Welcome to TimersSports
Jimmie Johnson is coming off a career-worst season in well over a decade. And in 2018, I think we are gonna find out weather or not Jimmie is headed towards the dreaded decline. Sure, he was in the championship conversation last season during the playoffs, but he struggled most of the season outside of his wins. He scored a career-low 4 top 5 finishes and 13 top 10 finishes. Just being top 10 good in 90% of the races isn't good enough to win championships in this series. Over the past two seasons, he has posted career-lows in his numbers. Statistically, 2016 and 2017 both ranked as his worst two seasons ever as a full-time driver. They ranked as his worst two seasons on record in top 5 finishes (third-worst actually), top 10 finishes and average finish. 2016 ended in a championship, but even Johnson admitted that a test session at Indy really helped turn him and his teammates' season around. So in 2018, we are gonna find out a lot more about the 48 team. He really is one of the more interesting storylines heading into the season. At least from the things I am looking forward to finding out.
Johnson has been excellent throughout his career on the intermediate tracks. There is surprise that he is the current all-time leader in wins on this type of track. Obviously his years of success can be contribute to his ability to win on these tracks. Of course his level of equipment has a lot to do with that as well. His top 3 intermediate tracks are Dover, Texas and Atlanta. You can add several other tracks to that list though. Such as Chicago, Charlotte and Cali off top of my head. Dover is one of his best tracks on the schedule and it is not very close. I would easily rank it as a top 3 track for him. The things he has accomplished here in his career is just incredible! Since the 2009 season (18 races ago), he has posted 8 wins (yeah that half of the races) with 12 Top 5 finishes and 14 top 10 finishes. In 6 of his last 9 race at Dover, he has finished in the top 4. During those 9 races, he has posted 4 wins. With 3 of those wins coming in the spring race at Dover.
At Texas, he has been very good for very many years. Since the 2012 season, he has been nearly unstoppable. In his last 11 races here, he has won a staggering 6 times. Including 5 top 4 finishes in his last 7 races at Texas. In those 7 races, he has posted 4 wins. All those wins has came since the 2014 season. In the last 6 races that he has led at least 1 laps, the has gone onto victory lane. Just crazy to think about, isn't it? At Atlanta , he has been great at for most of his career. In recent seasons, he haven't shown much to disprove that, either. He finished 19th in last season's but prior to that he won races in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Since the 2010 season, he has finished in the top 5 in 5 of 8 races. Prior to finishing 19th in 2017, he had straight top 4 finishes from 2014 to 2016 seasons.
At the shorter flats, he haven't been too bad on in recent seasons overall. At Richmond, he has been the best among the three tracks. Over his last 7 races at Richmond, he has compiled 7 straight top 11 finishes. Even though 5 of 7 races has ended between 8th-11th. Still, he is being very consistent and getting good finishes. It is only matter of time before those finishes start to creep closer to the front. Consistently is key to long-term success at any track.
At New Hampshire, I guess he haven't terrible. But there was a time where he could be counted on to contend for wins though. From July 2007 to September 2013 (14 races), he posted 12 top 9 finishes. Including 9 Top 6 finishes during that 14-races span. Since? In his last 8 races, he has finished 4 of 8 races outside of the top 10. He does have finishes of 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th. With 3 of those 4 finishes coming in the September races. In fact, you have to go back to 2011 season to find a race where he finished worse than 14th. Not too bad!
At Phoenix (ISM), he has really fallen off in recent seasons. He isn't the driver that he once was here. But as we put more laps on this current surface, I think this track will come back to it once was. Sadly for Johnson, I don't think he will be racing where that actually happens. In 5 of his last 7 races, he has finished 11th or worse. With two additional finishes of 5th and 9th. If you want to look at it another way, he has finished 11th or better in 4 of his last 6 races. Which is pretty good actually, but obviously not what he was before the 2014 season. From 2007 to 2013, he was literally posting almost nothing but top 5 finishes. During that span, he failed to post top 5 finishes just three times. With only one of those three finishes outside of the top 14. He was crazy good before the repave was done.
Then there is Martinsville and Bristol. One track, we know exactly how good he is. Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville is just one of those things where he expect him to be great and contend for wins. Problem is? He has lost his touch in recent season. He has finished 12th or worse in 5 of his last 7 races at Martinsville. He won here back in October 2016. That was his first and last win since April 2013 at Martinsville. We know for years how he was a top 5 machine at this place. Now it seems like other drivers has risen to the top at this track.
At Bristol, he really only has one poor finish over the past 3 or 4 seasons. And that came in August 2016, where he finished 23rd. Otherwise, he has finished last 6 of 7 races in 11th or better. Pretty impressive at a track that has been known for a lot of wrecks and DNFs for most drivers out there. So to have zero incidents or DNF-like finishes, it is very impressive. I am kinda surprise about that, I would had thought that Johnson would end up with a few of those finishes. He kinda a target for that kind of stuff sometimes. In last spring's race, he won his second career race at Bristol. In 13 of his last 18 races, Johnson has posted finishes in the top 11.
The larger flats will be interesting for Jimmie Johnson in 2018. He was once the best driver in the series on the larger flats. But now? He is coming off a dreadful season at both Indy and Pocono. He finish on either track was 27th place. Not good in the three races. He has finishes of 27th, 35th and 36th. At Pocono, he has really gone down hill for some reason. He was great here at one point in his career. I remember back 5 years ago where I wouldn't dare bet against him. Now, you are afraid to pick him. In 5 of his last 7 races at Pocono, he has finished 16th or worse. With 4 finishes ending in 35th or worse. Do I really need to say anymore about it? At Indy, he is in a similar boat. He was great earlier in the career, but he has started to taper off in recent seasons. In his last four seasons, he has posted 3 finishes of 14th or worse. From 2006 to 2013 (8 races), he posted 5 Top 2 finishes with 4 races resulting in wins. He just haven't been the same since here.
At plate tracks, Johnson is kinda overrated. He won twice at Daytona in 2013 and followed it up a nice of stench of races. However, now he has gone back into slump again over the past two seasons. In his last four races at Daytona, he has no finishes better than 12th. And 3 of 4 races has ended in 16th or worse. At Talladega, he has been worse. In 6 of his last 8 races, he has finished 18th or worse. With 5 of those 6 finishes ending in 22nd or worse. He has just three top 5 finishes since start of the 2008 season at Talladega. One of those three where that epic 2011 finish, where he won. He finished 2nd in 2015 spring race, his most recent top 5 finish.
The road courses aren't terrible for Johnson by any means. I have always said that he is underrated on them. I still believe that, despite his finishes being down on them in recent. I still think he is a very capable road course racer. At Watkins Glen, he haven't had much luck at all lately. In 3 of his last 4 races, he has finished 28th or worse. Trust me, he isn't that bad. He will eventually get back onto the right track again. At Sonoma, he has been very competitively lately. He just haven't gotten the finishes though. Since the 2009 season, he haven't finished worse than 13th. He has finished 13th in 2017 and 2016. But in 2 of the last three races, he has led double digit laps (12 laps in 2017 and 45 in 2015). He won back in 2010 for his first and only road course win. I still believe that Johnson can make a very fine fantasy option at the road courses. I wouldn't say that I would feel comfortable, but I wouldn't hate it, either.
**All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Jimmie Johnson is coming off a career-worst season in well over a decade. And in 2018, I think we are gonna find out weather or not Jimmie is headed towards the dreaded decline. Sure, he was in the championship conversation last season during the playoffs, but he struggled most of the season outside of his wins. He scored a career-low 4 top 5 finishes and 13 top 10 finishes. Just being top 10 good in 90% of the races isn't good enough to win championships in this series. Over the past two seasons, he has posted career-lows in his numbers. Statistically, 2016 and 2017 both ranked as his worst two seasons ever as a full-time driver. They ranked as his worst two seasons on record in top 5 finishes (third-worst actually), top 10 finishes and average finish. 2016 ended in a championship, but even Johnson admitted that a test session at Indy really helped turn him and his teammates' season around. So in 2018, we are gonna find out a lot more about the 48 team. He really is one of the more interesting storylines heading into the season. At least from the things I am looking forward to finding out.
Johnson has been excellent throughout his career on the intermediate tracks. There is surprise that he is the current all-time leader in wins on this type of track. Obviously his years of success can be contribute to his ability to win on these tracks. Of course his level of equipment has a lot to do with that as well. His top 3 intermediate tracks are Dover, Texas and Atlanta. You can add several other tracks to that list though. Such as Chicago, Charlotte and Cali off top of my head. Dover is one of his best tracks on the schedule and it is not very close. I would easily rank it as a top 3 track for him. The things he has accomplished here in his career is just incredible! Since the 2009 season (18 races ago), he has posted 8 wins (yeah that half of the races) with 12 Top 5 finishes and 14 top 10 finishes. In 6 of his last 9 race at Dover, he has finished in the top 4. During those 9 races, he has posted 4 wins. With 3 of those wins coming in the spring race at Dover.
At Texas, he has been very good for very many years. Since the 2012 season, he has been nearly unstoppable. In his last 11 races here, he has won a staggering 6 times. Including 5 top 4 finishes in his last 7 races at Texas. In those 7 races, he has posted 4 wins. All those wins has came since the 2014 season. In the last 6 races that he has led at least 1 laps, the has gone onto victory lane. Just crazy to think about, isn't it? At Atlanta , he has been great at for most of his career. In recent seasons, he haven't shown much to disprove that, either. He finished 19th in last season's but prior to that he won races in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Since the 2010 season, he has finished in the top 5 in 5 of 8 races. Prior to finishing 19th in 2017, he had straight top 4 finishes from 2014 to 2016 seasons.
At the shorter flats, he haven't been too bad on in recent seasons overall. At Richmond, he has been the best among the three tracks. Over his last 7 races at Richmond, he has compiled 7 straight top 11 finishes. Even though 5 of 7 races has ended between 8th-11th. Still, he is being very consistent and getting good finishes. It is only matter of time before those finishes start to creep closer to the front. Consistently is key to long-term success at any track.
At New Hampshire, I guess he haven't terrible. But there was a time where he could be counted on to contend for wins though. From July 2007 to September 2013 (14 races), he posted 12 top 9 finishes. Including 9 Top 6 finishes during that 14-races span. Since? In his last 8 races, he has finished 4 of 8 races outside of the top 10. He does have finishes of 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th. With 3 of those 4 finishes coming in the September races. In fact, you have to go back to 2011 season to find a race where he finished worse than 14th. Not too bad!
At Phoenix (ISM), he has really fallen off in recent seasons. He isn't the driver that he once was here. But as we put more laps on this current surface, I think this track will come back to it once was. Sadly for Johnson, I don't think he will be racing where that actually happens. In 5 of his last 7 races, he has finished 11th or worse. With two additional finishes of 5th and 9th. If you want to look at it another way, he has finished 11th or better in 4 of his last 6 races. Which is pretty good actually, but obviously not what he was before the 2014 season. From 2007 to 2013, he was literally posting almost nothing but top 5 finishes. During that span, he failed to post top 5 finishes just three times. With only one of those three finishes outside of the top 14. He was crazy good before the repave was done.
Then there is Martinsville and Bristol. One track, we know exactly how good he is. Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville is just one of those things where he expect him to be great and contend for wins. Problem is? He has lost his touch in recent season. He has finished 12th or worse in 5 of his last 7 races at Martinsville. He won here back in October 2016. That was his first and last win since April 2013 at Martinsville. We know for years how he was a top 5 machine at this place. Now it seems like other drivers has risen to the top at this track.
At Bristol, he really only has one poor finish over the past 3 or 4 seasons. And that came in August 2016, where he finished 23rd. Otherwise, he has finished last 6 of 7 races in 11th or better. Pretty impressive at a track that has been known for a lot of wrecks and DNFs for most drivers out there. So to have zero incidents or DNF-like finishes, it is very impressive. I am kinda surprise about that, I would had thought that Johnson would end up with a few of those finishes. He kinda a target for that kind of stuff sometimes. In last spring's race, he won his second career race at Bristol. In 13 of his last 18 races, Johnson has posted finishes in the top 11.
The larger flats will be interesting for Jimmie Johnson in 2018. He was once the best driver in the series on the larger flats. But now? He is coming off a dreadful season at both Indy and Pocono. He finish on either track was 27th place. Not good in the three races. He has finishes of 27th, 35th and 36th. At Pocono, he has really gone down hill for some reason. He was great here at one point in his career. I remember back 5 years ago where I wouldn't dare bet against him. Now, you are afraid to pick him. In 5 of his last 7 races at Pocono, he has finished 16th or worse. With 4 finishes ending in 35th or worse. Do I really need to say anymore about it? At Indy, he is in a similar boat. He was great earlier in the career, but he has started to taper off in recent seasons. In his last four seasons, he has posted 3 finishes of 14th or worse. From 2006 to 2013 (8 races), he posted 5 Top 2 finishes with 4 races resulting in wins. He just haven't been the same since here.
At plate tracks, Johnson is kinda overrated. He won twice at Daytona in 2013 and followed it up a nice of stench of races. However, now he has gone back into slump again over the past two seasons. In his last four races at Daytona, he has no finishes better than 12th. And 3 of 4 races has ended in 16th or worse. At Talladega, he has been worse. In 6 of his last 8 races, he has finished 18th or worse. With 5 of those 6 finishes ending in 22nd or worse. He has just three top 5 finishes since start of the 2008 season at Talladega. One of those three where that epic 2011 finish, where he won. He finished 2nd in 2015 spring race, his most recent top 5 finish.
The road courses aren't terrible for Johnson by any means. I have always said that he is underrated on them. I still believe that, despite his finishes being down on them in recent. I still think he is a very capable road course racer. At Watkins Glen, he haven't had much luck at all lately. In 3 of his last 4 races, he has finished 28th or worse. Trust me, he isn't that bad. He will eventually get back onto the right track again. At Sonoma, he has been very competitively lately. He just haven't gotten the finishes though. Since the 2009 season, he haven't finished worse than 13th. He has finished 13th in 2017 and 2016. But in 2 of the last three races, he has led double digit laps (12 laps in 2017 and 45 in 2015). He won back in 2010 for his first and only road course win. I still believe that Johnson can make a very fine fantasy option at the road courses. I wouldn't say that I would feel comfortable, but I wouldn't hate it, either.
**All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
