Why Johnson’s playoff failure won’t tarnish his legacy
The last season of a retiring NASCAR great has shown promise, and may have resulted in another playoff push without small issues outside his control. 2020 won't be the year Jimmie Johnson would have wanted, but it won't be what he is remembered for
In a time before coronavirus, on 9 April 2017 at Texas Motor Speedway, defending NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson got his latest title defence moving.
A difficult start to the campaign in which Johnson bothered the top 10 just once, a ninth place at Phoenix, preceded a lowly 15th at the Martinsville short track where his #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had won nine times previously and showcased the pedigree that entered him into the very exclusive seven-time champions club with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
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