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StumblePublished Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 | 4:12 p.m.
Updated Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 | 4:23 p.m.
I like reruns. I can watch one of my favorite movies, episodes of “Seinfeld” or old NASCAR races on ESPN Classic a million times. So why don’t I like watching Jimmie Johnson reruns?
When I watch a movie I’ve seen before, I already know the ending. And that’s sort of what it’s like watching Jimmie Johnson compete for the championship. But I’m tired of watching the Jimmie Johnson movie.
Maybe it’s because Johnson and Company are making it look too easy. Granted, winning a Sprint Cup Championship is far from easy, and the No. 48 team has worked tremendously hard to accomplish their championships. But it doesn’t look hard for them. They’re cool, calm, collected and confident, which makes them look like they’re always right where they should be.
Or maybe it’s because Johnson never seems to be the underdog. He has phenomenal talent, he’s with the best racing organization in the sport and he has one of the best crew chiefs in the history of NASCAR. As a result, a lot is expected of his team. Even when he’s not winning, people know that given all of these factors, he’ll quickly return to victory lane. There are only 14 points separating Johnson from Denny Hamlin, but I’d still put my money on Johnson because he’s such a known quantity.
Finally, maybe the reason I don’t get too worked up about Johnson is because, like a lot of other fans, I’m not very emotionally invested in him. If Dale Jr. were 14 points ahead of Hamlin, the whole NASCAR world would be going crazy in anticipation of the season’s final outcome. Johnson doesn’t elicit those same emotions.
Nevertheless, I’m glad there’s a tight points battle this season. It is adding an extra element of excitement that we haven’t seen in the last four seasons. And, who knows, maybe it’s having an effect on NASCAR’s popularity. USA Today reported today that ticket sales for Sunday’s AAA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway are 20 percent higher than last year.
Here’s to hoping the points battle stays tight all the way to Homestead.
Mustang drifting
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Check out this video of a drifting event put on by the people at Ford during the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) convention in Las Vegas.
To us Johnson fans, seeing a 5 in a row would be great, knowing that it's unlikely to be repeated in this lifetime, by any driver. (Note, I said "unlikely", not "impossible"). In an era where some drivers have to step down to Nationwide and truck series to add to their "win" totals, it's nice to see a driver gain his success in the big league races without having to step down to the lower leagues and steal wins from their less experienced drivers. Jimmie Johnson is the best there is right now, and has a good chance to win over 100 Cup races in his carreer, which only 2 drivers have ever done (Petty, 200, Parsons, 105). That's pretty good company, to say the least! Of course, we were all saying the same about Jeff Gordon a decade ago. I was "bored" when the #3 or #24 cars were doing all that winning.
Johnson is a bit like Tony Schumacher (in NHRA), a champion whose consistency has been impressive, who is well spoken and not a jackass like a lot of drivers. And perhaps they will also have in common that this not their year to repeat (looking forward to the NHRA Finals in Pomona this week).
That said, Hamlin and the Toyota Gibbs team are coming on strong and just might pull a championship off. Their pitcrew has been as impressive as Denny's driving. Wish I was going to Phoenix, but I can't make it this year.
Looking forward to an exciting finish. As Mr H said, "This thing will be decided by the last green/white/checkered in Homestead".