Jimmie Johnson: "I'm no more aggressive right now than I've ever been." Credit: Autostock

Smith: Has Johnson gotten too aggressive?

Two distinct but intertwined themes overran my mailbag this week:

First, the perceived notion among some drivers and fans that Jimmie Johnson is driving like a maniac ("idiot," was the term used publicly by Dale Earnhardt Jr. earlier this week) and secondly Johnson's refusal to accept responsibility for any of the accidents in which he's been involved.

And since several of those same responses labeled me a pansy for not crucifying Johnson -- apparently there are entire Web logs dedicated to this; if so thank you, I'm flattered -- I figured it would be prudent to address both issues.

	MARTY SMITH •   E-mail Marty •   Opinion Archive •   Store: 'I Agree With Marty' tee

First up, Johnson's driving style:

No doubt Johnson is aggressive. In fact, he may be the most aggressive driver in the Nextel Cup Series. But is he overly aggressive? Is he any more aggressive this season than in seasons past?

On the surface it seems so. Judging by his involvement in accidents at Bristol, Phoenix and Talladega, it appears he's pressing like the 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks.

To find out, I went straight to the source.

"No way, I'm no more aggressive right now than I've ever been," Johnson said Wednesday morning. "But if they want to roll the Talladega stuff on me, cool. I have big shoulders. If they're accusing me of racing too hard, right on."

They are. Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch said Johnson was impatient at Bristol. Tony Stewart questioned Johnson at Phoenix. Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle all did the same after the 25-car wreck at Talladega. (Which I disagree with, by the way. More on that in a moment.)

I figured Burton would give it to me straight, so I called him. Not only does Burton tell it like it is, but he also was involved in the aforementioned Bristol wreck with Johnson, so Burton has a vested interest in the debate.

"Jimmie has been in his share of incidents this year, which is out of character for him. We haven't seen that before," Burton said. "There have been many instances where if he hadn't been there it wouldn't have happened. He's been involved in way more accidents than ever before."

OK. Any particular reason why?

"It's because it's so damn competitive now and everybody's getting everything they can," Burton continued.

Jimmie Johnson

ALSO Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Jimmie Johnson an "idiot,'' and blamed the Nextel Cup series points leader for causing a 25-car accident at Talladega.  •   Complete story, click here It wasn't the bone-jarring Big One that the Busch Series provided on Saturday, but for sheer numbers, it was hard to top what happened in the Aaron's 499.  •   Complete story, click here Big troubleThe Big One strikes as 25 cars are taken out Wreck reactionDrivers are frustrated following The Big One Victory LaneGordon celebrates his win at Talladega Final lapsGordon holds off Stewart and Waltrip to take the checkers Early troublesHarvick drops off pace and Petty hits the wall early Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

I couldn't agree more. And in my estimation folks aren't as frustrated with Johnson about Talladega as they are about the previous incidents. It's just convenient to pile on when the suspect is the points leader, the guy on top of the heap.

Last weekend's big wreck was a product of the racing, not any one individual.

Johnson was a player, absolutely. But his role in the evolution of that wreck had no greater impact than Earnhardt's role did. If any one of the intricacies of that wreck doesn't occur at that precise moment, that wreck doesn't happen.

Talladega is like a dog show with four dozen Doberman Pinchers in attendance. They may play nice for a while, but eventually somebody's going to make a misstep and cause a ruckus, and somebody's going to get bitten because of it.

Many fans have expressed frustration that, given equal circumstances, drivers with more controversial auras such as Stewart and Kevin Harvick would be fined and suspended and trashed in the media, but that Johnson's good-guy image has afforded him leniency.

I don't disagree with that. That hypothesis holds water with me. So why didn't NASCAR haul Johnson into the Phone Booth for a talking-to at Talladega?

"It's tight and close racing at Talladega," said NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton. "The air does a lot of things to those cars when they're riding around out there at 180 mph, two-and-three-wide.

"But we didn't think anyone did anything purposeful in causing any of the incidents during the event. Talladega is tough, close racing."

Hmm. NASCAR doesn't speculate on such matters, but if it were Harvick, Stewart or another driver who's aggressive reputation precedes him, chances are he'd be reprimanded.

That brings me to the second issue: blame.

To me, one of the most ludicrous dynamics in NASCAR racing is blame. Every incident has to be someone's fault, and until someone accepts blame no one is satisfied. But the very moment someone accepts blame for an incident, the drama is gone and the situation quickly forgotten.

See: Saturday's Busch Series race. The Big One took out 17 cars and sent Casey Mears on his lid. But Joe Nemechek stood up and said "My fault." Have you heard a word about it since?

Most fans just want Johnson to admit he screwed up. They'd be far more willing to forgive and forget if he'd just own up to his mistakes. Thing is, he truly doesn't believe he's done anything wrong.

I talked to Kenny Wallace about this Wednesday and he agreed, even took a similar stance on NASCAR Victory Lane on Sunday.

"I call it the Blame Game," Wallace said. "As soon as you admit fault, everything's fine. But until you do, they all hate you."

Seems so. Just ask Johnson.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.