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Published Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 | 4:22 p.m.
Updated Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 | 4:37 p.m.
The fat lady hasn’t sung yet regarding who will win the Sprint Cup Championship. But she is offstage warming up.
I’m not ready to say that Jimmie Johnson will definitely enter the record books as the first driver to win four championships in a row. And although there are a lot of things that are pointing in a positive direction for the No. 48 team, racing is a highly fluid situation. Any of the setbacks that have recently struck Chase contenders Juan Pablo Montoya, Carl Edwards or Denny Hamlin could bite Johnson and Company.
And then there’s Talladega. Any lap at that track can lead to a tangled mess of car carnage that can ruin a driver’s day and put a huge dent in someone’s championship hopes. Carl Edwards’ low altitude flight at the track in April was a perfect example of how scary a Talladega wreck can be. That scary example is why the track decided to spend a serious chunk of change to raise the catch fence.
But aside from the threat of “The Big One” that frequently occurs on the high banks of the Alabama track, Johnson isn’t a driver who consistently finishes well at Talladega. Johnson’s third-worst average finish of 17.7 comes from this track. Out of the 15 visits Johnson has made to this venue, he has finished 20th or worse seven times. His only win at Talladega came during the 2006 season.
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Next week the traveling NASCAR circus visits Martinsville, a track that is also known to provide a lot of physical action that can put an end to anyone’s day. But that may not be a worry for the No. 48 team. Martinsville has been a gold mine for Johnson who has won five of the last six races there. A win at Martinsville will add to a points cushion that could help Johnson overcome any setbacks that Talladega could throw his way.
Let's see. Is there really any skill in being a Nascar driver anymore? With identical cars, identical, and one team with a superior engine with their drivers usually finishing in the top 5 every week, is this really a "sport"? Wait, excuse me, one of them, who is the son of a former top deceased driver in Nascar, is fundamentally challenged. But face it, Tony Stewart once said that it's basically 90% the car, and 10% the driver. This sport will recede, and end back up at places like North Wilkesboro and all the other bastions of education in Dixie. Maybe they'll return to dirt tracks, too. Good....
NASCAR has become anticlimactic. Only 12 drivers matter for the final 10 races - at least that's what the TV broadcasters keep telling us. I'm not a Johnson fan (I don't know why - he's never really offended me in any way) and I just can't bear to watch as he (and Knaus) work toward a historic feat. I'll be rooting for Mark Martin as I watch football over the next five Sundays.
Remember the old 'Anyone but Earnhardt' t-shirts that were so offensive to Dale Sr. fans. "OK, we know who you are against, but who are you for?" Does anyone know if there are 'Anyone but Johnson' T's for sale at the tracks? No, I don't want one.
I am not a JJ fan, but sometimes I wonder why success breeds contempt? Maybe because we like pulling for the underdog, it's closer to home? Maybe we like rebels better than we like a clean cut Californian with the @&%# slyest crew chief on the cicuit. But then Kyle Busch, a rebel if there ever was one, is disliked by many fans. Oh verily, verily, it is a mystery.
Maybe fans don't like JJ because he's a yankee from California.
Ground Control to Major Tom (that's you 24impala.) I just did a fast check of the 37 listed Cup drivers at NASCAR.com. Dang if it doesn't show that 25 of them Yankees. Worse yet, 8 of them varmints are from California. Now what?
Probably another reason that so many Southern fans are turning the sport off.
How about if I whistle 'Dixie' for ya, will that help?
Nope. I'm not from the South.
I think I'm starting to lose track of your point, I'm not from the 'South' either.
accept the mystery
Ohhh, all right.......for now.