CONCORD, N.C. — Stuck in the longest losing streak of his career, Jimmie Johnson had a chance for a critical win that could salvage this ho-hum season for Hendrick Motorsports.

Hardly a championship contender for most of this season, Johnson grabbed a victory Sunday at sun-soaked Charlotte Motor Speedway while nearly half the title contenders had horrible days.

The win was his third of the season, but snapped a 24-race losing streak dating to March. Johnson is the only Hendrick driver to visit Victory Lane this season, and this win earned him an automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs.

It’s the first time Johnson has made it out of the second round since the elimination format was introduced in 2014. He was knocked out at Talladega in the second round of the inaugural season, and was bounced in the first round last year.

Suddenly, the six-time NASCAR champion is a realistic contender for a record-tying seventh title.

“We can’t sit back and celebrate too much on this,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to buckle down and get to work tomorrow and keep advancing our race cars. But this does buy us a couple weeks of freedom.”

The race was originally scheduled for Saturday night, but Hurricane Matthew washed out nearly the entire weekend and set up an 800-mile doubleheader of the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series. When the racing finally began, it immediately shaped up as a Hendrick kind of day.

Johnson and Chase Elliott dominated the race, running 1-2 for a long stretch. Elliott, though, was one of five Chase drivers to finish 30th or worse, and it was Johnson who had to carry the flag.

The win came on the 15th anniversary of Johnson’s debut for Hendrick, which was at Charlotte, and was his eighth career win at the track.

“Nobody ever gave up, and you know, we know what a champion Jimmie is,” team owner Rick Hendrick said.

Johnson has quietly turned up his performance in the Chase and became an official title contender as the first driver qualified for the next round. He led a race-high 155 laps, and in four Chase races this season he’s led 363 laps and hasn’t finished lower than 12th.

“Be curious to look back, I guess, and see if these are all new cars that they’re bringing,” said reigning champion Kyle Busch. “Obviously, if it is, then they’ve found something that they’ve been waiting out and holding out on us. That’s to be expected, though, man. That’s what this sport is all about.”

Johnson certainly figured it out on a day when six Chase drivers had trouble.

Denny Hamlin (30th place) and Kevin Harvick (38th) both had engine issues. Austin Dillon (32nd) and Elliott (33rd) were in accidents. Joey Logano (36th) had tire problems, and Martin Truex Jr. (13th) had an electrical issue as he left pit road after the final pit stop.

Matt Kenseth was the only other Chase contender to finish in the top five. He lost the lead to Johnson on a restart with 17 laps remaining and settled for second.