Johnson faces uphill battle to claim Cup title number eight


Advertisement

Funny things, these hot streaks. As quick as you're on one, poof!

This is the spot Jimmie Johnson finds himself in. Rewind about a month ago early in the NASCAR playoffs and Johnson was making all the right moves and getting all the right breaks. Then comes Kansas, then Martinsville, and Texas right after. It's been downright brutal.

"This last half of the year has been really weird," Johnson told autoweek.com. "In places where we expect to run well and traditionally do, we haven't."

Which leaves the 7-time reigning Cup champion in a precarious position. To have any shot at a record eighth Cup title, heck, to even stay alive in the playoffs period, Johnson will have to win at Phoenix.

Advertisement

"I know we're building a better race car and taking a few new ideas to Phoenix and we'll go there and fight as hard as we can. And that's one thing this team will never do it give up."

He's got a huge hill to climb. Johnson sits eighth in the playoff standings and 51 points out of the final transfer spot to go to Homestead. It's time to get hot again.