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LAS VEGAS — Every era presents a great champion, and Jimmie Johnson is the modern standard. We were reminded once again of Johnson’s ability to contribute to the sport a few days ago in Atlanta.
In tying the celebrated legend Dale Earnhardt’s 76-victory mark last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Johnson formally and numerically put himself — again — high atop the esteemed list of NASCAR’s most celebrated competitors.
The first thing Johnson did after climbing out of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy and hoisting the big trophy was to humbly acknowledge the late Earnhardt and the milestone.
Anytime you equal Earnhardt, it’s a big, big day and in his post-race remarks, Johnson again brought up that one of his deepest professional regrets is not getting to actually compete against the “Intimidator.”
However, he is, now, in another most respectful way.
Speaking with or listening to Johnson, it’s always been clear he is simultaneously conscious of and awe-struck by his success — six Sprint Cup Series titles and 76 wins. And he’s genuinely amazed to be mentioned in the same sentences as the sport’s legends such as Earnhardt, Petty, Pearson and Allison.
And his multi-championship, 76-win collection is absolutely as hard-earned as the men who went before. Johnson may have the more clean-cut image, and he does drive for the greatly successful owner Rick Hendrick, but plenty of nice guys have driven fast cars without amassing the track record Johnson has. And, to be fair, much of Hendrick’s success is a result of Johnson.
I have visited the small town of El Cajon, California, where Johnson was raised, seen the small, modest home he grew up in and spoken to the proud people that knew him “back when.” His dad told me with a slight laugh about the dirt bikes the family used as night tables by the beds just so there was room to keep the bikes safely inside.
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Yes, Johnson is good-looking, polished and polite — a fresh-faced, smile-a-lot Cali boy for sure — but his path to NASCAR stardom in the modern era was every bit as hard-knock as they come. Just different.
Both Earnhardt and Petty were North Carolina-bred and had fathers who were famous in the sport even though they had to earn their way. It was a different situation for Johnson, whose earliest NASCAR preparation came from racing motorcycles in the California desert before moving to stock cars.
His path to NASCAR was thousands of miles different than the majority of greats before him.
Johnson and his former Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon are surely the most successful “West Coast” racers in the sport’s history. But for Johnson in particular, that’s a result of a much less-traveled path.
And this recent victory milestone deserves to be celebrated and appreciated.
Johnson just celebrated his 40th birthday last fall. He is in the finest shape of any of his competitors thanks to a devoted diet and fitness routine and a cycling hobby that could reasonably become a second athletic career.
He needs 29 more Cup wins to tie the great David Pearson’s mark of 105. If he doesn’t quite make it, triple digits remain a legitimate possibility.
There was a long time I thought Gordon would reach triple digits in wins, but an ailing back ultimately proved too heavy a competitive burden, and the four-time champion Hendrick teammate retired at the end of last season.
Before the new championship format — perhaps a result of Johnson’s success with the other — I was absolutely convinced he would earn a seventh title to tie Earnhardt and Petty. I genuinely felt he would become the sport’s only eight-time champion. And despite the evolving title format, which has so drastically changed the course of winning, I still believe Johnson will at least win number seven.
He’s certainly put in a promising start to this season.
Because of the new format, it’s entirely possible no other modern era driver will even stand a chance to win seven championships. And with the extremely high level of competition across the starting grid, reeling off 70 or 80 career Cup wins is no longer a truly plausible possibility either. Reigning champion Kyle Busch may be most likely to put in a good run with 34 wins already at the age of 30.
In the meantime, each milestone Johnson reaches and raises is a reminder that the rest of us have been treated to a rare chance to witness history.
POLL: Will anyone ever reach 76 again?