If he Wins at Martinsville, There’ll be no Stopping Johnson For Fourth Title
Five races left. Five weeks until Jimmie Johnson is officially crowned Sprint Cup king for a record fourth consecutive year.
Which, by the way, would tie Johnson with teammate Jeff Gordon for second-most championships by a driver in NASCAR history (Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt share the record with seven titles each).
What, coming into Martinsville, which is his most successful track, you think I’m going to pick against Johnson? You’ve got another thing coming if you do.
Frankly, although I really thought this year’s Chase would be a wild and drawn-out affair, something that wouldn’t be decided until the closing laps of the season finale at Homestead next month, Johnson’s three wins in the first five Chase races – something he hasn’t done en route to his three previous championships – tells me this Chase is over, done, fini, concluded, ended.
Period.
The way I see it, Johnson will leave Martinsville late Sunday afternoon with his fourth win of the Chase, and will increase his lead over the rest of the field to probably something like 175 points – with four races left at that point.
At that point, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion not so much about if Johnson will win his fourth straight title, but more so when he’ll win it. I’m totally convinced that he’s going to put cream on top of the cake in this go-round unlike the last three Chases, where he actually didn’t clinch the title until Homestead.
After Martinsville, we have Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. If Johnson does well at Talladega and Texas – especially if he wins yet again – I say he locks the title up for sure at Phoenix, leaving Homestead to be a lame duck season finale.
Heck, if he does that, Johnson might as well take the Homestead race off at that point. I mean, what would he gain from competing in an event that is meaningless for him at that point, and after he’s already iced the championship?
But, I digress.
For all the miraculous things Johnson has done in the previous three Chases, this one is shaping up to be the greatest effort ever on his part. With three triumphs in the first five races, I’m not going to be surprised to see him pull off three, maybe four more wins, in the final five.
He’s running that good. His team is that good. His crew chief, as we already know, is that good. And Johnson? He’s too damn good not to win it again!
While such an achievement would be quite heady for Johnson, it would drive yet another nail into the Chase for the Sprint Cup format. If Johnson can win this thing so easy, essentially sailing away from the rest of the competition like he’s done so far in the first five races, it will give even more fans tired of watching Johnson’s overt supremacy a reason to turn their TVs off, knowing their own driver doesn’t have a chance.
Sooner or later, NASCAR is going to have to revisit the Chase format and figure out what it can do to make things more even, and less in favor of Johnson. Sure, he’s doing everything he needs to do to win, but the only people it’s fun for any more is the No. 48 team.
Mark my word, the Chase format will be revamped eventually … like probably four years from now, after Johnson wins his eighth consecutive title and becomes the undisputed winner of the most championships in NASCAR history.
As for this week’s race pick, there’s no way I’m picking anyone other than Johnson. By the way, in the first five weeks, I’ve picked three winners, one runner-up and a ninth-place finish. Heck, with those stats, maybe I have a chance of beating Johnson for the Cup.
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