On the fence about Johnson's dominance
Tough to see why fans aren't embracing him like they do Tiger or the Yanks
 John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR Dominating the Chase once again, Jimmie Johnson is poised for his fourth straight Sprint Cup championship. |
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I'm sitting on the fence this morning, and it's Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team that put me there.
While I have not declared them winners of the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship just yet, one cannot help but begin pondering the thought of that.
The dilemma: Is it a good ponder or a bad ponder?
Forcing the emotional angst is the way the Chase is shaping up. Johnson and Knaus and their bunch have won three of the five Chase races, they have won two in a row and they are heading for their best track.
They are in first place, they are ahead of second-place Mark Martin by an efficient 90 points and they could be headed for Halloween all-but-clinched.
That clinch, of course, would be the fourth in a row for Johnson. It would be unprecedented. It would be historical.
Would it be good for NASCAR?
On the yes side is the fact that having a driver in the series who is indisputably one of the most successful ever should be viewed as exciting. It should be a selling point.
Hate to raise the most-raised name in sports when it comes to domination, but I will anyway: Tiger Woods. He is so skilled, so efficient, so impressive that when he decides he does not want to compete in that week's tournament, that week's tournament has its very existence threatened. True fact.
He has redefined the term "major tournament." Instead of the Masters, the British, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship being the majors, it is now tournaments in which Woods plays that are considered major.
The Yankees. You can hate them for the way they purchase their success rather than earn it, but when they are in the World Series, up goes the interest level.
On the no side is the fact that for some reason, Johnson and his accomplishments seem to be turning people off rather than on.
It's tough to understand this one. It's not the sport. We know that because when Dale Earnahrdt was winning everything in sight, the result was fascination and adoration among fans. Same thing for Jeff Gordon, though not as much adoration, obviously.
But the thought here is that if Johnson wins again this weekend, or doesn't suffer severe misfortune at Talladega, this year's Chase will become a golf tournament without Tiger Woods.
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Whatever it is, it seems there is something about Johnson that is not connecting with NASCAR fans.
The goofy part, of course, is that 20 years from now, the same people who are turned off by the guy will be calling him the greatest ever and telling their kids how exciting it was to watch him dominate.
But, pull for Johnson to make history or hope he remains tied with Cale Yarborough in the consecutive-championship category? That's the dilemma.
Think I'll remain on the fence for at least one more week. It feels oddly comfortable up here right now.
Jim Pedley is managing editor of Racin' Today. Read more NASCAR news at racintoday.com.
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