It’s safe to say the 2018 season hasn’t been particularly kind to Jimmie Johnson thus far. The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner hasn’t tasted victory in 29 races, which is shocking considering his remarkable consistency in the past. Johnson has won 83 races over the course of his Hall of Fame-caliber career, but he’s been mired in a lengthy drought of late. In fact, it is the longest winless streak of his career to this point.
Of course, that streak could be coming to an end in short order. Johnson will have a chance to break the streak this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, or next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnson is the defending champion at both events, and he has enjoyed massive success at Texas Motor Speedway in the past. As such, he’s a heavy favorite to win.
Johnson may be the best driver Texas Motor Speedway has ever seen. He has won seven Cup events at TMS, which is the most all-time. He’s also racked up 15 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 finishes in his 29 starts at the Fort Worth track. Johnson is additionally the all-time leader in laps led at TMS (1,041) and he boasts a top-10 career average in finish (8.8) and starting position (9.4).
It would be a gross understatement to say he’s comfortable with his surroundings at Texas Motor Speedway. Finding a good betting strategy is key if you want to make good on your wagers. Based on his decorated history at TMS, Johnson looks to be about the safest bet on the board, in spite of his extended recent slump.
Johnson may have a little added motivation, as the first 30,000 fans that attend the race will receive a commemorative Jimmie Johnson bobblehead in honor of his 2017 victory at the same event. If nothing else, the bobblehead aspect may even add more pressure to the driver’s need to break his losing streak.
While he did win at Bristol last season, Johnson hasn’t enjoyed nearly as much success in Tennessee as he has in Texas. Johnson has just two wins at Bristol, the first of which came way back in 2010. That said, he has shown some improvement. Johnson has finished 11th or better in six of his last seven trips to Bristol, including two second place finishes, the most recent of which was in 2015.
Johnson needs to turn things around at some point. He’s just 17th in the standings as of this writing, though he has turned things around since his inauspicious start. Johnson wrecked at the season-opening Daytona 500, which put him in a points deficit from the get-go. Johnson has finished in the top-15 in each of his last four outings despite the fact that he has not led for a single lap at any event all season long. His best finish thus far was his ninth-place effort at the Auto Club Speedway in California last month.
While the season hasn’t gone his way quite yet, Johnson isn’t giving up. Last week, he took to Twitter to share a quote from New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth, “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” Johnson added, “I couldn’t agree more and can’t wait to get back to the track.”
The O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 will get underway from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Sunday, April 8, at 3pm Eastern Time.
