NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson hopes for seventh title

Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson is hoping to win his seventh title and while he's feeling the pressure, Johnson told CNBC the competition's new format actually takes some of stress away.

"Pressure's always there," Johnson, who also is the defending champion, said Wednesday in an interview with " Power Lunch ."

"You think of it, and you feel it, you experience it. We all have pressure and it doesn't matter, it shows up in one way, shape or form."

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The Chase for the Sprint Cup, which begins this weekend in Chicago, has moved from a win based on an accumulation of points from the series of races to elimination races ending with four drivers battling it out in a stand-alone competition.

"For the four down there, in some ways you can say there's less pressure because you have nothing to protect. It's a winner-take-all mentality," he said.

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—By CNBC's Michelle Fox