Jimmie Johnson biography
Jimmie Johnson, in full Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, (born September 17, 1975, El Cajon, California, U.S.), American race-car driver who received seven National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) championships and was the primary driver to win the title in 5 consecutive years (2006–10).
Johnson, who began competing in motor sports activities at age 5, received his first championship in bike racing at eight years previous. Eventually he turned to four-wheel automobiles and took up offroad racing, competing in leagues that included Short-Course Off-Road Drivers Association, SCORE International, and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. He received six championships and was named Rookie of the Year in every of these leagues earlier than transferring on to the American Speed Association, the place he took Rookie of the Year honours in 1998. That identical 12 months, he started to race in NASCAR’s Busch Series and by 2000 was a member of Herzog Motorsports’ Busch crew, ending third in that season’s Rookie of the Year standings. When Herzog Motorsports misplaced its sponsor in 2000, Johnson was really helpful to Hendrick Motorsports by NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.
On October 7, 2001, Johnson completed thirty ninth (out of 43 drivers) in his first look in NASCAR’s high sequence, the Winston Cup Series. (The sequence was subsequently renamed, in 2004, the Nextel Cup Series and, in 2008, the Sprint Cup Series.) He additionally earned his first Busch Series win in 2001, at Chicagoland Speedway, winding up eighth in that sequence’s level standings. In 2002 he started his rookie season within the Cup Series, successful three races and ending the season ranked fifth. Two of these victories got here at Dover International Speedway in Delaware, making him the primary rookie in sequence historical past to comb each races at a monitor and the primary to guide the purpose standings (for one week). He completed second within the standings in 2003, with three victories, and did the identical in 2004, when he received a series-best eight instances. He completed fifth general in 2005 earlier than beginning his dominant run the next season.
In 2006, when he received his first Cup Series championship, Johnson registered 5 victories, together with the Daytona 500, and had 13 top-5 and 24 top-10 finishes. In 2007 he earned his second title, changing into the primary driver to have 10 victories in a season (together with 4 in a row) since his teammate Gordon received 13 races in 1998. In 2008 Johnson received seven races and his third championship, matching fellow American Cale Yarborough, the primary driver with three consecutive championships (1976–78). In 2009 Johnson once more received seven races, on his method to his fourth title. He was the primary to win 4 straight championships, and he grew to become the primary NASCAR driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. Johnson’s six victories in 2010 helped him safe a fifth championship.
Johnson’s championship streak led to 2011, when he completed the Cup Series season in sixth place, which he adopted with a third-place end in 2012. In February 2013 he received his second profession Daytona 500 title, and he completed that NASCAR season together with his sixth profession Cup Series championship. Johnson had his worst full NASCAR season in 2014, ending the 12 months with 4 race wins and in eleventh place within the Cup Series. He was barely higher in 2015, with 5 wins and a Tenth-place Cup Series end. Johnson’s streak of middling seasons was delivered to a sudden finish in 2016 as he received a seventh profession NASCAR title, which tied him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for essentially the most championships for a driver in Cup Series historical past.