Not long after the final race of the season had concluded and the festivities had died down I got on my computer to search around news and sports news sites. You know what I found? It sure wasn’t Jimmie Johnson on the front pages (at least most places). Sure all of the news sites had the headline buried in their other news sections, but no breaking news banner like you get with baseball and football, no huge picture showing Johnson triumphantly receiving his trophy. Nothing. You’d think respect for the sport would be greater given it is the second most popular in the country, but I guess not.
If I didn’t know any better looking across the world of sports news I wouldn’t even know NASCAR had crowned a champion (I can tell the recession is hitting them though). Over at Sports Illustrated they are calling Johnson ”Tom Brady in a fire suit.” I’m sorry, but I don’t think we need anyone using Tom Brady as a comparison for who Jimmie Johnson is or what he has done (not to belittle Brady, but I think Johnson can stand on his own two feet).
Perhaps most surprising though was the fan reaction. Many people across forums and blogs are making the argument that because Johnson won three in a row in the Chase format it does not mean as much as it did during Cale Yarborough’s time. If anything I would argue it means more.
First off the competition today is much better, much more intense then it was during the three season’s (76′, 77′, 78′) Yarborough won his championships. Today, just about any one of the 43 guys entered on a given weekend could win the race. The equipment is much more equal, and the talent is much more experienced. In Yarborough’s day though equality was not the first word that would come to some one’s mind when describing the equipment. Not to mention he worked for one of the top owners in the sport, Junior Johnson. In addition to this, Yarborough was not competing against 43 cars every weekend; there were some weekends that there were fewer than 30 cars. Not to take anything away from him, but it was a different world.
So now you’re saying, ‘well he wouldn’t have won without the Chase.’ This I would disagree with. As I showed here the other day Jimmie likely would have pulled out the win if there was no Chase (I know I said Carl would win, but read the post it explains). And I believe in past seasons when they have figured out the numbers, the guy who won the championship would have won it without the Chase. Whatever your feelings are about the current points system, it is hard to argue it really makes much of a difference (that is unless you’re Kyle Busch).
So don’t be fooled. What Jimmie Johnson did on Sunday is really very special. Unless he can go for a record breaking fourth straight championship, it is likely you won’t see this again for some time. Whether you like Johnson or not, respect and congratulate him for what he has done. I promise you he deserves it.
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on Nov 19th, 2008 at 4:08 am
I disagree with you about this when Cale Yarborough won his three championships in a row, he finished ALL the races in 1976, a feat not done many times back then because the cars you could never run wide open for 500 miles cause they would break, Richard Petty finished second to Cale in 76-77, it was a big deal. Yes Jr Johnson had a great team back then but he was racing some big teams, PE, the Woods, Bud Moore, Penske, Hoss Ellington, all these teams won week after week.. I think this chase deal is a joke if it hadn’t been for the chase he wouldn’t have won it this year, Edwards would have, yes you have a point about not having 30 cars in some races back then but those were the good days, those races were the best in NASCAR. Its no different when talking about Richard Petty and winning his 200 races, when the King was winning all his races David Pearson was winning 105 races and Bobby Allison was winning 84 and so was Darrel Waltrip and cales 83, you see where I am going here, they all won at the same time..
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Personally I care alot that Jimmy won. I can’t stand him. Even back in his Busch series days he just ticked me off. My problem with Jimmie is that he makes mistakes like every other driver, but he will never own up to it. It’s always the other guys fault. I hope you a re reading this golden boy, when you mess up just say “It was my fault”. You will get more respect, not from me, but maybe others.
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Thanks Journo. I agree neither the sport nor Jimmie is getting the respect they deserve. Jimmie would have won in the old format if he had to, but why risk the championship for the race? If Carl hadn’t had his issues, different story, but Jimmie would have won no matter what format you want the championship. It won’t be the race at Homestead that’s remembered in thirty years when the next guy wins three in a row, it won’t even be the one season. However, I do suspect there will still be the arguments about the good ol’ days of NASCAR. Except the COT will be considered the days of some real racin’ and the new drivers will just have it too easy with those darn new fangled cars of the future.
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 8:48 am
The 48 team did what they had to do based on the rules. If the chase were not in existence, maybe the 24 & 48 teams would have tested at Atlanta last year instead of skipping it to focus in the 2007 Championship. Then maybe they wouldn’t have been as far behind at California and Vegas (yes, I know that they tested there.) They played the game with the rules that were out there. They knew that they had to be good enough to get in the chase, but still had the opportunity to test things out.
The comparison to Cale’s achievement will never die down. To use Ron’s example, he named 6 major teams. Assuming that they each had 3 cars*, that’s 18 big-time cars. The 4 teams in the chase had a combined 15 cars. That doesn’t count the 5-10 other cars that have the potential to challenge. Plus at the end of the 2008, there were 43 full-time teams, compared to how many in Cale’s time?
The era when The King won 200 races is over. The schedule is shorter and there is a lot more competition. 5 drivers were named from that time period. How many different drivers won in a given year?
*That’s a BIG assumption. My knowledge is lacking here. Going off of that Rick Hendrick said that the other owners thought he was crazy when he said he was going to run more than one car, having the 3 cars seems unlikely.
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I agree that Jimmie is a great driver , and his team is about the best on the planet. However, his great mindset is what won him all these awards. Cale, on the other hand was a great finesse driver, to drive those cars on the edge and not wreck them. He had a wonderful touch, as did Tim Richmond.
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I was surprised myself at how little attention was paid to Jimmie’s win. I’ve been trying to figure it out. I don’t know if it’s Jimmie’s “fault”, NASCAR’s “fault”, the media’s “fault” or what. I do think that if Jeff Gordon had won another title, the media would have been all over it. Maybe it’s because there are only two media darlings (Junior and Jeff), so anyone not those two are ignored. (Junior because of his name and fanbase, Jeff because he’s Jeff.) Let’s face it – Tony Stewart is a great personality, but even he gets pretty much ignored by mainstream media.
I think one problem NASCAR has (a problem that probably can’t be fixed) is that people will randomly turn into other sports for their main event just because it’s the main event. People who don’t watch football might watch the Super Bowl. People who could care less for baseball might tune in for a World Series game. Unfortunately, the NASCAR event that is most likely to engender that response is the Daytona 500 – the first event of the year (and the event in NASCAR that gets more press coverage than the championship). Maybe that makes us different and we should accept our differences. Don’t try to force the attention upon the Chase when we get it at the beginning of the season. I don’t have an easy answer.
I will say that I think NASCAR as a whole (fans, the organization, the media) will look back at a later time and really realize what Jimmie has done. Hindsight makes it clearer. (And comparisons to Cale are unfair to both of them. Only if we get runs of guys winning multiple championships in a row would mitigate Jimmie’s accomplishment.)
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I disagree, I think the old system was harder. You had to race all the races, not just get in then go for broke the last 10 races. Johnson is the master of the chase, as all the tracks in the chase are mostly 1.5 miles, you want to make the chase better, add more short tracks and a road course. If there was no chase Johnson would have 1 championship, Gordon would have 6.
on Nov 19th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
The title of your piece is “Does anyone care Jimmie won?”. I know 5 people that do: Jimmie, Chandra, Rick, Jeff and Chad. Pretty good pay-day in my book.
Jimmie will now suffer from what Jeff has endured. They both have won so much that people are tired and bored w/ it. People would boo when Jeff dominated Dale and still do. No fault of their own, just bored fans watching boring cars. NASCAR should give Carl a BIG fat bonus for making somewhat a show out of the chase. Sit back and imagine if cousin Carl had not been in the picture? ZZZZZZZZ
Daytona next year should be unlimited cars. Basic specs, but mainly run-what-you-brung. Just move the fans out of the 1st (15) rows!!!
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 2:56 am
First, back in Cale’s day, you were allowed to pull your car in and replace the engine and go back out on the track, which Cale did more than once. Not taking anything away from him but now if your car is gone, its gone and your day ends in a DNF.
Secondly, no, Carl would not have necessarily won under the old system. For one thing, if the points lead had been switched, both Jimmie and Carl would have employed different strategies at Homestead. It would have been Carl cautiously protecting his points lead and Jimmie going for broke and he had a fast enough car, he likely would have won under that scenario.
Third, Jimmie does admit his mistakes. I’ve heard him admit he screwed up in several cases. If you don’t acknowledge that, I think you are just blinded by your biases.
I care that Jimmie won. I think he’s a terrific driver with a terrific team. His accomplishment is at least equal to Cale’s. So many elements of racing are different, I’m not sure you can compare the two on any meaningful level but 3 championships is a rare achievement under any system.
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Jimmie Johnson is no Cale Yarborough. It it wasn’t for all the 1½-mile cookie cutter tracks that he thrives on, Johnson wouldn’t even have 1 championship, let alone 3.
The arrogance of the whole 48 team is a big turn-off for me, and a lot of other fans. Jimmie may be a decent fellow, but he is about the most boring personality in the sport. I’m not suggesting he fake emotion to boost his populatity (which wouldn’t work in the long run, anyway), but he has failed to connect with a lot of us. Plus his team’s reputation (and history) for cheating hasn’t helped his cause.
This season sucked. I’m not hopeful about next year, either. I had primo tickets to Homestead. Previous years, wild horses wouldn’t have kept me away, but this year, I hawked them on eBay. It really isn’t worthwhile anymore.
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 11:11 am
For the third season Jimmie has bored the audiences of NASCAR races. I attended homestead and didn’t purchase tickets until I got there. Why? No Drama. The commentators and commercials tried their best to create it, but it wasn’t there. For three years we’ve waited for a mistake by the 48 team. A mechanical failure or a rivalry to challenge his dominance. Nothing. I’m sorry, but it’s boring. The reason people don’t care is because people aren’t surprised. The Homestead finale was predictable at best and forgettable at worse. I spent the last laps perusing the souvenir trailers for “end of the season” deals. That was actually worth it!
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter how you slice the pie or how much spin you put on it, Jimmie Johnson’s three in a row do not equal those of Cale.
The system under which championships are determined is a farce.
Carl won this years championship and Jeff Gordon won it in 2007 & 2004.
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Does anyone care if Jimmie won? Nope! Chad had 80% of that win and Jimmie had the other 20%. Without Chad, Carl would have won the championship.
on Nov 20th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team did what they’re supposed to do to win these championships in this day and age. I’m personally with the crowd that likes a motorsports championship to reflect the teams total performance over the entire season. This year, the 48 team really earned it as they would have won under the old system as well. So hats off to them!
I have never liked the chase. Motorsports as a rule don’t lend themselves to a playoff format. It’s not a stick and ball sport. I’d like to see the Chase go away in favor of a points system that awards the championship to the team that does the best from the green flag at the Daytona 500 to the checkers at Homestead. The previous system did that, but it did need a few adjustments to be sure the second place finisher did not walk away with more pints than the race winner.
on Nov 22nd, 2008 at 6:39 am
I think the ratings and attendance numbers are pretty telling about how many people care that JJ won his 3rd title. The apathy Nascar has produced on the track is spilling over. I’ts not that I hate JJ, it’s just that i really don’t care that much who wins the (now) watered down title. I never really did. All I care about is seeing good, hard racing. The overabundance of 1 1/2 mile tracks has an effect on that. Short track lend themselves to more ‘rubbing is racing’, which is now down to 4 races a year. There really aren’t even manufacturers to root for now, with the generic COT. Does anyone really care what engine is under the hood if it isn’t off someone’s production line? And, while money has always been able to buy speed, good old fashioned ingenuity used to count for a lot. Now, the cars as so standardized that the computer geeks are now the most important team members. I won’t even get into the issue of trying to turn the championship into a gimmicky not-a-playoff!
on Nov 29th, 2008 at 3:39 am
I think the lack of attention that Jimmie’s championship garnered was a result of several things, fan apathy being the most significant.
Jimmie doesn’t get the same kind of resentment that Jeff did when he was winning 13 races, but as Dale Earnhardt used to say, being booed was better than noone giving a damn. I think Jimmie has the same problem that many of today’s drivers have in the fact that they have little to no persona.
Nascar’s PR strategy with promoting these drivers has led to a bland, emotionless bunch (with the exception of Dale, Jr) who don’t have the same rabid fan support that their predecessors had.
This may make sponsors happy, but ultimately its the fan support that decides whether these sponsors achieve their business goals and remain in the sport. Frankly, as we’ve seen lately, many of the sponsors and fans are not happy.
on Dec 2nd, 2008 at 2:33 am
As a fan from England i don’t get to attend much racing but as a new fan the there are to many 1.5 mile tracks ,simple as that. I only look faward to Daytona,Tallgdega,Bristol,Martinsville and and a few others and the road courses. We want an all round champ ,not like F1 where all the clasic tracks in Europe are being taken out of favour for Midle East and Far east stirile money making venues.
on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 6:19 pm
For the most part, the fans really don’t care that he won. No matter how many bloggers or NASCAR folks tell us we should. The racing is just way too boring. Even if JJ wasn’t running away with everything, it’d still be boring. I’ve been a fan of the sport for 20+ years, and it’s not that I’m pining for the good old days. But the current NASCAR management has managed to wring all of the excitement out of what used to be a pretty cool sport. It’s sad.