Match game? Seven titles pipe dream for Johnson

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- He isn't even in the current points lead.

Yet.

But with Jimmie Johnson coming off a victory at Dover heading into Sunday's Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway, the perception is that he's bearing down on a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship. And if he gets No. 4, you know what the next question will be asked of him.

Heck, it's already being asked of him. During a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Wednesday, Johnson sat next to Richard Petty and both men were asked to assess Johnson's chances of matching the record of seven Cup titles jointly held by Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

If he gets to four, could Johnson possibly get to seven?

"Man, seven? I don't think it's possible," Johnson said. "With what Richard did and what Earnhardt Sr. did, I just don't think seven is a number you're going to get to. It is tough.

"When you look at Jeff [Gordon] trying to get his fifth with all of the success he's had, and I think they're safe up there with seven. I'm not saying I don't want to try. But I'm sitting here with three. To get four more would be insane."

It might seem insane to Johnson, but it doesn't seem entirely impossible to Petty.

"It's really hard to say. When I came on, I think my dad [Lee Petty] had won three and maybe someone else had won a couple," Petty said. "Then I started winning a couple and it wound up being seven. Jimmie might win seven in a row. I once won 10 races in a row, so anything is possible.

"There is no record that's ever been set that can't be broke. But as Jimmie has said, it's not likely just because of the competition and just because of circumstances beyond anybody's control. A lot of times it's not the driver that wins or loses championships, it's the car; and then a lot of times, it's the other way around and the driver makes up the difference in the car."

A third, neutral party weighing in on the subject at the news conference was Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., who has been around promoting races since the beginning of NASCAR. He agreed with Johnson that the record of seven titles isn't likely to be matched by Johnson or anyone else.

"I don't think so. It's more difficult today. Richard was in an era where I saw many times when he arrived at the track and unloaded, he was already a second faster than everybody else," Smith said. "As hard as it is to win one of these races today, I just don't think it's going to happen. If Jimmie lives to be racing when he's 55 or something, he might have a chance. But it would take a long-term effort, and I just don't see it happening." (Continued)