Jimmie Johnson has already reached new heights in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career.

With five championships, he trails only seven-time winners Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as all-time title winners.

He's won championships in dominating fashion and he's rallied from behind to take the title.

Now, he's seeking his sixth career title - but suddenly facing greater odds in chasing that. How did he get here? And how can his past help him now?

Here's a look at Johnson's title-winning runs to date.

Johnson certainly faces an uphill battle in his quest for a sixth title.

While he's certainly enjoyed an exceptional run this season, a melted bead on a tire led to a crash at Phoenix last weekend, putting his shot at a sixth title into more of a longshot category.

Johnson enters the season finale this weekend trailing Brad Keselowski by 20 points. Can he overcome the deficit and win his sixth title?

For Johnson, this shaped up to be yet another championship season – admittedly, though, one in which he faced tougher competition from the men chasing him for the title.

He was strong for a while, then things slipped a little. Suddenly, with two races to go, Johnson found himself out of his customary top spot. Though he closed the gap and entered the season finale second in the standings, he was still 15 points behind Denny Hamlin.

Then, in typical Johnson fashion, he looked to be in danger early in the season finale before he pulled it all together. He and crew chief Chad Knaus finished second at Homestead-Miami Speedway to cap a six-win season.

Johnson is the only driver to ever win five consecutive Sprint Cup titles. He now sits behind only Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt in total championships -- and he shows no signs of slowing anytime soon.

Johnson dominated the Chase in 2009. OK, he had to wait a few races – as has generally been the case – to take the lead. But once he did, he took off and left the field wondering how to stop the man deemed “Superman” by his closest competitor.

Johnson started the Chase third in the standings, 10 points behind leader and teammate Mark Martin. He was second by 35 points after the opening race and then won the second outing to cut the gap to 10. He was second the next week and 18 out. Then he hit his stride. He won at Auto Club Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway to take the points lead, then built it to 90. After six races, he had a 118-point edge; after seven he had almost locked the title with his 184-point advantage.

In a season in which he won seven races, Johnson won the title by 141 points. He set a new NASCAR mark in winning four consecutive championships – something that sets him apart from all of the men who have won titles in the past.

Johnson was trying to gain his place in the history books. Only Cale Yarborough had ever won three consecutive NASCAR Cup titles – but Johnson was going to take a shot at tying him.

He entered the Chase third in the standings, 40 points behind leader Kyle Busch. It didn’t take him long to move back to the top. After the first race, Johnson was second in the standings but mathematically even with points leader Carl Edwards. He trailed by 10 points after the second race and then took the lead after winning the third, which came at Kansas Speedway. He won two more Chase races to boost his season victory tally to seven – and to tie Yarborough.

Johnson came awfully close to clinching the title early when he led by 183 points after the seventh race. He went on to take the title with a 69-point margin over Carl Edwards.
 

This time, Johnson entered NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup atop the standings, albeit by 20 points when the field was reset after the opening 26 races.

He quickly fell back, though, first to third – by a mere four points – then settling in to second behind teammate Jeff Gordon. Johnson continually lost points to Gordon, trailing by 53 after the sixth race. Then he turned things around. Johnson won at Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix in the next four-race stretch to overcome his teammate and take an 86-point lead into the season finale.

Johnson snared his second consecutive series title by 77 points over Gordon in a season in which Johnson won 10 races.
 

Jimmie Johnson entered the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season intent on finally capturing the title.

He had finished fifth in the standings in 2005 and second the two previous seasons. This year, he wanted to close the deal. He was second in the standings, 57 points behind Matt Kenseth, when the Chase for the Sprint Cup began. He fell to ninth because of setbacks in the opening event. Five races into the Chase and he still sat in seventh.

Then he rallied. He finished no worse than second in the next four races to head into the season finale with the points lead and went on to win his first Cup title by 56 points over Kenseth. Johnson finished the season with five victories. He posted 24 top-10 finishes, 13 of them top fives.

The dynasty had begun.