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Two Reasons Not Many Fans Like Jimmie Johnson

An Opinion




September 24, 2012

By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato



While he has certainly earned his place as one of the premier drivers in NASCAR as well as in the history of the sport when one compares his accomplishments to the legends, Jimmie Johnson has never exactly been a fan favorite.

His impressive streak of five consecutive championships was unprecedented and will probably never be achieved again. His success in NASCAR's premier division has been unmatched. So far during his Sprint Cup career, Johnson has not ever finished a season lower than sixth in the points.

However, during his streak of five championships one thing that could be heard repeatedly among most fans was that they would like for someone besides Johnson to win a title, that Johnson winning all the time was boring. Could it be that people just got tired of him winning?

That's possible, but what if it had been Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had won five titles in a row? Would fans have said the same thing about him? Or what if another driver such as Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon had won five in a row?

Stewart and Gordon are a couple of fan favorites while Dale Earnhardt Jr., is by far the most popular driver in the series. Yet, despite all of his success, Johnson never has been popular among fans. Stewart and Gordon are both expressive people who sometimes wear their emotions on their sleeves. When they are angry or upset with another driver, they make their feelings known, both on the track and in post race interviews.

Johnson, on the other hand, rarely gets rattled. Sure, he's been upset a few times and has expressed himself, but it's very rare. He's different from the other drivers in that he doesn't always display emotion, and that's something that some fans just can't identify with. After all, it was the famous display of emotion at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500 that launched NASCAR into the mainstream of American sports.

Last week, Johnson opened this year's Chase with a second place finish and a rival team's car owner, Roger Penske, stated after the race that the No. 48 team had become the "gold standard" in NASCAR recently.

This weekend at New Hampshire, Johnson was asked about what Penske said.

"That is a huge compliment from Roger (Penske). With his experience in motorsports, business life, all that to get a compliment like that from him is an honor to be honest with you," Johnson was quoted as saying at a press conference.

"I have looked up to him for years and years. My childhood idol Rick Mears raced for him. I always had that dream of racing at Indy for Penske, just Penske period. I’m very happy with the compliment and hopefully we can maintain that gold standard and keep it going."

If Johnson does manage to keep it going, one naturally has to wonder how long he can do it. Since The Chase began, the key to winning it all in NASCAR has been to beat Jimmie Johnson. And that's something that just doesn't happen very often.



If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.



You can contact Matthew Pizzolato at .. Insider Racing News

You Can Read Other Articles By Matthew Pizzolato

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.

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