Gordon: Earnhardt, Petty had easier paths to seven titles than Johnson
If all goes according to plan, Jimmie Johnson could make some incredible NASCAR history at the end of the 2014 season.
While there is certainly a lot of racing left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, if Johnson can end the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway as the champion, he would tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only seven-time champions in NASCAR history.
Johnson scored the first five of his Sprint Cup championships five years in a row from 2006 until 2010, then won his sixth last season over runner-up Matt Kenseth.
For Johnson's teammate Jeff Gordon, if Johnson can earn his record-tying seventh championship at the end of the season, he said he feels it will be more impressive than how both Petty and Earnhardt accomplished their seven titles.
Gordon, whose first Sprint Cup Series race was Petty's last in 1992 and later was part of a compelling rivalry with Earnhardt, the level of competition today makes it much more difficult for a driver to dominate the way his Hendrick Motorsports teammate has over the past eight or nine years.
And Gordon should know. Between 1995 and 2001, he won four championships of his own.
"Whenever I see the history of NASCAR in the Cup Series and there's asterisks next to it, that's because there's been a major change. I'm pretty sure there's an asterisks in 2004 (with the introduction of the Chase)," said Gordon. "It's different, it's not the same. It's not the same format. You win a championship differently. I'm not saying that the strongest team doesn't still win, but definitely how you go about it is different."
However, he warns against comparing them because all three won titles in different eras, against different levels of competition and under different point formats.
"I don't compare them," he said of the eras in which Petty, Earnhardt and Johnson raced. "I think what Jimmie's done is extraordinary. I almost look at it as harder than the others. I base that off my four championships and how I went about it and what it took to get there. You could build a huge lead and just ride it out. To me, in the Chase you have never been able to do that. You're always going to have intense battles all the way down to the end, especially with this new format.
"So, to me, that makes what they've done that much more extraordinary and even harder to do," he said. "You can't compare my four (championships) to his six (championships). I just think they're different."
While there is still a lot of racing left before the season is over and the champion is crowned, there is no doubt if Jimmie Johnson is able to earn his seventh title at the end of the year debate will rage about where his legacy ranks in the sport alongside those of NASCAR Hall of Famers Petty and Earnhardt. Perhaps Gordon's insight on the differences will provide a solid starting point for that debate.
VIDEO: Jimmie Johnson talks about title chances on Chase Contender Media Day
