Exploring Jimmie Johnson’s 3 missed opportunities to claim a Cup Series title and cement the highest championship record

Jimmie Johnson is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. He shares the record for the most titles with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. The American's career achievements include, 83 Cup Series wins and major victories at the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and Coca-Cola 600.

However, Johnson has also lost the cup series three times, owing to a small points margin or unfortunate conditions. He came closely short of securing the championship in 2003, 2004, and 2012. Here’s a closer look at these three missed opportunities where the NASCAR Cup slipped out of Jimmie Johnson's hands.

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2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

In only his second full-time NASCAR Cup Series season with Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson delivered an impressive performance. He secured three race wins, 14 top-five finishes, and 20 top-ten finishes across 36 races.

Despite his efforts, Jimmie Johnson finished second in the standings, 90 points behind champion Matt Kenseth. Kenseth won only one race that season but consistently ended with good finishes, that being in the top ten 25 times. This season was the end of NASCAR's traditional points system, which rewarded consistent finishes over race wins. Had the Chase for the Cup format been in place, Johnson could have had a better chance at the title. This format was introduced the next year in 2004.

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2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series

The 2004 season saw the introduction of the Chase for the Cup, a playoff-style system that reset points for the top drivers before the final ten races. Johnson took to the change quite well, winning eight races—more than any other driver that year—and recording 20 top-five and 23 top-ten finishes.

Heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the American was strongly in contention for the championship. However, Kurt Busch, driving for Roush Racing, managed to hold onto his points lead by consistently finishing well throughout the Chase. Busch narrowly won the championship by just eight points, one of the closest margins in NASCAR history.

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2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was another year where Johnson came close but fell short. He had five race wins, 18 top-five finishes, and 24 top-ten finishes, a strong performance throughout the season.

Johnson entered the final stretch of the Chase with the points lead and had a good shot at winning the championship. However, in the second-to-last race at Phoenix Raceway, a tire failure caused Johnson to crash, leading to a 32nd-place finish. This dropped him behind Brad Keselowski in the standings.

At the season finale in Homestead-Miami, Jimmie Johnson needed a near-flawless performance to regain the points lead. Unfortunately, mechanical problems forced him out of the race early, and Keselowski won the championship. Johnson finished third in the final standings, 40 points behind Keselowski.