Jimmie Johnson on his way to a sixth NASCAR title ... and an Emmy?!
Jimmie Johnson managed to win last weekend at Talladega by the thinnest of margins. Will a close victory and a TV turn propel Jimmie Johnson to another NASCAR championship and television's biggest prize?
Jimmie Johnson celebrates on victory lane after he won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, April 17, in Talladega, Ala.
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
Richard Petty, aka 'The King,' has seven NASCAR championships. So does the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
Stock car veterans like Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart all have two or more NASCAR titles in their names.
But none of those legends were ever on a ride like the one Jimmie Johnson is on now.
The defending NASCAR champ has won five titles in a row since 2006 and currently is five points behind Sprint Cup series leader Carl Edwards after eight races this season.
Last Sunday at Talladega, Johnson held off Clint Bowyer at the finish line to win the Aaron's 499 in one of the closest races in NASCAR history. The drivers have the Easter weekend off before picking up the Sprint Cup chase April 30 in Richmond, Va.
Johnson has also found time to appear in a television situation comedy, playing himself on a Fox network sitcom to air Wednesday night. We'll have to wait and see how television critics feel about his guest-star turn before handing him a statue.