In 2006, Jimmie Johnson finished outside the top 10 four times during the 10-race Chase. Still, he overcame those stumbles to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
At Phoenix last Sunday, Johnson suffered his fifth finish outside the top 10 in this year’s Chase. That’s an all-time Chase high for the best playoff driver in history and proved too much to overcome. It also signaled the end of an era. Now sitting 68 points out of the lead going into the season finale, Johnson has officially been eliminated from championship contention.
His unprecedented – and unbelievable – streak of five consecutive championships is now over.
During his title-winning dynasty, from 2006-2010, Johnson captured 35 of his 55 career victories. He won in all manners, with his last arguably his most impressive – erasing a 15-point deficit in the final race to overtake Denny Hamlin at Homestead.
So now what? Pride, in the form of a top-five championship finish, is on the line. Since Johnson joined the series fulltime in 2002, he has finished in the top five each season. That streak is teetering. He currently sits fifth in points, but is only two points ahead of sixth-place Matt Kenseth going into Homestead.
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