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As Jimmie Johnson whizzes around Texas Motor Speedway today at 190 mph, the speed of his No. 48 Chevrolet might not give fans enough time to appreciate what he’s doing.
They won’t be alone.Johnson is closing in on Sprint Cup history, with three races standing between him and a record fourth consecutive title. It’s an accomplishment that should be marveled at because it’s never been done in a sport that has seen its share of dominating drivers with names such as Petty, Pearson, Earnhardt, Yarborough and Gordon.Johnson has his supporters, but others see his success as an example of what’s wrong with the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup.Johnson, whose Lowe’s/Cobalt Tools Chevrolet was the fastest car during Saturday’s practice, needs an average 10th-place finish over the final three races to guarantee a title. He starts today’s Dinkies 500 from the 12th spot."I understand what we’re doing is pretty unique," Johnson said. "Obviously, it’s something that’s never been done before. I do feel that even though some competitors may not like what we’ve done, they respect it and know how hard it is."Still, Johnson wishes at least one of his championships would have come in the pre-Chase format so detractors wouldn’t say his success was a product of the playoffs.He also hears drivers asked about how to fix the Chase, whether the format or tracks should be changed to Jimmie-proof the Chase the same way golf tried to Tiger-proof Augusta after Tiger Woods’ domination at the Masters."I’m just doing my job," Johnson said. "Give the team credit. Give me credit. It’s the same for everybody. We’ve done it better over the last three years. I’ve never been one to complain about stuff. That’s how the system is."Nothing has come easy for Johnson, despite the way he and his team makes it look. During his first title year, he was eighth in the Chase standings with six races remaining. Last year, struggling with the Car of Tomorrow, he was 10th six races into the season before things started to click. He was 13th four races into this season.But Johnson and the rest of his team don’t panic when things are going bad. They just work harder. Mark Martin, who is Johnson’s closest Chaser but a whopping 184 points behind him, has seen that firsthand this year racing for Rick Hendricks Motorsports."I was one of those, like many others from the outside looking in, looking at Jimmie Johnson making it look easy, thinking he was a lucky guy that drove for a great race team," Martin said. "I’m taking that back now. I’ve seen different and I’m one of the guys that is standing up saying, 'Hey, he’s not getting enough credit.’ "Teammate Jeff Gordon said one thing that could be hurting Johnson is his lack of a consistent rival.When Gordon was winning his four titles, he was usually beating fan favorite Dale Earnhardt for those crowns. Johnson has fended off different challengers along the way, whether it’s been Tony Stewart, Gordon or Carl Edwards.That may explain why Johnson is still not as popular as someone such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., even though he is the best driver in the sport."Perception-wise you never know what does it," Gordon said. "I’m not a marketing genius, but it makes you scratch your head a little bit."It doesn’t bother Johnson at all that people question his credentials or his popularity. That they’re talking about Johnson at all brings more attention to the series he’s only been racing in for eight years."Even some of the stuff we’ve talked about that would be a negative topic is OK because conversation is great," he said. "If they’re for it or against what I’m doing, it ingrains what I’m doing in sports in general. There’s way more good to come from what we’re doing than people may want to admit at times."Anthony Andro, 817-390-7760
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