LONG POND, Pa. -- Jimmie Johnson had been plucked from NASCAR's farm system to drive for owner Rick Hendrick with a resume so ordinary the team wondered if it made the right call on the California kid.
Until Johnson could join Hendrick Motorsports in late 2001, he plodded along for a second-tier team on the brink of closing and had flashed just the occasional spark of future stardom.
At a glance
NASCAR MONSTER ENERGY CUP
GANDER OUTDOORS 400
WHEN 1:30 p.m. Central today
WHERE Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.
LAP LENGTH 2 1/2 miles
DISTANCE 400 miles, 160 laps
TV NBCSN
His early 2001 results hardly seemed worthy of a teammate about to be paired with NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon.
"The real concern was, had we made a good decision?" Hendrick mainstay Ken Howes said.
Howes, who has spent more than three decades at Hendrick Motorsports, had worked as a crew chief and was assigned to help the rookie driver with his learning curve at the elite Cup level. Johnson went out for a test session in one of Gordon's Chevrolets and found the power in a car that suited his driving style and humbled the doubters in his camp.
"I came home and reported back and said, 'Guys, stop worrying. It's going to be OK,' " Howes said.
Just a few months later, Johnson was set for his Cup debut.
Johnson made his first career Cup start on Oct. 7, 2001, at Charlotte Motor Speedway and today he'll earn one more slice of NASCAR history when he becomes the 30th driver to make 600 career starts.
Over the first 599 starts, he has blazed through a career that stamps him on the short list of all-time greats: Johnson has a record-tying seven championships, 83 victories, 35 poles, 224 top-five finishes and 348 top-10s.
Who knew this was possible in 2001?
"If anybody stood up at that time and said, 'Hey, this guy's going to win seven championships,' they'd probably send you to a drug test," Howes said. "Your hope was that he had talent, he would gain experience and go on to become a good competitive driver. Win some races each year and kind of start there. Perhaps challenge for a championship."
Through a confluence of events for Johnson that included a bold meeting with Gordon and splendid timing once Hendrick decided to expand four cars, he was the chosen one at HMS despite one victory in 72 career starts with Herzog Motorsports.
"I was in my own weird mental space of wondering if I was ready for Cup or not," Johnson said.
With Howes as crew chief, Johnson got a test run for three races in 2001. He finished 39th, 25th and 29th.
"He (Howes) told me, 'We're just running three races. When you have your real team, your full team around you, I promise everything is going to be just fine,' " Johnson said.
Johnson was paired with crew chief Chad Knaus in 2002 and they won the pole for the Daytona 500. The 48 team won for the first time nine races later on April 28, 2002, at Fontana.
"Winning that first race, I could finally take a deep breath and be like, OK, I'm going to be here for a little while," Johnson said.
The relationship has thrived at a Hall of Fame level to this day -- even through some precarious times -- and Knaus recently signed a two-year contract extension.
"I started this with him and it would be amazing to finish this with him," Johnson said.
Johnson, 42, has slogged through the worst season of his 17-year career. He's yet to win a race and has only two top-five finishes in 20 starts. But Hendrick Motorsports -- Johnson, Alex Bowman, William Byron and Chase Elliott -- just hit an ignominious milestone: One year since any HMS driver won a race. A chunk of the blame lands at the wheels of Chevrolet, which unveiled a Camaro clearly not ready to race with the big boys at Toyota. Chevy has just one victory this season.
"It's hard to just pin it on the body itself," Johnson said. "We know from an engine standpoint and also from a chassis standpoint there's lot of things to do. I don't think it's all in one spot. But aero's king, especially at the speeds we run."
Johnson, married and with two young daughters, has remained encouraged that the 48 team can turn the season around.
"I still love to compete, I still love the process," Johnson said. "That's how I keep showing up each week optimistic and excited and bring everything I can to the team. But age has brought perspective. I look back on those young years and realize, wow, that was just a really special place and time and I hope I can recreate it once again."
Johnson, mired in the longest losing streak of his career, will call the shots on retirement.
He's focused this weekend on winning at Pocono Raceway and joining Richard Petty as the only drivers to win in his 600th start.
Do we hear 700?
"That's in the window. That's a possibility, for sure," Johnson said.
Sports on 07/29/2018