Blueprint to beat Johnson clear: Follow champ's lead

At once, it feels like no one can topple Jimmie Johnson from his perch atop the Sprint Cup Series, and that many can. This is a driver who has won four consecutive championships on NASCAR's top division, who works with unquestionably the sport's top team and top crew chief, and grows only stronger with every passing year. And yet, you see a cadre of potential challengers like Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon, and you recognize the law of averages, and you wonder if 2010 is when Johnson's magical run inevitably comes to an end.

Of course, it's all much simpler on paper than in real life, especially given how absolutely flustered the competition appeared at the end of the 2009 season, when beating the No. 48 team seemed an undertaking on par with sending a man to the moon. No question, everybody who competes on NASCAR's premier series wants to make the Chase and vie for the championship. But given current economic conditions and sponsorship limitations, not everyone can. Some teams have to look out for themselves, and take sponsorship money any way they can get it, and if that means being content with running 13th on Sundays and splitting time between the Cup and Nationwide tours, so be it. Financial viability has to come first.

In all honestly, though, all that does is help Johnson pull further away. This always has been a follow-the-leader sport -- if one team does something that works, whether small-scale on the vehicle or large-scale across an organization, others undoubtedly will follow. And yet, very few are really following the Johnson model of eschewing starts in support series, avoiding ownership burdens, and focusing solely on that one goal of a Cup title. Maybe that's because it goes so against the race-everything-all-the-time culture that many of today's drivers came up with. Maybe that's because many teams need that Nationwide sponsorship money for their bottom lines.

Eight or nine years ago, when Cup sponsorship money flowed like post-race champagne and very few NASCAR stars moonlighted on the then-Busch tour to the degree they do today, it wouldn't have seemed strange for a driver like Johnson to win multiple Cup titles exactly the way he's doing it now. Today, though, he stands out, and not just because of his ability or his accomplishments. The majority of his primary contenders for the 2010 crown have more on their plate, from double-digit Nationwide obligations to Truck races to ownership commitments. They all say it doesn't affect them in their pursuit of the ultimate goal. Given the results of the past four years, though, you have to wonder if they're doing part of Johnson's job for him. (Continued)