Jimmie Johnson's win at Darlington jump-started a hot spring. Credit: Autostock

Mid-season surge places Johnson in contention

A sure-fire championship contender at the start of the season, Jimmie Johnson got off to a slow start in 2004, falling out of the top 10 in points for the first time in nearly two full seasons after disappointing races at Rockingham and Las Vegas.

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But he recovered with a vengeance by stringing together four victories, 13 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in the next 22 races heading for the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Even a blown engine at Indianapolis and a broken transmission at Watkins Glen didn't seriously damage his championship hopes.

Despite losing the point lead to teammate Jeff Gordon after the second Michigan race, Johnson responded with a third-place run at Bristol and a 14th-place run at California to retake the lead with one race left.

At Richmond, he got caught up in the mess made by Jimmy Spencer and Casey Mears and finished 36th.

Despite the late-season tailspin that saw him lose a 232-point lead, there is no reason to think that he's going to fall apart once the Chase begins.

He goes into the final 10 races as the man to beat, despite trailing team boss Jeff Gordon by five as the Chase begins. For the season, Johnson earned four victories, 15 top-fives and 16 top-10s.

Daytona 500: A solid day that saw him extend his streak of being in the top 10 in points to 70 races.

Subway 400 at Rockingham: A bad day at The Rock, ending 128 laps in with an accident. The result ended his string of being in the top 10 in points at 70 races.

UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas: Frustrating would be the word, though he led a lap and gained five bonus points.

Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta: Back on track at Atlanta, Johnson earned his second top-five finish of the season, chasing Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the Dodge Boys from Evernham to the finish.

Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington: What streak? Johnson earned his first victory of the season at NASCAR's toughest track and beat Bobby Labonte to the checkered flag by .132 seconds.

Food City 500 at Bristol: Survival is the name of the game at Bristol, and survive Johnson did. Solid finish, and led a lap, too.

Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas: Back in the top 10, but Johnson failed to lead a lap.

Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville: Martinsville can be tough, but Johnson came through OK, battling for the lead with eventual winner Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Aaron's 499 at Talladega: The first of the season's two trips to Talladega produced some stirring racing, and Johnson was instrumental in pushing boss Jeff Gordon to victory.

Auto Club 500 at California: When Jeff Gordon is hot, the rest of the field races for second. Johnson got it, nearly 13 seconds behind, but it was his third straight top-five.

Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond: Johnson wasn't as good as eventual winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., but he was better than everyone else to earn his second straight runner-up finish and fourth straight top-five.

Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway: Can you say déjà vu? The only thing missing from this year's Coca-Cola 600 was the rain. Johnson's second victory of the season was a dominant performance, as he won the pole and led the most laps.

MBNA 400 at Dover: No sweep this year, as Johnson got caught up in the final mess of what was a miserable day for a lot of people. The accident ended his streak of top-five finishes at five.

Pocono 500 at Pocono: Act 1 at Pocono held little drama, as Johnson raced to his third victory of 2004. He also led the most laps and managed to miss the officiating snafu that caught teammate Terry Labonte and others. Another bad day for race control, but not for Jimmie.

DHL 400 at Michigan: Johnson made it six top-five finishes in seven races with this fourth-place run, finishing as the best Chevrolet behind two Dodges and a Ford. Since point leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 21st, Johnson's effort earned him the points lead for the first time all season.

Dodge/Save Mart 300 at Infineon Raceway: After a qualifying mishap which recalled memories of his off-road roots sent him to the rear of the field, he soldiered his way to another top-five finish, in fifth.

Pepsi 400 at Daytona: Johnson began the second half of the season in much the same way as he did the first, in the top five at Daytona. It was his eighth top-five in nine races, but he failed to lead a lap.

Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland: The site of his lone NASCAR Busch Series victory almost became his fourth victory of 2004, but Tony Stewart bested him by nearly three seconds in the battle of the home-improvement warehouses.

Siemens 300 at New Hampshire: The streaks have to end sometime, and Johnson's top-five streak ended at five straight again. He also won both NHIS races in 2003, so no sweep here either. The good news was, he boosted his point lead to 165 over Earnhardt Jr.

Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono: Just when you think Johnson is headed for a bad patch, he pulls one off like this one. Nobody could catch Johnson all day, and he won his fourth race of the season by more than two seconds over Mark Martin. With the victory, he cemented his third straight season with a sweep of races at one track, joining Dover in 2002 and NHIS last year. He also pushed his point lead to 232 over his boss.

Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis: OK, here's the bad patch. Eighty-eight laps into the Brickyard, the engine expired, ending his day. Not that the day was all that spectacular to begin with, after he fell victim to an aero tap by Ryan Newman in the middle of Turn 3. His point lead fell from 232 to 97 over eventual winner Jeff Gordon.

Sirius at the Glen: A broken transmission sent him home early, but a similar malfunction on Gordon's car kept the points damage to a minimum. He left the Glen with a 40-point lead on his teammate and car owner.

GFS Marketplace 400: Michigan giveth the point lead, and Michigan taketh it away. After taking the point lead here earlier, Johnson's blown engine and subsequent 40th-place finish gave Jeff Gordon the point lead by 39. A 232-point lead after New Hampshire had melted like a sno-cone in the infield at Darlington on Labor Day. Come to think of it, it melted like the Southern 500 tradition.

Sharpie 500: Finally stopping the bleeding after three straight DNFs and a 271-point swing, Johnson finished third at Bristol, cutting Gordon's lead to 24. Johnson blew an engine in practice and was forced to the rear of the field for the start, which is usually the kiss of death at Thunder Valley. A cagey bit of pit strategy -- pitting after 21 laps and staying out when the rest of the leaders came in on lap 57 -- gave him the track position he needed to get back on track in the chase.

Pop Secret 500 at California: Ran 14th and re-took the point lead when team boss Gordon blew up late in the race. Just preparing for the Chase, since he's clinched.

Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond: Jimmy Spencer and Casey Mears got into it midway through the race and Johnson got caught up in it, eventually finishing 36th, but since he clinched at Bristol it didn't really matter. He finished second to Gordon in the Race to the Chase, but that doesn't mean he won't be up there at the end.