Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson has been there before – more than any other driver in the past two decades.

But this trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at 2:30 pm ET is different. In the first place, Johnson has his first opportunity to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship under the 16-driver elimination format introduced by the sanctioning body in 2014.

Beyond that, in what is the transcendent story of this year’s Chase, Johnson has a chance to win a seventh series title, one that would tie him for the all-time lead with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Continue reading →