10 MILESTONE MOMENTS IN JOHNSON’S 21 SEASONS

1. Short-course off-road truck race at Los Angeles Coliseum in 1992: After that race, the 16-year-old Johnson met Chevrolet racing executive Herb Fishel, who became a significant force in Johnson’s career.

2. SODA off-road championship race in 1995: After winning, Johnson signed contract with Herzog Motorsports that began in off-road trucks before moving to asphalt stock car racing in 1997 in the ASA Series. He remained with the Herzogs through 2001 in the secondary NASCAR Busch Series.

3. Busch Series Chicagoland Speedway win in 2001: Johnson had caught the eye of four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon in 2000. Gordon promoted Johnson to team owner Rick Hendrick after the Chicagoland win. Johnson received a four-race trial with Hendrick Motorsports, leading to a full-time ride in NASCAR’S premier series in 2002.

4. Daytona 500 pole in 2002: No, it wasn’t a race win. But taking the pole in the season opener and NASCAR’S premier race put Johnson on the map. He finished 15th in the race and a lap down. Winning the pole secured Johnson a spot in the Daytona 500, which was good because he crashed in his qualifying race and wouldn’t have made the field on points from the 2001 season.

5. Auto Club Speedway in Fontana in 2002: He won his first race in NASCAR’S premier division in just his 13th career start. The El Cajon native called Fontana “his home track.” Johnson tied the rookie record with three wins in 2002 and finished fifth in the final points standings, but Ryan Newman was voted Rookie of the Year.

6. Daytona 500 in 2006: Johnson’s first win in NASCAR’S classic race served as the springboard to the first of his seven NASCAR titles.

7. Martinsville 500 in 2006: Johnson was eighth in the standings going into the second race at Martinsville, which was the fifth-to-last race on the schedule. Johnson followed the win at Martinsville with four straight second-place finishes to claim his first title.

8. Wins at Bristol and Sonoma in 2010: The first of Johnson’s two wins on the .533-mile oval at Bristol, Tenn., came in his 17th start at the famed short track. His only win on the road course at Sonoma came later that season. Why are they important and linked? “The short track at Bristol and the Sonoma road course were always tough on me.”

9. Miami-homestead in 2010: Johnson actually finished second to Carl Edwards in the race. But the results allowed him to clinch a fifth straight NASCAR championship, topping Cale Yarborough for the most consecutive titles. “Getting that record for consecutive titles was special in a lot of ways,” said Johnson.

10. Miami-homestead in 2016: Johnson won the season finale to clinch his seventh championship, tying Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for the most titles in NASCAR history. “That was the largest swing of emotions I had in my professional career,” Johnson said of the race. “I was buried for the majority of the race. But then everything swung my way late in the race and I won, the race and the seventh title. I went from lowest low to highest high.”