NASCAR: Looking back at Jimmie Johnson’s incredible 15-year playoff run

The 151st NASCAR Cup Series playoff race is scheduled to take place this evening. For the first time ever, Jimmie Johnson is not a playoff driver.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson entered last Sunday’s Big Machina Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, more commonly known as the Brickyard 400, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the outside looking in as it came to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cut line.

The 43-year-old El Cajon, California native entered this race, the final race of the 26-race 2019 regular season, in 18th place in the championship standings, 19 points below the playoff cut line.

He needed to either get into the top 16 in the standings with his point total or win the 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana to qualify for the playoffs.

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But the seven-time champion was unable to end his career-long win drought, which is now up to 85 races after his previous career-long was only 24, and his playoff hopes came crashing to an end when he spun out in the race’s third and final stage and hit the turn two wall while running toward the front of the field.

As a result, for the first time in the 16-year history of the playoffs, Johnson is not a playoff driver and thus cannot win what would be his record-breaking eighth championship.

Before Cup Series playoff race #151, the South Point 400, gets underway this evening at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, take a look back at the incredible 15-year playoff run that Johnson saw end last Sunday.

In the 83-time Cup Series race winner’s 150 playoff races, his average finish was 10.31. He recorded 95 top 10 finishes, and 67 of these top 10 finishes were top five finishes. Of these 67 top five finishes, 29 were victories and 24 others were top three finishes.

In itself, 29 victories would rank 28th most of all-time. Of these 29 victories, 11 were earned by Johnson during some kind of winning streak, as he recorded a three-race winning streak in the 2004 playoffs, a career-long four-race winning streak in the 2007 playoffs and two-race winning streaks in the 2009 and 2012 playoffs.

Dover International Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, ISM Raceway produced 26 of these 29 playoff victories for Johnson, with each of these seven tracks producing multiple wins.

Johnson won championships in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2016 seasons, although he only won the season finale, which has only ever been held at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the playoff era, in 2016.

In the playoffs during his seven championship seasons, Johnson collected 55 top 10 finishes in 70 races, and 42 of these top 10 finishes were top five finishes. Of these 42 top five finishes, 18 were victories and 14 others were top three finishes. In itself, 18 victories would rank in a 47th place tie all-time.

For the first time since the playoffs were implemented, however, he will not have the opportunity to add to these incredible totals this year.

With Jimmie Johnson not in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the first time in his career, who will win the 2019 championship when it is decided in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in mid-November? Through the first 15 seasons of the playoffs, only seven drivers not named Jimmie Johnson have been crowned champion.

The 16-driver playoffs are scheduled to get underway at 7:00 p.m. ET this evening with the South Point 400. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.