Mammoth Blog

One day, it is going to end. Jimmie Johnson knows this. One day someone else will be the dominant driver on the Sprint Cup circuit, and Johnson will be chasing him, just as everyone is currently chasing Johnson. Although it seems difficult to believe now, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver and his invincible No. 48 team charge toward their fourth consecutive championship, the cyclical nature of NASCAR will at some point inevitably topple them from the summit.

There's a reason why, over nearly six decades of competition, only one man was able to win three straight championships. There's a reason why, before Johnson, nobody seriously threatened to win four in a row.
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When that day comes, I hope I can handle it as well as the guys I've respected growing up have, because it won't be easy. Losing sucks. We all hate it.
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JIMMIE JOHNSON

They say the only constant in NASCAR is change, and over time change will wear anyone down -- even Johnson, although right now he looks like he could go on winning titles forever. At some point, he'll take a step backward, begin to decline. He knows this as well as anyone else. Mentally, he's even begun to prepare for it.

"I'm well aware that things have gone great for the last three years. I'm obviously hoping for a fourth," he said. "But at some point I won't be that guy. It will be somebody else. Somebody else will be doing it. I've always been aware of those things through my career. I've been very fortunate to race with and be mentored by other champions and guys that have been very successful. To watch how graceful they've been, [motocross legend] Rick Johnson, [ASA champion] Gary St. Amant, Jeff Gordon, there have been a lot of guys through the years that have worked with me. I've been aware of that, and I've always in the back of my mind said, 'That's how I want to kind of handle things, to be and act.' I do pay attention to that. I am aware of it. When that day comes, I hope I can handle it as well as the guys I've respected growing up have, because it won't be easy. Losing sucks. We all hate it."

And yet, it may be a while still before Johnson has to deal with it. A 25th-place finish Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway will net him an expected fourth straight crown, and he'll undoubtedly be the favorite to win his fifth next season. Johnson is in the midst of a historic, unprecedented stretch of success, one which defies all the usual NASCAR caveats about how difficult it is to stay on top. Today, Johnson and his team look every bit as flawless and as bulletproof as they did in 2006, an eternity ago by the standards of this sport. It could be years and years still before they come back to the field. And by then, this former unknown from El Cajon, Calif., could be well on his way to becoming the greatest NASCAR driver of all time.

Usurping the holy trinity of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon? Should Johnson take care of business on Sunday, it's absolutely and completely possible. No question, getting there would be fraught with difficulty, and clearly Johnson's smooth, unflappable style makes all this look much easier than it really is. But everything, from his age to the state of the sport today, is on his side. Given what he's already accomplished, and the potential he still has in front of him, there are no limits to what he may achieve. continue>>>