INDIANAPOLIS – Jimmie Johnson had high hopes for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. See, Johnson entered the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale 18 points out of the final playoff spot. While it would be a lot to make up, it was doable.

He nearly did too.

Johnson, took two tires on his stop at the end of the first stage and would finish sixth. Those were crucial points to score as he nabbed five. Ryan Newman scored six but Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez had none.

In Stage 2, Johnson was strong again. He’d finish eighth. Bowyer and Suarez finished fifth and sixth respectively. Newman, yet again scored zero stage points.

The final 60 laps would see Johnson be near the top 10. It was a day that he could win and end his 84 race winless streak. He could also tie Jeff Gordon in being the all-time wins leader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and make the playoffs as a result of all of that.

Then, the restart after the stage break happened.

Johnson, didn’t get a lot of room from his teammate William Byron as he and Kurt Busch would get into the Turn 2 SAFER barriers as result.

“Yeah, it’s really disappointing,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we had a bad 25 races that led to the position we’re in here today and we needed a stellar day.

“I think we were having a strong day. I’m really proud of my team with what’s been going on. The No. 1 car (Kurt Busch) had a little trouble on the restart. I’m in on the inside going into the corner and it was just super tight. It’s unfortunate that happened. Certainly, it’s not what we needed on that restart. I couldn’t go below the white line and kind of got snipped there and turned around; and around and round we go.’’

Johnson’s 35th-place finish was his worst showing since a 39th-place result in 2007 at the historic Indianapolis track, where his four race-winning trophies remain most among the current field of competitors.

His situation was because after he scored two straight top five finishes at the end of June, he failed to finish better than 15th over the next eight races. That leaves the seven-time series champion failing to make the playoffs for the first time of his Cup career.