Jimmie Johnson knows how to pace himself through the NASCAR season.
His effort has paid off with seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series titles and 83 career wins.
While many of his fellow competitors will head for the beach for spring break in two weeks, Johnson will compete in the 2019 Boston Marathon. After spending the last four months training for his first full marathon, the 43-year-old racer feels he’s up for the task.
“It is probably hour most days, and maybe two days where it is an hour and a half or two hours for a run just to get the mileage in,” Johnson said. “It is a lot less than I have done in years past training for triathlons and some cycling events I have done. Running is much more efficient. You can get a lot done in a shorter period of time.
“I am thankful that the bulk of my mileage is behind me and I am starting a process called tapering. This week mileage cuts back, next week even more and then the following week we are at the marathon. We’ve tore the body down, now it is time to rebuild it and get ready and heal up to run my 26.2 on April 15th.”
This year’s NASCAR schedule was ideal for Johnson to knock the Boston Marathon off of his bucket list. With Richmond being a Saturday night race, Johnson has a full day to recover before undertaking the challenge.
“I do feel good,” Johnson said. “I lost a month due to an injury and a cold. I know that is going affect my goal in a sense, but to go run such a major event on Patriots Day and what I hear about the experience, I’m just excited to have that chance. It’s going to be a fun day.”
FINAL PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was fastest in final practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with a speed of 186.987 mph. Hamlin has made 26 series starts at Texas Motor Speedway posting two wins (2010 sweep) and 12 top 10s.
“The car has got good speed, said Hamlin following final practice. “I’m happy about that for sure. Just traffic is where we’re really trying to work on our car and trying to get it handling the best that we can.”
Polesitter Jimmie Johnson was fifth on the speed chart in final practice, but also led the best 10 consecutive lap averages chart with an average speed of 184.366 mph. Johnson has visited Victory Lane seven-times at Texas; including once from the pole (2012).
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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