I heard this question on the SIRIUS NASCAR channel the other day and it reflected on whether or not Jimmie Johnson would get his 5th consecutive title in as many years and if so, would this make his achievement the greater achievement than say Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt achieving 7 championships?
I have a real hard time trying to gauge that one. 7 titles “from the day” are impressive and so far, untouched and as far as I can tell, will more than likely stay untouched for a while. I just can’t see Johnson taking the title for the next 4 years to achieve the status of overtaking that magic No. 7. But then again, I’ve been wrong before. (That’s assuming a consecutive streak.)
No, there’s nothing technical I can quote as to why Jimmie won’t win #5, but I can reference an athlete’s worse fear, and that is the dance with lady luck. Lady Luck can have an awful affect on one’s mental outlook after so many moments when you dance with her.
On a different aspect, if Johnson keeps winning titles, I can’t help but wonder if NASCAR will step in and take another stab a parity. This last attempt at parity put this sport squarely in the hands of Johnson and Knauss and says a lot for this perfect pairing of machine, driver, crew chief and team.
But so far, Johnson, Knauss, et al of Hendrick Motorsports have achieved what they have to date, across 2 different car chassis. First the the classic chassis, and then the COT. This year, they’re competing with a slightly different configuration on the COT since NASCAR put the wing back on the COT body. If the No. 48 team actually dodges that dance with Lady Luck, I can’t help but wonder if taking yet one more title, in the 3rd different car configuration, will not in some way, qualify them as having made some rather notable achievement. I would.
To be honest, there’s no right or wrong answer. It completely depends on your own personal perspective on what makes a driver or an achievement what it is. I can appreciate both aspects but because I’m living it right now, I’m leaning towards the 5-in-a-row.
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But on the down side, my complete diecast collection of NASCAR champions is getting incredibly drab with the same number and colors filling up the last few spots in my display case. On the other hand, I use my display of the apparent “same car” as a test of my non-NASCAR friends… and I find it impressive when someone comes along and without any prodding, notes that the cars are different via the associate sponsor stickers & locations, the wing / spoiler, etc.. Impressive indeed.
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