In 2002, Johnson started racing full time in the Winston Cup Series. Johnson finished the season 5th in the points standings, and had won 3 races. In 2003 Johnson once again won 3 races, had 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-ten finishes. He finished the season second in the Winston Cup Series points standings to Matt Kenseth. In 2004 Johnson had 8 wins, 20 top-fives, 23 top-tens and he finished the year 2nd in the point standings. In 2005 Johnson stayed in the top five in the points standings all year, winning 4 races. He finished the 2005 season 5th in the Nextel Cup Series points.