Jimmie Johnson Wins 7th Sprint Cup Championship
It was a roller coaster of a day for Jimmie Johnson on Sunday, November 20th, 2016, but at the end of that ride he had become a Sprint Cup Champion for a record-tying seventh time.
Johnson's day began with NASCAR officials looking at his car and thinking that it just didn't "look" right. NASCAR inspected his Lowe's machine, and they saw that he had made pre-race adjustments that were not allowed. That meant that the 48-car driver would have to start at the back of the field. Of course, being a Championship 4 racer, many drivers in the field moved out of his way. When he got to cars in the top 20, that wasn't exactly the case. When it came to those drivers, he had to get passed them on his own.
Johnson got himself into the top 15, and then the top 10. Then, with 10 laps to go, a massive crash involving Carl Edwards and Joey Logano red flagged the race. There was concern for Johnson losing momentum in the standstill, but that didn't occur. Instead, Johnson got to the front of the pack, and rode his Lowe's car to the checkered flag. Johnson had joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. as the only drivers to win seven Cup Titles. There will be much debate as to where exactly Johnson stands among the greats, but for now, he will celebrate a very rare feat.
