Johnson keeps his focus on prize that matters most (cont'd)

The results are staggering, actually, given all the greats that have tried and failed to win three consecutive championships -- drivers like Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip -- and that only one man, Cale Yarborough, has made a previous run at four in a row. It's not like Johnson hasn't explored diversifying his racing interests; he competed in four Nationwide events as recently as last year, and has been presented with ownership opportunities ranging from motocross, rally, and off-road to NASCAR's national divisions. In each case, he's passed. The interest on his part has never really been there.

“

Bottom line, you want to know why those guys are running Nationwide races? For money. They're wanting extra money.

”

-- JEFF GORDON

"I don't want to enter into a business relationship or into another part of my professional career in an area that I don't have a lot of knowledge in. I'm finally good at something. Why dilute that? Why start doing a lot of other things, do it half-assed?" Johnson asked.

"I'm not saying in the future those opportunities wouldn't be more appealing if I wasn't driving a car. But just right now, man, I'm finally good at something. It's taken me 34 years to get to this point. I don't want to dilute it. I like having a little extra free time, spending time with my family, my wife, traveling a little bit, keeping some available kind of mental space so that when I get in the Cup car, I'm not irritated, whatever it may be.

"I think it kind of helps with the whole mindset I have, as well. I have plenty to do, but I'm not so overworked that I just have a short fuse and things frustrate me, that kind of thing. So I do also have three, hopefully four years of proving to myself that this formula is working really well, and to not change anything. So all those things kind of add up."

Don't let that talk about travel and free time fool you. Johnson is a notorious early riser who works very hard at his job. Teammate Mark Martin, who knows a little something about effort, said Johnson works harder than any other driver he's ever been around. But because Johnson makes it look so easy, Martin didn't realize it until he landed at Hendrick.

"He works harder than anyone that I have seen from studying this sport, to making notes after every race, to reviewing notes before, to nutrition, to physical fitness, to commitment to the sport," Martin said. "It has been surprising to me. I was one of those, like many others from the outside looking in, looking at Jimmie Johnson making it look easy thinking he was a lucky guy that drove for a great race team. I'm taking that back now. I've seen different, and I'm one of the guys that is standing up saying, hey, he's not getting enough credit."

Is it a coincidence that the top six drivers in the Cup standings this season have all of six Nationwide starts between them -- including none by Johnson -- while several in the bottom half of the Chase, and many who missed the playoff, are much more heavily invested in the second-tier series? It can be difficult to draw a correlation between Nationwide involvement and Sprint Cup success; as recently as last season, Carl Edwards had a chance to win both titles in the same year. But Johnson's involvement is sparing, if at all. And he's the one driver nobody has been able to catch for nearly four years now. (Continued)