JIMMIE JOHNSON’S LATE-RACE SURGE TO WIN A RECORD-TYING SEVENTH CHAMPIONSHIP

PRIOR TO 2016, JIMMIE JOHNSON HAD WON SIX NASCAR CUP SERIES championships but none in the elimination-style playoff format that culminates in one final race where four drivers compete straight up for the

But entering the 2016 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson was one of the four drivers with a shot to bring home the big trophy, and bring home the trophy he did – moving into a tie with seven-time champions Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for most titles in NASCAR’s premier division.

Make no mistake about it, though: Johnson didn’t win his seventh championship with ease. He spent most of the race running last among the four title contenders, benefiting greatly when frontrunning championship contender Carl Edwards was caught up in a wreck in the final laps.

Later, crew chief Chad Knaus used some shrewd pit strategy to get Johnson out front for the first time all day just ahead of the final restart with two laps to go, and Johnson managed to hang on over those two green-flag laps to win the title over Joey Logano, who finished fourth in the race and second in the championship standings.

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1994 BRICKYARD 400 JEFF GORDON’S HOMETOWN WIN IN THE INAUGURAL BRICKYARD 400

ONCE CONSIDERED LITTLE MORE THAN A PIPE DREAM, THE idea of stock cars competing at world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway – a track steeped in Indy car tradition – became reality on Aug. 6, 1994, with the running of the inaugural Brickyard 400. Immediately considered the second biggest race on the Cup Series schedule, trailing only the Daytona 500 in prestige, that first Brickyard 400 featured lots of drama – including an ontrack dustup between brothers Geoff and Brett Bodine that resulted in Geoff, the older sibling, crashing out of the race. The battle for the win ultimately came down to Ernie Irvan and Jeff Gordon – who, although born in Vallejo, California, spent a significant portion of his childhood years just down the road from IMS in Pittsboro, Indiana. Gordon, whose No. 24 rainbow-colored Chevrolet was one of the fastest cars all race long, took the lead for good with six laps to go when Irvan’s race-leading Ford cut down a tire, ending his chances of a victory.

FIRECRACKER 400 RICHARD PETTY’S LANDMARK 200TH VICTORY AT DAYTONA ON JULY 4, 1984

WITH RONALD REAGAN – THE FIRST SITTING U.S. president to ever attend a NASCAR race – watching from a suite high above Daytona International Speedway, seventime NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty claimed his 200th and final victory in dramatic fashion on July 4, 1984, by edging three-time champion and fellow NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough in a photo finish.

After being passed for the lead by Yarborough coming down the backstretch on the final lap, Petty used a classic slingshot move to regain the top spot in Turns 3 and 4 and then held on to score a win that to this day remains one of the most iconic moments in NASCAR history. After the race, Petty – or “The King,” as he’s long been known – received heartfelt congratulations from Reagan, who had given the command to start the engines from Air Force One before landing at the nearby airport and joining NASCAR president Bill France Jr. to watch the final laps unfold.

1997 SOUTHERN 500 AT DARLINGTON JEFF GORDON’S