Jimmie Johnson falls below playoff cutline

With six races left in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Jimmie Johnson once again finds himself outside of playoff eligibility in NASCAR’s premier series.

Johnson finished 30th, 13 laps down, citing issues with power steering and water pump pulleys.

The seven-time Cup Series champion is now ranked 17th, 17 points behind the playoff cutline.

“We’ve been trying all year,” Johnson said post race. “It’s not like we can magically flip a switch and all of a sudden have more. We’ve been able to run in the top five and we need to get back to doing that. That’s really what it boils down to.”

Entering the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, Johnson was ranked 15th in driver’s standings, 10 points above the playoff cutline.

Johnson’s has posted back-to-back 30th-place runs (Kentucky and New Hampshire) after posting two consecutive top-five finishes (Chicagoland and Daytona).

Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs every season since its inception in 2004.

“Certainly the wrong time of the year to have some bad luck,” Johnson said.

“It looked like the guys I’m worried about in the points didn’t have the best day either, so maybe I got a pass on this one. I’m just disappointed to say the least.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s last victory in the series was at Dover International Speedway in May of 2017, 78 races ago.

The next race for the Cup Series is the Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway next Sunday, July 28.

Johnson is a three-time winner at Pocono, with the most recent victory coming in June of 2013.