No Pressure?

Jimmie Johnsonn on track during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 5, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia. (Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnsonn on track during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 5, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia. (Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnsonn on track during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 5, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia. (Getty Images)

RICHMOND, Va.—With Jimmie Johnson and his team in a relative slump of late, talk of a possible record-tying seventh champion for the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has subsided.

Given Johnson’s prowess on the 10 NASCAR postseason tracks, however, his chances of equaling the number of titles accumulated by Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt can’t be discounted.

To Johnson, though, the record won’t be on his mind—until the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the four remaining drivers in the Chase will race for the championship, with the top finisher among the four claiming the title.

“I don’t think I’ll feel the pressure to try to tie our two greats in our sport until it’s right there in front of me,” Johnson said. “Right now, it’s just the championship.

“If I get to Homestead and have a chance and I’m one of the four, as much as I want to push that out of my mind that I’m racing for history, it will be there and I won’t be able to hide from it at that point.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.