Jimmie Johnson Has Had One Crazy 2017 Season

By Asher Fair | Jun 23, 2017

Jun 4, 2017; Dover, DE, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) races during the AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports /

Wrecking. Winning. More Winning. Cancer. Victim of theft. Which NASCAR driver do those words and phrases describe? None other that the lone active seven-time champion, Jimmie Johnson.

Jimmie Johnson has had one heck of a career in the NASCAR Cup Series. But despite winning seven championships prior to the start of the 2017 season, this season may very well be his most memorable. And there are still 21 of 36 races remaining.

The craziness really started at the end of last season, when Johnson started last in the final race of the season at Miami and came all the way to the front to win the race and his record-tying seventh career Cup Series championship. That put the spotlight on him coming into the 2017 season, as at age 41, he looked and is still looking to win his eighth career championship and break the tie with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most championships in NASCAR history.

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But even only 15 races into the season, it’s been quite the year for Johnson. He’s had more than his share of both ups and downs thus far, and things seem to get crazier by the minute.

Johnson started off the season with a wreck at the Daytona 500, a race he is a two-time champion of, before going on to finish in the top 10 just once in the following five races. While there was speculation that maybe his career was finally slowing down, he proved his doubters wrong, like usual, with a win at Texas, and he followed it up with a win at Bristol in the next race to become the second two-race winner of 2017.

He then had another minor cold streak, finishing 11th, 8th, 24th and 17th in the following four races. Then at Dover, he won for the 11th time despite starting from the back. The victory was his 83rd career win, which tied him for 6th on the all-time wins list with Cale Yarborough, one of the all-time NASCAR greats, and it was his third of the season, which gave him the most among all active drivers.

But Johnson hardly had time to celebrate the historic victory, as the following day he went under the knife to have cancer removed from his shoulder.

Wear sunblock kids. I've spent the morning on a table having Basal Cell Carcinoma cut out of my shoulder.
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) June 5, 2017

And now his crew chief, Chad Knaus, had his laptop stolen. The laptop reportedly contained race notes for Johnson for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Must Read: Chad Knaus' Laptop STOLEN

What a season Johnson, who sits in 8th place in the championship standings, has had, and it’s not even halfway over. Inconsistent is an understatement to describe Johnson’s season. Flat-out crazy is more like it. Even that doesn’t paint the whole picture. He has had more ups and downs than any other driver in the field in 2017 for sure, and it really isn’t even close.

Next: Who Is NASCAR's Next Superstar After Jimmie Johnson?

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