Johnson an all-time great? Third title may end debate

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- As he sat high on an elevated podium at the swanky Hyatt Regency hotel, Jimmie Johnson looked down on an impressive front row of racing celebrities seated before and below him.

It didn't seem right to Johnson. Despite the fact that he is poised on the precipice of his third consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship -- a feat that has been accomplished only once previously and not for 30 years -- Johnson made it clear that he believed the roles should have been reversed.

Johnson believes that Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Rex White, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace deserve to be raised on the highest platform, the greatest place of honor, in any room he shares with them.

But as Johnson heads into the final race of the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, needing only to finish 36th or better even if he doesn't lead a single lap and Carl Edwards, his closest pursuer, wins the Ford 400, it's time to start thinking about the big picture.

As in, where does Johnson fit in on the roster of the all-time greats who have graced this sport over the last six decades? If he secures a third championship in a row this Sunday, does he deserve a permanent seat amongst the all-time best?

It is a subject Johnson generally does not like to discuss.

"First, you have to do it. That's why I haven't talked about it," Johnson said. "Two, I don't think I have -- or any driver has -- the right to proclaim their spot in history. That's not for that person to decide. That's for the fan base, for the guys who have been in that club or are accepted in that club. So I don't comment on it because I'm 33 and still racing, and I don't feel like it's my spot to comment on those things. I also feel I have a lot of good years left in the car to really make my mark in the sport.

"If we are fortunate enough to win the championship, I'm sure thoughts and things will come to mind where I will have some comments about what it means to me. But I don't think it's my place to say where I fit in."

Others speak

Leave it to others then. Such as several former champions who were in attendance at Thursday's championship contenders new conference at the Hyatt.

One, Dale Jarrett, has no problem admitting that Johnson already has surpassed him on the career scale. Jarrett drove for parts or all of 24 seasons, made 668 starts, won 32 races and one championship. He reminded everyone, as Johnson did earlier, that the driver of the remarkable No. 48 team for Hendrick Motorsports really is just getting started.

And that's scary for the rest of the Sprint Cup garage.

Johnson has been driving full-time only since 2002, yet he's already won the back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007, and appears a lock to become the first driver since Cale Yarborough in 1976, '77 and '78, to win the three in a row. Furthermore, Johnson, with seven victories already this year, has amassed 40 wins in just 254 starts.

The lowest Johnson has ever finished in the points standings is fifth, which he has done twice -- in his first full-time Cup season in 2002 and again in 2005. Two other times, he finished second -- including by just eight points to champion Kurt Busch in 2004. (Continued)