Johnson aims to end winless run

Rockingham-11) and Darrell Waltrip (Bristol-12, Martinsville-11) as drivers to win 11 races at a single track. His 83rd career victory tied him with Yarborough for sixth on the career victory list. Waltrip and Bobby Allison are next at 84.

“I think we have created an environment of very high expectations because of the success we’ve had and I think people forget how special our run has been,” Johnson said. “We certainly want to get back into those ways and have it happen again. But history shows it doesn’t happen very often. And we’re very fortunate to harness lightning for a long stretch of time.”

His biggest loss, though, has been his sponsor. Lowe’s is leaving the sport after 18 years as the only Cup Series sponsor Johnson has had. His rights are for sale for the first time.

Then there is the question of his manufacturer — Chevrolet switched its car body to the Camaro. Austin Dillon’s win in the Daytona 500 is the only one for a Chevy driver this season and Kyle Larson’s pole run on Friday was just the second for Chevy of the season. Toyota won eight of the final 10 races in 2017, including the championship with Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing.

“I think we have been the benchmark or that high watermark for so many years, that other manufacturers and teams invested a couple of years in figuring out how to beat us,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who starts 19th, hopes the turnaround truly starts at Dover.