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NASCAR America: Can Jimmie Johnson get his groove back at Dover?

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Jimmie Johnson doesn't need to win at Dover, but he needs to be more competitive than he's been to show he has what it takes to win his eighth championship.

With 11 wins at the track, Jimmie Johnson is the undisputed king of Dover International Speedway.

But since he won at the 1-mile track in June, the seven-time Cup champion has not finished in the top five. In fact, he’s only finished in the top 10 four times since.

The No. 48 Chevrolet also hasn’t led a lap since the July race at Daytona.

NASCAR America analysts Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty discussed whether Dover will offer a respite to Johnson and his team.

“Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and some others have started to challenge him a little bit more at these race tracks,” Dale Jarrett said. “But this is a weekend too, as we go up there and get ready to go, I find it hard to believe that they can go there and compete for a win. But I’m not about to say (Johnson) can’t go there and win this race this weekend too.”

Said Kyle Petty: “He gets up for this place. Having said that, I don’t think we’ve seen the speed out of this team for the last three or four months. Not leading a lap since July. That’s not Jimmie Johnson. That’s not Chad Knaus. That’s not Hendrick Motorsports when we look at it. “

Watch the video for more on Johnson’s recent challenges.