NASCAR Cup Series

4 reasons why Johnson will win his seventh championship this year

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:18 p.m. ET

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Tom Jensen

When Jimmie Johnson won his fifth consecutive NASCAR Premier Series championship in 2010, a lot of people took it as a given that he would go on to win at least seven championships and tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most in history.

While Johnson did win his sixth title in 2013 that was the only championship he’s won in the last five seasons. The combination of fierce competition and the change to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format in 2014 so far have kept Johnson from getting a seventh title.

But I believe he will finally get that coveted championship this year. And here are four reasons why:

The tracks

In both 2014 and last year, Johnson was eliminated prior to the Round of 8, which starts at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.  But this year, he made it in and from here on out he’s going to be very tough to beat.

By a vast margin, Johnson has the best numbers of any driver in this round. He has won 18 races at Martinsville, Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway, the three tracks in the Round of 8. No other driver in this round has more than nine career victories at this track — half of Johnson’s totals. Most have far fewer than that.

Johnson’s average finishes at these tracks is incredible: 7.52 at Martinsville, 7.85 at Phoenix and 8.27 at Texas. Johnson couldn’t have picked three more favorable tracks for this round.

Texas

Johnson loves Texas Motor Speedway, especially in the fall, where he has won each of the last four Chase races. He has the fast, 1.5-mile Texas track figured out and he, crew chief Chad Knaus and the entire No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team will come to Texas expecting to win.

Flying solo

Usually, having teammates is a significant advantage, which is why multi-car teams exist in the first place. But this time of year, it might be best to fly solo.

With Johnson the only Hendrick driver still in the Chase, the team will focus all of its formidable resources on the No. 48 car. Every single employee at Hendrick, from team owner Rick Hendrick to the guy who sweeps the floors at night, will be laser-focused on one thing: Getting Johnson and the team their seventh title.

Johnson will get the best engines, the best cars, the best personnel, the best of everything the team has to offer. And Hendrick’s best is pretty damned impressive.

Yes, Joe Gibbs Racing has four of the final eight drivers left in the field, but they may find it difficult to keep everyone on level ground and an even keel, especially heading into the final races.

Experience

Should the No. 48 team make it to the final round at Homestead — and they should — they will come into the last race of the season with more experience than any of the other three teams in terms of racing for a championship.

Johnson is a master of not letting the pressure get to him, while getting under the skin of the guys he’s racing. And that’s just one more reason why he is the man to beat this year.

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