March 25, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Although he's quickly made a name for himself as one of the most talented drivers to ever grace a NASCAR track, Jimmie Johnson has never been one of its most popular. The majority of fans simply don't like him.
He's been criticized for being too calm and never displaying much emotion whether he wins or loses. On occasion he has, but it's not very often. Yet perhaps the biggest reason that people don't like him is simply because he wins all the time.
From 2006 until 2010, he put on a driving clinic and won five consecutive Championships, an unheard of accomplishment that will likely never be repeated. To be frank, people got tired of him winning.
And he's never been far from controversy. His crew chief Chad Knaus has been busted several times for rules infractions. This season began no differently for Johnson at Daytona when the No. 48 team was penalized for breaking the rules yet again.
This past Tuesday, however, those penalties were largely overturned by NASCAR's Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, who hears all final appeals. The verdict left many scratching their heads because while the suspensions were lifted and the points returned, the $100,000 fine for Chad Knaus was not and both Knaus and car chief Ron Malec were placed on probation until May 9th.
Johnson believed the reversal of the penalties validated his team.
"Through the appeal process, we proved that those 'C' posts were legal," Johnson was quoted as saying in a NASCAR Wire Service report at Fontana.
The entire issue stemmed from a visual inspection of the car. In the end that is the error that NASCAR made and is probably what caused the final appeal decision to be in favor of Johnson. The car never made it to the templates and nothing was actually measured. In this case, no evidence existed because the c-posts were cut off the car.
Yet the fact that some penalties were upheld or reduced gives rise to speculation because Middlebrook didn't explain his decision.
However, it is possible the penalties were reduced simply because they were too harsh. Could it be that NASCAR sought to make an example of Knaus and Johnson?
NASCAR President Mike Helton still believed there was a violation with the No. 48 car.
"First of all, I go back to the fact that some of our penalties were upheld," Helton was quoted as saying at a press conference at Auto Club Speedway. "That tells you the inspection process was correct and there was an issue with the car."
As a result of the points being given back, Johnson climbed from 17th to 11th in the standings and right back into contention for a Chase birth. However, he was still not happy with the final result.
"I'm not totally happy with the decision," Johnson was quoted as saying. "I'm pleased that the big issues had come down, but I share confusion as well.
"I think our message -- I know our message all along through Hendrick Motorsports and myself -- we didn't feel that a penalty was warranted in the first place. We're just as curious."
Whether or not their actually was an infraction with the car will never be determined because the evidence was destroyed, so all that is left is speculation.
Fans who support Johnson will believe that he was validated by the reversal, while those who don't like him will think his team got away with cheating.
Yet being scorned by fans or the media is nothing new for Johnson and he has nothing to worry about as far as penalties keeping him from competing for his sixth Championship. Unless of course, Knaus gets caught again.
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