Another kind of six pack?

SONOMA, CA - JUNE 20: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 20, 2014 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA - JUNE 20:  Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 20, 2014 in Sonoma, California.  (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA – JUNE 20: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 20, 2014 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

SONOMA, Calif. –Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won five straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, dating to Jeff Gordon’s May 10 victory at Kansas Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson followed with wins at Charlotte at Dover before Dale Earnhardt Jr. collected his second victory of the year in the June race at Pocono. Last week at Michigan, Johnson finally broke his jinx with his first triumph at the two-mile speedway.

Even though Johnson, Gordon and Kasey Kahne all have won at Sonoma, Johnson stopped short of predicting victory for HMS at the 1.99-mile road course. After all, there have been nine different winners in the last nine Sonoma races.

“It’s been such a different race the last five or six years, when you look at the winners,” Johnson said Friday before the opening Sprint Cup practice. “People you might not put into that road course ringer category, myself included … I won, Martin (Truex, Jr.), Clint (Bowyer), Kasey Kahne was in there at some point. More traditional oval guys, so I think this is the hardest race to pick yet.

“Then, when you add the fuel strategy that typically plays in, that shakes it up as well. I think all four of our Hendrick cars will be capable of it, and we certainly want to keep the streak alive, but I can’t pick a favorite here. I could probably pick a favorite, but I don’t think there is a safe bet on a winner. I think there are 20, 25 cars that could win here.”

Johnson, of course, would like nothing better than to post a fourth triumph this season, just three days before he and his No. 48 team are scheduled to visit President Barack Obama at the White House in recognition of their 2013 championship.

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.