Before this season, Jimmie Johnson had never won fewer than three races, nor had he never finished lower than fifth in the season standings.
Both of those streaks will end Sunday, as an engine miss has forced his No. 48 Chevrolet to pit road just past the 100-lap mark in the Ford 400.
Nobody's cars are running right now, as for the second time rain has washed over the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The field is parked on pit road as NASCAR has displayed the red flag. Carl Edwards has done what he needs to do, dominating the early stages of the event and currently leads Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr.
Tony Stewart, meanwhile, has recovered from the rear of the field twice to hold the fifth position in his bid to be the one to take the mantle from Johnson and deny Edwards his first crown.
Johnson's engine problems casts a shadow over both hopefuls now, however. His Hendrick engines are the same as those supplied to Stewart-Haas Racing, which fields Stewart's Chevrolet. Meanwhile, a pair of Roush Ford, the same as those in Edwards' machine, engines have blown, one by Marcos Ambrose, the other by Unadilla's David Ragan.