Johnson begins quest for 5th straight championship
Of all the theories circulating through the garage about what it would take to unseat four-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, fellow driver Greg Biffle may have offered the most plausible one.
``A dark alley,'' he said.
It might be worth a shot. After all, nothing else has worked the last four years.
Johnson has dominated Sprint Cup competition since 2006, winning 29 races, posting 94 top-10 finishes and setting the bar at a height the sport has never seen.
Will it continue? No one would be surprised if it does. Johnson has one of the elite crew chiefs (Chad Knaus), races for the team with the most resources (Hendrick Motorsports) and spends as much time as anyone staying in shape and focusing on the little details that make a big difference.
``I feel similar to a lot of other competitors out there, that you're frustrated and you're like, 'I'm tired of seeing those guys win and be up there on the stage,''' teammate Jeff Gordon said.
Competitors are holding out hope that things could change in 2010. Maybe Johnson's impending fatherhood will have an effect. Maybe complacency will set in. Maybe all the extra attention - Johnson was named Male Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press and has cameras following his every move for a four-part series on HBO - will take its toll.
Then again, Johnson could continue steamrolling the field.
``I don't even know how I've been doing it, so I don't know how to beat it,'' Johnson said. ``I boil it down to a commitment from myself and from my teammates. The commitment that we have made to this race team has made the difference over the last four years. As long as that commitment's there, I will be proud of whatever the results are. That's the bottom line.
``I know at some point we're going to get beat. It's going to happen. I'm more aware of that than anyone else. I don't want it to be anytime soon.''
When Johnson hoisted the championship trophy in Homestead in November, he joined Richard Petty (seven), Dale Earnhardt (seven) and teammate Jeff Gordon (four) as the only drivers to win more than three titles in NASCAR's top series. He also became the first to win four in a row.
He begins his quest for a fifth in the Daytona 500 on Sunday. The season opener, however, might not offer much insight into his chances of a five-peat. Although Johnson started his record run with a victory at Daytona International Speedway in February 2006, he has finished 39th (2007), 27th (2008) and 31st (2009) in the three years since.
His colleagues know that and realize Johnson's real dominance comes when the 10-race Chase for the championship begins each fall. Since the Chase format started in 2004, Johnson has won 18 of the 60 races that determine the series champion.
While others have endured equipment failure, faltered on pit road, wrecked cars or wilted under pressure, Johnson just seemed to pull away.
``It's mentally tough on the entire competition to stay as cool as him because we don't feel like we're racing with the same stuff,'' driver Denny Hamlin said. ``It seems like he always has a leg up in one sense or another. You watch in practice on a weekly basis and they run as fast as they have to.
``That's tough, and I think that takes its toll on other drivers and forces them to make mistakes. I don't think Jimmie has ever really been in a position where he's had to give it all he had to win a championship. He just lets things come to him and watches other guys just crumble around him.''
Indeed, Johnson has essentially clinched each of his titles without having to do much in the final race. His latest title came amid more attention than any of the others, and he drew comparisons to such athletes as Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps and Michael Jordan.
``Everybody deserves their time in the sun, their time in the spotlight,'' Johnson said. ``At the end of last year, that spotlight was bright and I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm not worried. When it comes back the end of the year, I want to be in that spotlight for another championship.''
For a change, Johnson is the preseason pick to repeat. According to a media poll, Johnson is the favorite to win the 2010 championship.
The last time Johnson was the preseason favorite, in 2005, he finished fifth in points.
``I'm thinking it might be a curse,'' he said. ``We'll see how it turns out. It is cool. It's a great honor. I'm excited to see it. Last year, I wasn't sure why I wasn't picked. It's great until you hit the track, then you have to prove that you are the guy. It could be us. It could be a Roush car. It could be a Childress car. You just don't know.''
No one really knows.
But unless one of his competitors takes Johnson into a dark alley, the four-time champion probably will be in the mix once again this season.
``The difference between Jimmie and everybody else is all the other teams might do it one year out of four or five, but they're able to do it year after year after year,'' Carl Edwards said. ``It's insane.''
