NASCAR Cup Series: Will Jimmie Johnson bounce back in 2019?

For the first time in his career as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, Jimmie Johnson failed to win a race in the 2018 season. Will he bounce back in 2019?

Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson entered the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2001 season, and he became a full-time driver in the 2002 season. He has been a full-time driver ever since that season, but the 2018 season was the first season of his career during which he failed to earn a victory.

The driver of the #48 Chevrolet entered the 2018 season on a 16-year streak during which he had earned at least one victory — in fact, at least two victories — per season. This streak was the longest active streak among all drivers.

In fact, this 16-year streak was the third longest streak in Cup Series history. Richard Petty earned at least one victory per season in 18 consecutive seasons (1960 through 1977) and David Pearson earned at least one victory per season in 17 consecutive seasons (1964 through 1980).

This 16-year streak was the second longest streak in Cup Series history when it comes to earning at least two victories per season. Petty earned at least two victories in each of the 18 seasons during his streak.

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But the seven-time Cup Series champion could not quite tie Pearson for second place on the all-time consecutive seasons with at least one victory list with a 17-year streak and move to within one year of potentially tying Petty’s all-time record with the second 18-year streak in the sport’s history, as he failed to win any races in the 2018 season.

Instead, the 14-year streak of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, which he made a 14-year streak by earning eight victories throughout the 36-race 2018 season, is now the longest active streak among the sport’s drivers.

Will the 43-year-old El Cajon, California bounce back in the 2019 season and thus earn his first victory since he won the race at Dover International Speedway in June of 2017?

Johnson is currently on a 59-race win drought, which is more than twice as long as the second longest win drought of his career, which is 24-race win drought that he ended by winning the October race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 2016 season. Before he won this race, he earned his most recent victory in the March race at Auto Club Speedway earlier that season.

It has become quite clear that Johnson is no longer performing at the level that won him seven championships and earned him 83 victories. In the 2018 season, he recorded career-lows in a number of major statistical categories, and many of his previous career-lows in these categories were just set in the 2017 season.

Yes, Chevrolet teams and drivers did struggle in the 2018 season getting a handle on the new Camaro ZL1. But Johnson’s struggles began long before the new Camaro ZL1 was introduced, and the fact that his teammate Chase Elliott earned three victories, the first three victories of his Cup Series career, in the 2018 season goes to show that it certainly wasn’t impossible for Chevrolet drivers to win races and record top five finishes on a regular basis even with the new Camaro ZL1.

I do believe that Johnson can get back to victory lane again in the 2019 season at least once. After all, he did come close to doing so on a few occasions in the 2018 season, and the 2018 season was only the first season in 17 seasons during which he failed to win a race.

But his days of being a championship contender seem to be in the rearview mirror, so him “bouncing back” in that light probably will not happen. Father Time is still undefeated.

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Will Jimmie Johnson find victory lane in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season for the first time since he did so at Dover International Speedway in June of 2017? The 36-race 2019 season is scheduled to get underway in slightly over a month and a half with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. This race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 17.

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