Jimmie Johnson will make his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in Sunday’s Aaron’s 399 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Johnson’s accomplishments over his first 299 starts are almost unparalleled. For instance:
·Johnson has won an unprecedented four consecutive championships.
·His 50 victories are tied for 10th all-time with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Junior Johnson and Hall of Fame nominee Ned Jarrett.
·Of the 12 drivers with 50 victories, only four have reached that plateau in fewer than 300 starts: Johnson (296), Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
·Johnson currently has a winning percentage of 16.7%, which ranks fifth behind legends Herb Thomas (21.1%), Tim Flock (20.9%), Pearson (18.3%) and Richard Petty (16.9%).
In a relatively short time, Johnson also has 122 top fives and 186 top 10s. Last week at Texas Motor Speedway, he surpassed 10,000 laps led (currently 10,037).
Below is a timeline of some of Johnson’s career highlights en route to 300 starts:
1 – His first start was a rough one. On October 7, 2001, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Johnson wrecked, finishing 39th. He has only 27 DNFs (did not finish) in his career.
13 – At Auto Club Speedway on April 28, 2002, Johnson picked up his first victory in his 13th race, second-quickest among drivers with 50 wins. Lee Petty, who captured his first victory in his fifth start, is the only member of the “50 Wins Club” to nab his first victory faster.
51 – In what became customary, Johnson won NASCAR’s long race – the Coca-Cola 600 – for the first time, on May 25, 2003. He has won three Coke 600’s, all of them in a row from 2003-05.
118 – On April 17, 2005 at Texas, Johnson finished third, collecting his 13th consecutive top-10 finish, the longest such streak of his career.
148 – To start a dream season, Johnson won the Daytona 500 on Feb. 19, 2006. He would go on to win the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, the Brickyard 400 and his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship that season.
218 – Johnson wins four consecutive races. His fourth straight came at Phoenix International Raceway, on Nov. 11, 2007.
251 – On Oct. 19, 2008, Johnson won at Martinsville Speedway and led 339 laps – the highest single-race laps led mark of his career.
296 – Johnson won his 50th race, at Bristol on March 21, 2010, a milestone that further solidified his place among the all-time greats.
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