- 83 career Cup Series wins.
- 7 career Cup championships.
- 5 Driver of the Year awards.
- 2009 AP Male Athlete of the Year.
Jimmie Johnson has quite the track record over his 19 years in the NASCAR cup series. Ten years ago, Jimmie Johnson was a household name. But over the last few years of his career, his performance has begun to dwindle. Fans and even NASCAR itself are hellbent on convincing us that he’s still an elite driver. That may be the case in the illusions many fans have created for themselves, but let’s take a look at the numbers.
2017 tied a career low for Johnson in terms of wins (3) and was a career low for Johnson in top 5s (4) and top 10s (11). This career-low season stood only until one year later, when he had an even worse season with no wins, two top 5s and 11 top 10s, an average finish of 16.7, as well as another career-low 40 laps led.
2018 was a painful year for not just Jimmie Johnson but also Hendrick Motorsports and his fans. I’m not even a fan of his but I can say I was heartbroken for him after the ending of the inaugural Charlotte Roval race, when he was so close to beating Truex Jr. but ended up spinning out near the finish line, eliminating himself from the playoffs.
The good news for Johnson and his fanbase is that 2019 is already shaping up to be better than 2018, as he has led 68 laps so far, one pole award (compared to zero last year), one top 5 finish and four top 10 finishes.
Don’t get too excited yet, because Johnson still has an average finish of 15.9, which, granted, is better than last year. But what is that saying when we call 68 laps led, one pole award and an average finish of 15.9 an improvement? Chevy as a whole has struggled over the last two years since the introduction of the Camaro (four wins in 2018, one so far in 2019) but is, like Johnson, slightly improving.
Jimmie Johnson is 43 now and certainly not getting younger. With only minor improvements to be seen so far in 2019 coming off a career-low season in 2018, the question has to be asked: is Jimmie Johnson no longer an elite driver?
