CONCORD, N.C. – For two consecutive weeks, Jimmie Johnson has both started and finished inside the top 10 on race weekends.
It began with a pole at Texas Motor Speedway, which he turned into a fifth-place finish.
Last weekend, he started 10th and finished 10th, picking up his fourth top-10 result of the 2019 season.
"We did make a jump in our performance, so I hope we can find another chunk that quickly that will put us in that top-five mix consistently,” Johnson said. “I think we are going the right way and I am very optimistic about that, so I am very thankful and grateful for that.”
The streak of success for Hendrick Motorsports as an organization also included Chase Elliott’s run at Martinsville Speedway, where he led 49 laps en route to a runner-up result.
Elliott has started inside the top-10 in five consecutive races, and as a whole, Hendrick Motorsports has the best average start this season among NASCAR Cup Series teams.
It is the only organization to have all four drivers start on the front row in 2019, and all three front-row sweeps by a single organization this season have been earned by Hendrick Motorsports.
“Without a doubt internally a little bit of sunshine helps a ton,” Johnson said of the string of success. “To have various little marks along the way – we are putting some stuff together. But I’m still trying to keep myself under control and not be overly excited until we get three or four races under our belt that unload to reload with a solid weekend.”
This weekend, the Cup Series heads to Richmond Raceway, where Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 times and finished second 19 times in history.
Johnson hopes it’s a venue where the organization’s stretch of top-five finishes and top-10s can translate to a win.
“We will celebrate these small victories,” the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 said, “and get ready for the big one.”