Mammoth Blog

If you had $1 million riding on the outcome of a NASCAR race and could pick any driver past or present to win it, I'm sure the names Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and David Pearson would top the list. Or maybe you would go with Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison.

But you couldn't go wrong with Jimmie Johnson, either, not after the El Cajon, Calif., native clinched his third consecutive Sprint Cup championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson joined Yarborough as the only drivers to win three straight Cup titles.

Johnson now is one of the greats, even though I sense there is reluctance by some to put him in that category. Here's what I say about that. Johnson has finished first or second in the points standings in five of the seven years that he has been Cup racing.

Critics will say that Johnson is just fortunate to be racing for super team Rick Hendrick Motorsports, which has now won eight of the past 15 championships.

Critics also point to the Chase for the Championship format, which NASCAR implemented in 2004. Johnson is better than the rest at the final 10 tracks, they will say. And they will add that the Chase isn't a true reflection of the whole season.

Both make for good arguments in poking holes in the Johnson dynasty, but I'm going to poke back.

If Hendrick is so powerful and mighty and any driver competing at the local track could win with one of his cars, then how come Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. combined to win one race this year, while Johnson finished with seven victories?

It's true that Johnson has figured out the final 10 tracks better than the rest. But why is that a problem? He's just doing his job. These are today's rules, and he does them better than anyone else.

Johnson's greatness goes beyond the championships, too. He has 40 career victories in 255 starts. Plus, Johnson started racing Cup full time in 2002, and he has never finished worse than fifth place in his seven years. He was second in 2003 and 2005.

Those statistics match up nicely with the sport's best. Keep in mind, too, that Johnson is only 33. The best may be yet to come for this guy. source>>>