Jimmie Johnson ranks second all-time in NASCAR history with six championships in the premier series, trailing only Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty, who won seven. Johnson won five titles in a row from 2006-10 and added his sixth in 2013.
Now that he has passed Earnhardt Sr. on the all-time race wins list, with 77, could a seventh title be far behind?
A look back at Johnson's championships (pre-Chase rank=standing at end of regular season; Chase rank=standing before first race of Chase for the Sprint Cup):
2006
Pre-Chase rank: Second (four wins)
Chase rank: Second, five points behind leader Matt Kenseth
How the Chase was won: Johnson got off to a relatively poor start in the first four races, then turned it on, scoring one win and four second-place finishes in the final six races to pull away from runner-up Kenseth. He won his first title in just his fifth full-time season on the circuit.
2007
Pre-Chase rank: Sixth (six wins)
Chase rank: First
How the Chase was won: Johnson continued his dominance of the 2007 regular season, earning another four victories in the Chase — in consecutive races — to wrap up his second Cup championship early in arguably his best season.
2008
Pre-Chase rank: Third (four wins)
Chase rank: Third, 40 points behind leader Kyle Busch
How the Chase was won: A win in the penultimate race at Phoenix International Raceway clinched Johnson's third championship in a row. Johnson also won at Kansas and Martinsville speedways to help him build a substantial lead in the standings.
PHOTOS: Jimmie Johnson through the years
2009
Pre-Chase rank: Third (three wins)
Chase rank: Tied for second, 10 points behind leader Mark Martin
How the Chase was won: Johnson didn't even need his win at Phoenix to clinch title No. 4. Earlier wins at Dover International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway helped Johnson build a huge points lead, and when the final race concluded, Johnson ended the season with a 141-point gap over second-place Martin.
2010
Pre-Chase rank: Seventh (five wins)
Chase rank: Second, 10 points behind leader Denny Hamlin
How the Chase was won: Hamlin gave Johnson a run for his money, but in the end, four-time became five-time. Johnson scored just one Chase win, at Dover, but it was enough to score his unprecedented fifth consecutive championship.
2013
Pre-Chase rank: First (four wins)
Chase rank: Second, three points behind leader Matt Kenseth
How the Chase was won: After Kenseth jumped out to an early lead — winning the first two races at Chicagoland and New Hampshire Motor speedways — Johnson roared back with a victory in the third race (Dover) and eighth race (Texas Motor Speedway) to take a slim seven-point lead on Kenseth into the penultimate race at Phoenix. And that's where the title fight essentially was decided. Johnson finished third, Kenseth struggled with a 23rd-place finish, and Johnson took a 28-point lead to the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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