Jimmie Johnson riding momentum into Bristol

Jimmie Johnson looks to build on his highest finish of the season last week at Texas Motor Speedway entering this weekend’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion led 60 laps at Texas last week and finished fifth after starting from the pole.

“It’s all directionally correct,” Johnson said to The Racing Experts. “We still have more to go, but (Texas was) a great day to build on.”

Heading into Bristol Motor Speedway, Johnson has earned three top-10 finishes across the first seven races. He holds the 15th position in driver’s standings, 16 points above the playoff cutline.

Johnson is the only driver in the history of the Cup Series to qualify for NASCAR’s version of the post-season every year since its inception in 2004.

Johnson, 43, has competed in 34 points-awarding Cup Series races at the Tennessee .533-mile paved track. He has earned two wins, 12 top-five finishes and 20 top-10 finishes.

Johnson finished inside the top 10 in both Bristol races in 2018, including a third-place run in the spring race.

“We have some momentum heading into Bristol, which as of late has been one of my better tracks,” Johnson said in a news release. “It’s one of the most physical tracks we run and you have to stay on top of things while there is just chaos everywhere.”

The Hendrick Motorsports driver is riding a 66-race winless streak, the longest drought of his career, dating back to Dover in June of 2017.

The eighth race of the season can be seen live on FOX Sports 1 Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
Team Chevrolet