Johnson in the form of his life
28 June 2010
Jimmie Johnson is in the form of his life right now. Five wins from the 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races held so far this year has left him in fourth place in the Castrol Rankings.
The four-time title-winner may not be leading the way in the Sprint Cup this season - Kevin Harvick is - but he has been by far and away the dominant driver of the year so far.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver can quite legitimately call himself the King of NASCAR, especially as his Sears Point victory in late June proved he can win on every kind of circuit that Sprint Cup organisers can throw at him.
Whether it be short ovals, superspeedways, road courses, or the now almost never-ending string of 1.5-mile ovals, Johnson has always been to the fore, and that has helped to establish him as the best non-Formula 1 driver in the Castrol Rankings, and significantly ahead of his nearest NASCAR rival Denny Hamlin (12).
Claims that he saves his best form for the end of season 'Chase for the Championship' can also be dismissed by a simple look at the wins he had chalked up.
Since the start of 2006, the first of his four consecutive title-winning seasons, Johnson has taken his number 48 Chevrolet to 34 wins in NASCAR's top division - more than twice as many as anyone else.
Only four other drivers can even boast a win total in double figures across the same period of time. Kyle Busch, who has 16, is the best of the rest, while Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin have 13 and Carl Edwards 12.
His five race victories so far this season represent his best start to a campaign yet. Woe betide the rest of them if his chase form matches it.
The Castrol Rankings is based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the Castrol Rankings scores are calculated, click here.
