With one of the most impressive finishes to a
season for any driver in NASCAR history, Jimmie Johnson won his second
straight Nextel Cup Championship Sunday at Homestead. In his so far
relatively short career in the Winston/Nextel Cup Series, he has established
himself as one of the best in the sport. Now that he's won consecutive
titles, how many more can Jimmie Johnson win? Is this the next run of
greatness for a driver in NASCAR history?
It's a common cliché in sports, but it applies
here as well. It's not how you start, but how you finish. Jimmie Johnson
started his title defense at the
Daytona 500 with a 39th place finish after a crash. As it turned out,
it would be one of the very few bumps in the road for the #48 Lowe's
Chevrolet. Johnson left Homestead
Sunday Night with his second straight Nextel Cup Championship. His
second championship comes in his sixth full season in the top circuit of the
sport. To put that in some perspective, Jimmie's mentor
Jeff Gordon's third career Winston Cup title (1998) was the second of
back to back championships in his sixth season.
Jimmie Johnson's 2007 season was certainly
impressive. He led all drivers with ten victories, posted twenty top fives,
and 23 top ten finishes. Johnson also collected more than $7 million in race
earnings during the season (that was before collecting the big check after the
Ford 400, which was worth more than $6 million). But Johnson was at
his best during The Chase for the Championship. In the ten Chase races,
Johnson finished in the top ten in eight of those races. In six of those, he
posted top fives. After trailing teammate
Jeff Gordon halfway through The Chase, Johnson went on a tear. Johnson
showed his championship form, winning four straight races (Martinsville,
Atlanta, Texas, and Phoenix). He also earned bonus points for leading laps in
all but one Chase race.
Another thing that Jimmie Johnson's championship
did was validate Rick Hendrick Racing as NASCAR's top team. It was an
unbelievable year for Hendrick. Along with Johnson's ten race wins, Gordon
won six with Kyle Busch and Casey Mears taking one win apiece. The 18 wins,
making up half of the points races in the Nextel Cup schedule, was far and
away the most of any race team.
If there is one possible downer to Jimmie
Johnson's championship run, it will be that some critics will look at it as
a product of The Chase for the Championship. When The Chase started,
Jeff Gordon had a huge lead of over 400 points in the standings. While
both drivers had the same number of top fives, Gordon actually had more top
tens (29 to Johnson's 23). If the pre-Chase points system was still in place,
it's very doubtful that any driver, Johnson included, would have caught
Gordon. Nobody may have even gotten close. It has revamped the debate among
some fans about whether or not The Chase as it is now is a fair format. As of
right now, it's very unclear about whether or not NASCAR is considering any
format changes to The Chase.
It's hard enough to win one championship in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Especially considering how competitive the series
has become. For Jimmie Johnson to claim a second title, without a doubt,
places him among the elite drivers of today. Now the obvious question becomes
whether or not Johnson can "three peat". He will no doubt be one of, if not,
the favorite to take the 2008 championship. So how long can Jimmie keep the
dominance going? Certainly, only time will tell. But he has a lot of things
going for him. At 32 years old, Johnson is in the prime of his driving
career. Also driving for the most dominant race team in the sport is another
major plus.
Looking back at some of the championship runs in
NASCAR history,
Cale Yarborough won three straight from 1976 to 1978,
Darrell Waltrip won three in five years (1981, 1982, 1985),
Dale Earnhardt won six between 1986 and 1994, and
Jeff Gordon won four in a seven year span between 1995 and 2001. Now
that Johnson has won two straight, can he achieve a title run like any of
those? Can he leave a mark like that in NASCAR history?
By: CrimsonCowboy