December 5, 2009
By Brenda Benedict
“A champion is a champion even when he isn’t winning.”
I’ve seen the truth of this quote several times during the racing season that just ended.
I thought of this quote again this week when we were once more disappointed in the character of a major athlete.
When I heard this quote recently, I couldn’t help but think how we really see the true character of a racer when they aren’t winning. We have seen drivers who are good on and off the track and other's -- whose behavior did not make us proud.
During one of the last Truck Series races of the year, I heard a driver talking to his crew chief and wanting to quit the race because it became evident he wasn’t going to win the race. That seemed to me the ultimate sign of a poor sport and not the attitude of a champion. This driver was putting his own needs and emotions before those of the other drivers, the fans and also his sponsors.
Jimmie Johnson has shown himself to be a champion of the highest caliber with his words, actions and behavior this past week. His dedication to winning continued all season long and paid off during the Chase. It culminated with his fourth consecutive Cup championship.
Jeff Owens of NASCAR Scene wrote this week of the dedication of Johnson to winning. “Johnson even spends hours watching video of past races, looking for mistakes he made or things he can do get even better.” Owens was making a comparison of Johnson’s season to that of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who did not exhibit such dedication to winning off the track.
Johnson returned to his home town of El Cajon, California near San Diego this week. He visited Crest Elementary School where he attended and is remembered fondly as a rambunctious student by a former teacher.
On Monday he handed out checks to 11 local schools totaling $500,000.
His foundation also gave out money to schools in Oklahoma at his wife’s home town and Charlotte, North Carolina. Crest Elementary got $45,900 for science, technology, and arts programs and Johnson’s high school, Granite Hills, got $31,000 for stadium renovation. It’s surprising that they don’t rename Crest Elementary to Johnson Elementary but there is already a Johnson Elementary in the school district.
Johnson was honored by his hometown on Monday and given a key to the city -- the first time they had given out that honor. The city boasts having many famous residents including super athletes such as Greg Louganis and Dave Dravecky. Amy Finley of the Food Network also is an El Cajon resident. But they chose to bestow this honor to Johnson .
Johnson’s home town visit was captured by a citizen journalist this week on cnn.com. Follow this link and you can see a personal side of a racer that you might not see from the traditional media... Jimmie Johnson-Hometown Hero.
Back to the driver who wanted to exit the race track during a race because he didn’t believe he had a chance to win. You probably already guessed correctly that it was Kyle Busch. This week Busch also talked about next season and his desire to race again in multiple NASCAR series in spite of lots of advice to concentrate on the Cup Series. Busch isn’t showing championship behavior and or championship dedication to doing whatever it takes to be a champion -- such as listening to the advice of others.
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The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
