The Dover International Speedway should just start calling Jimmie Johnson daddy. Johnson's stat line at Dover is legendary-31 starts, 11 wins, 16 top fives, 22 top tens and an average finish of 9.3. When Jimmy took the checkered flag on Sunday, he tied Cale Yarbrough for fifth most wins in NASCAR history. When Jimmie picks up his next win, he will tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with 84 wins and Jimmie had done in a time where there has been a lot more competitive cars. Jimmie Johnson is to NASCAR what Tom Brady is to the NFL. His fans really love him and his haters really hate him. The only thing he's ever really done to deserve the vitriol is win, so let's dive into this and debunk some statements and beliefs commonly held by his haters.
DISCLAIMER-I'm by no means telling you that you should or have to root for him, you have as much as right to despise him as I do to love him, I'm simply just debunking ignorant statements.
STATEMENT #1-He gets all the television time.
This popped up on my Facebook the other day.
"Good lord DW and Gordon
shut up or talk about other drivers not just the stupid 48"
We must not have been watching the same NASCAR race because around this time that this was posted, Ty Dillon and Kyle Larson were getting just as much, if not more attention then Johnson, and rightfully so. Television networks that broadcast NASCAR races don't always just mention Jimmie, and of course, I'm not going to make an argument without some facts. So enjoy this nugget courtesy of Joyce Julius & Associates who monitors the amount of television coverage each driver gets
Most Mentioned Drivers on TV
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
| Driver |
Interviews
| Interview Time |
Mentions
|
| Keselowski B. |
17
|
0:12:54
|
1,617
|
| Truex Jr. M. |
20
|
0:18:22
|
1,551
|
| Larson K. |
23
|
0:22:02
|
1,495
|
| Busch Ky. |
15
|
0:09:26
|
1,422
|
| Harvick K. |
13
|
0:09:36
|
1,355
|
| Logano J. |
15
|
0:10:50
|
1,275
|
| Johnson J. |
9
|
0:09:40
|
1,223
|
| Elliott C. |
10
|
0:05:58
|
1,085
|
| Hamlin D. |
5
|
0:02:57
|
1,006
|
| Blaney R. |
9
|
0:06:22
|
976
|
| Earnhardt Jr. D. |
9
|
0:08:22
|
868
|
| Bowyer C. |
4
|
0:03:14
|
779
|
| Stenhouse Jr. R. |
8
|
0:06:24
|
641
|
| Kenseth M. |
9
|
0:03:38
|
616
|
| McMurray J. |
4
|
0:02:32
|
597
|
Now, It is worth noting that this is only updated through the race at Kansas, meaning it is excluding the past three races, but still as you can see, not only has Jimmie Johnson not been the most talked about driver this year, but he's not even in the top five. He's only 138 mentions ahead of youngster Chase Elliott. It's also worth noting that all of NASCAR's races up to this point have been broadcasted by FOX which employs Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip. Not only do they mention other drivers, but they've mentioned others more than Jimmie.
STATEMENT #2-Jimmie is not one of the greatest
This social media post came immediately after Johnson won his seventh championship tying Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for the most.
"Congrats Jimmy on having your 7th handed to you!!! Announcers PLEASE don't compare Jimmy to Earnhardt or Petty ,not with these chase championships!!! Not even the same type of racing!! Different cars, different driving, different format."
Yeah announcers! And don't you dare compare Lebron James to Michael Jordan or Tom Brady to Joe Montana because even though they have been the best during their generation but they played different types of games! Maybe even with different balls and different rules.
This is just straight silly talk first off it wasn't handed it to him, it's not like he took Carl Edwards out, it was a racing accident between Edwards and Logano that took Edwards out in the closing laps while he had the title in sight. What Johnson haters don't remember is he had actually had three titles slip away from him, which means he could have ten championship,
While Earnhardt's impact on the sport might be more significant, it's worth noting that Jimmie has more wins (84 to 76) and has won two or more races in each of his sixteen seasons whereas Earnhardt had four seasons during his 21 years of racing full-time that he either had two wins or less and had two season where he is winless. Like I said, I'm by no means saying Johnson is necessarily better than Earnhardt, but when you look at the statistics there's no way you can logically say that you can't make that argument
Now we can argue about the system of NASCAR until we are blue in the face, but saying that Johnson doesn't deserve to be at least considered as one of the greatest is absurd. You don't have to say he's the greatest, even I'm not convinced he is, but to say he should not be considered one of the greatest is just pure hatred and ignorance talking
STATEMENT #3-Jimmie would have only won three titles without the playoffs and we wouldn't even be saying that he's one of the greatest.
Had NASCAR never switched to the old format, here is who the champion would have been each and every year.
2004
|
Jeff Gordon
|
2005
|
Tony Stewart
|
2006
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
2007
|
Jeff Gordon
|
2008
|
Carl Edwards
|
2009
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
2010
|
Kevin Harvick
|
2011
|
Carl Edwards
|
2012
|
Brad Keselowski
|
2013
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
2014
|
Jeff Gordon
|
2015
|
Kevin Harvick
|
2016
|
Kevin Harvick
|
Now, while the "traditional standings" looked like this at the end of each respective season, you can't say with certainty that this is how it would have played out under the old format.
Drivers know that they are racing in the "playoff format" so they don't focus on traditional points. The new format encourages drivers to be more aggressive and to attempt to chase wins. The mindset needed in the old format and the new one are completely different. If a driver goes into the season knowing that they need to be consistent all season and cannot rely on just getting a win to get into a ten race playoff and get hot at the right time to win a championship. You would see drivers maybe be more conservative. You can make the argument that Jimmie wasn't trying to be the "traditional" champion because he had no need to be. Had that format still been in place, it would have changed the mindset of him and many other drivers. So don't fully believe every time you hear someone say "Jimmie would have only won three championships without the chase"
STATEMENT 4-Earnhardt's seven championships mean more.
This stupid picture keeps appearing on my Facebook timeline
First off, how does anyone know that this engine didn't blow up? Comparing Dale and Jimmie is like comparing Lebron and Jordan, You can make a valid argument either way. If Johnson came first, we would be saying that there's no way Dale could ever pass him just like we are saying there's no way he can ever exceed Earnhardt. Earnhardt fans, like Jordan fans also don't like when someone threatens their guys legacy.
It is so difficult to compare guys from different eras, because so many things are different. Earnhardt would have struggled in Jimmies era, Jimmie would have struggled in Earnhardt's and Petty would have probably struggled in both. You can hate Jimmie Johnson all you want to, but he's not done winning races and chances are he's got at least one more championship in him.
You have every right to hate him, but if you want people to think you aren't completely ignorant. Please just think before you mention him.
