November 30, 2009
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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By winning four consecutive NASCAR championships in a row, Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and the 48 team have done something truly remarkable. Winning one Championship at stock car racing's highest level is difficult enough, but to utterly dominate the series for the past four seasons is stunning, amazing... there simply aren’t words to describe.
The 48 team has made history this season by accomplishing a feat that has never been done before. Johnson has been described as the "Superman of NASCAR" and the phrase, "Superman wears Jimmie Johnson pajamas" has been passed back and forth among fans.
NASCAR instituted the Chase format in order keep one driver from running away with the points lead so that the fans would have an exciting end to the season. However, in recent years, if the 48 team qualifies for the Chase, the season is over; NASCAR might as well award them the trophy and cancel the last ten races of the season.
And what on Earth can keep Jimmie Johnson from winning number five next year? Unless drastic changes are made to the Chase format, Superman will win the Championship for the foreseeable future or least until he decides to retire. But what can NASCAR do to "Jimmie-proof" the Chase?
The 48 team always seems to excel at mile and a half tracks, and the Chase is littered with them, thus one reason for Johnson's success. If NASCAR were to change the tracks that currently make up the Chase, other drivers might actually have a chance to win the Championship.
If any driver has a chance to top the so far unattainable Seven Championships reached by two undisputed icons of the sport, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, it would be Jimmie Johnson. He certainly has more of a chance to win seven than do other drivers with four titles, such as his teammate, Jeff Gordon, who is nearing the twilight of his career, while Johnson is still in the prime of his career.
Winning four titles in a row certainly cements his status in the history books. When Cale Yarborough won three Championships in a row from 1976 though '78, most thought it a record that would never be broken, but the 48 team has reset the mark to a level that may truly be unattainable. Perhaps Johnson said it best in a David Caraviello article for nascar.com.
"It's up there. The fact that nobody has done this, I think it puts me near the top. I certainly look at the seven championships by both Earnhardt and Petty, their race wins, their being in the sport for an amount of years and all that they've done," he said. "Those two guys are kind of in a draw at the top. Hopefully my stats and win totals and championship totals can rival theirs. But it puts us up there, it really does. And the cool thing is, we're not done yet. We've got a lot of racing left ahead of us, so hopefully we can improve on that."
And the idea that he's not done yet should have his competitors shaking in their racing boots.
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