NASCAR Cup Series

Jimmie Johnson: Don't blame me for NASCAR's woes

Published Oct. 17, 2010 4:43 a.m. ET

foxsports

There's a theory that Jimmie Johnson is to blame for what ails NASCAR.

Falling television ratings are because the four-time defending Sprint Cup champion kills the suspense by winning all the time. Attendance at races is down because Johnson is boring and lacks the strong personality of colorful drivers from the past.

Johnson doesn't buy it.

''Well, I know that I'm not the reason for those things and I sure as hell know I'm not vanilla,'' Johnson said.

Johnson made his case before another ho-hum third-place finish on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It came as he rallied from being 37th early in the race when he spun out.

''I'm kind of proud that I didn't hit anything,'' Johnson said.

Johnson remained in his familiar spot atop the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. Johnson, who has won the series title since 2006, is 41 points ahead of Denny Hamlin.

''We need more drama in our sport,'' Charlotte Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith said before Saturday's race. ''I was joking it would be great if Jimmie came out of the car and slapped somebody. That would be drama.''

It's not Johnson's style, but he insists he's a lot different from the young driver who started in NASCAR's lower series.

''I went from being like a C-level driver in Nationwide and through all the other things in my career, to drive for Hendrick Motorsports to having success early,'' Johnson said. ''At the end of the day I want to be a professional and do my job. And some people formed opinions then and it's unfortunate that if it still lingers around because I think I've done plenty to show that I'm far from vanilla.''

But you'll rarely see Johnson mix it up on the track, call out drivers or NASCAR officials, or make provocative comments. And his dominance comes as NASCAR is concerned about falling ratings and attendance.

''We don't know why. And it's not just our sport, it's all sports and it's all television,'' Johnson said. ''It's not me and I know that. So I just kind of chuckle about it and if people want to spend time talking about it they can.''

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GORDON'S WOES: Jeff Gordon was full of confidence after getting his first pole of the season on Thursday. But a night of mechanical problems and pit road trouble ensured his winless streak would reach 60 races.

Gordon, a four-time Cup champion who last won at Texas early last year, had his hopes dashed when his car lost power and he lost a lap. He came in and had both batteries replaced, but had continued alternator problems.

When he worked his way back toward the top 20, he was penalized for speeding on pit road.

Gordon finished 23rd, leaving him 156 points behind Johnson.

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NO SWEEP: Kurt Busch not only didn't become the first driver to complete a season sweep of the three Sprint Cup events at Charlotte, his flickering championship hopes took a big hit.

Busch, who won the All-Star race and Coca-Cola 600 in May, spun out and hit the outside wall in the fourth turn on the 25th lap Saturday. He never recovered, finishing 30th and three laps down. It was the worst finish of the 12 Chase drivers.

It marked the seventh time since the All-Star event's 1985 debut that a driver entered the fall stop at Charlotte with a chance to pull off the sweep and failed. Busch had the worst finish of the group.

The six previous drivers - Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison ('91), Dale Earnhardt ('93), Jeff Gordon ('97), Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kasey Kahne ('08) all finished in the top five in the fall race.

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KAHNE GETS SICK: After being involved in a wreck with Sam Hornish Jr., an ill Kasey Kahne was replaced by J.J. Yeley when the No. 9 Ford got back on the track more than 100 laps down.

Kahne is winless this season, missed the Chase and entered the night 19th in the standings. But he was coming off a fourth-place finish a week earlier at California.

Yeley, who had parked the cash-strapped No. 36 Chevrolet early in the race, drove the No. 9 to a 38th-place finish.

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LUG NUTS: Track owner Bruton Smith believes NASCAR should push start times for Sunday races back an hour to 2 p.m. ET to better compete against the NFL. ''If people want to tune in and watch football - and every game seems to be about the same - by 2 o'clock maybe they're tired of it and then they'll come over and watch a real sport,'' Smith said. ... It was another rough night for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 29th and three laps down. ... Clint Bowyer's No. 33 Chevrolet carried a decal honoring the 33 coal miners recently rescued in Chile. He finished 17th.