication … not only to Hendrick Motorsports but to the NASCAR community and our fans, has been absolutely incredible,” Hendrick said. “We’re fortunate to work with a company that’s truly passionate about our sport and shares many of our organization’s core values.”
Hendrick teams have won 11 premier series titles and 237 races since debuting in NASCAR in 1984 as a single-car entity with driver Geoff Bodine.
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In addition to Johnson, HMS also fields NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entries for drivers Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.
Gordon, a four-time series champion, will retire from driving at the end of 2015. He will be replaced by defending NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott.
Earnhardt Jr. is signed through the 2017 season while Kahne’s contract was renewed late last year and will keep the Enumclaw, Washington, native on board through 2018.
Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. will join Johnson in this year’s 16-team Chase field.