Jimmie Johnson 2017 Season Recap

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, finished 10th in the 2017 Monster Energy Series standings. Here are the highlights from his 16th year in NASCAR’s top level.

After just one top-10 finish through the season's first six races, Johnson broke through for a win at Texas Motor Speedway in April. It was his seventh career win at the track.

The seven-time champ followed up a week later, leading 81 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway to capture consecutive wins. The victory was surprisingly just Johnson's second at the short track.

After a four-race intermission from wins, Johnson once again landed in Victory Lane at his best race track -- Dover International Speedway. It wasn't the normal dominant performance from him that we're used to there, however, as he led just seven laps en route to his 11th win.

Johnson's win at Dover was the 83rd of his career, tying him with boyhood idol Cale Yarborough. It was the HMS driver's final win of the season, so he'll try to top the NASCAR Hall of Famer in 2018.

After making it to the Round of 12, Johnson found himself in a precarious position at Talladega, being involved in the 'Big One' and finishing 24th.

In mid-October, Johnson took new teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman -- who he affectionately dubbed 'the kids' -- to lunch. The veteran driver will impart his sage wisdom on his young teammates in 2018.

Remarkably, despite the Talladega wreck and two spins at Kansas, Johnson gritted out an 11th-place finish in the Round of 12 finale to move on in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Johnson's season was ended at Phoenix after a subpar Round of 8. It culminated with a crash in the desert that left him with a 39th-place finish in the race and 10th in the standings when the season wrapped up.

After Martin Truex Jr. won his first title, Johnson revealed the existence of the 'Champion's Journal,' which Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champions pass along to each champ the year after they win.