Jimmie Johnson, of El Cajon, California, added six more victories and 23 top-10 finishes to his résumé en route to a fifth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title and the 10th for team owner Rick Hendrick.
Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were simply amazing in 2010, as they were virtually unstoppable, no matter what was thrown at them. They were on top of their game and were the top combination, no matter where they raced on the 36-race Cup Series schedule.
For a fifth straight season, Johnson was the driver to beat, as was the No. 48 Cup Series team that is based only a half mile from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Team owner Rick Hendrick and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon have an eye for spotting very talented drivers and when they identified Johnson in the Xfinity Series in 1998, they knew they had a winner.
When the 2010 season began, all eyes were on Johnson to see if he could pull off another title. Again, the Daytona curse continued with a 35th-place finish due to a broken rear axle. Wins at California and Las Vegas over the next two weeks and a triumph at Bristol in mid-March put him third in points. Johnson fell as far back as ninth following the August event at Bristol but as he had done before, Johnson made up lost ground by celebrating three more victories.
Johnson regained the points lead in the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami. The winning margin was 39 points over Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
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Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, logged six wins, 23 top-10 results and two pole positions in 36 starts. Johnson’s stat line included six superspeedway wins and one short-track victory, paving the way for his fifth consecutive Cup Series title. No other driver in NASCAR history has ever been able to accomplish such a feat. The only driver to get close was Cale Yarborough with three straight championships starting in 1976.
Driving the No. 1 Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, Jamie McMurray held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well as a multitude of cars on the final lap of the Daytona 500 to win NASCAR’s biggest and most prestigious event. McMurray only led the final five miles of the 200-lap event but was in the right place at the right time to pull off the upset victory. He also won at Indianapolis and Charlotte.
The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s Chevrolet went to Victory Lane six times and had 23 top-10 results in 36 races.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, recorded eight wins and 18 top-10 finishes during the 2010 season.
DATE LOCATION WINNER
Feb. 14 | Daytona International Speedway | Jamie McMurray
Feb. 21 | Auto Club Speedway | Jimmie Johnson
Feb. 28 | Las Vegas Speedway | Jimmie Johnson
March 7 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Kurt Busch
March 21 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Jimmie Johnson
March 29 | Martinsville Speedway | Denny Hamlin
April 10 | Phoenix Raceway | Ryan Newman
April 19 | Texas Motor Speedway | Denny Hamlin
April 25 | Talladega Superspeedway | Kevin Harvick
May 1 | Richmond Raceway | Kyle Busch
May 8 | Darlington Raceway | Denny Hamlin
May 16 | Dover Motor Speedway | Kyle Busch
May 30 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Kurt Busch
June 6 | Pocono Raceway | Denny Hamlin
June 13 | Michigan International Speedway | Denny Hamlin
June 20 | Sonoma Raceway | Jimmie Johnson
June 27 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Jimmie Johnson
July 3 | Daytona International Speedway | Kevin Harvick
July 10 | Chicagoland Speedway | David Reutimann
July 25 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Jamie McMurray
Aug. 1 | Pocono Raceway | Greg Biffle
Aug. 8 | Watkins Glen International | Juan Pablo Montoya
Aug.15 | Michigan International Speedway | Kevin Harvick
Aug. 21 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Kyle Busch
Sept. 5 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Tony Stewart
Sept. 11 | Richmond Raceway | Denny Hamlin
Sept. 19 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Clint Bowyer
Sept. 26 | Dover Motor Speedway | Jimmie Johnson
Oct. 3 | Kansas Speedway | Greg Biffle
Oct. 10 | Auto Club Speedway | Tony Stewart
Oct. 16 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Jamie McMurray
Oct. 24 | Martinsville Speedway | Denny Hamlin
Oct. 31 | Talladega Superspeedway | Clint Bowyer
Nov. 7 | Texas Motor Speedway | Denny Hamlin
Nov. 14 | Phoenix Raceway | Carl Edwards
Nov 21 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | Carl Edwards
