Johnson haters: Keep on hating, he will keep on winning.

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

Which means Jimmie would have only three titles, Kevin Harvick would have three, Carl Edwards would have two and Jeff Gordon would have seven.

Lebron James and Michael Jordan would also have zero championships without the NBA Finals.

That statement is also irrelevant.

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.

10 Things I miss the most about NASCAR.

NASCAR is an ever-changing sport. It's no secret that they've made many changes in the past. The points system, the cars, television networks, sponsors. You name it and they've probably changed it, not all changes have been bad, but there are some things that you don't see in NASCAR anymore that I miss. The other day I was watching a show on NFL Network called "Top 10 Things We Miss About Football", so that got me thinking. Here are the "Top Ten Things I Miss About NASCAR".

NOTE-I refused to include the old points system or Dale Earnhardt. Those are too basic and I like the playoff system. The old system was boring

#10 TANDEM DRAFTING

Tandem drafting was basically a fad in NASCAR at Daytona and Talladega. It was really only prominent for 2010 & 2011, but for those of you who don't remember what it is ill explain. Tandem drafting is basically what it sounds like. Two drivers hook up to each other and draft. It made the restrictor places even more interesting because you could occasionally get a guy like David Gilliland, Dave Blaney or Landon Cassill, who probably had no business finishing in the top ten, but they were good at restrictor plate tracks and helped push many of the sports best through the field. It was neat seeing guys have to team up and then having to find a new partner if there's got taken out. Tandem drafting was at its best in 2011. The restrictor plate winners that year were Trevor Bayne, Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan and Clint Bowyer. That's pretty awesome to me.

#9 BUDWEISER SPONSORED CARS

Okay, so this one has only been missing since 2015, and even though it's a really disgusting beer, Budweiser is synonymous with NASCAR so it's on this list. Budweiser sponsored stars like Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt. Jr and Kevin Harvick. It seems weird to not have Budweiser sponsoring a car. To be fair, Anheuser-Busch still is, as they insisted that Busch Light replaced Budweiser as Kevin Harvick's sponsor in 2016.

                                     #8 ROAD COURSE RINGERS

It's probably a good thing that these aren't really a part of NASCAR, but man do I miss them. The road course ringers normally didn't do much at Sonoma or Watkins Glen other than get in the way, but it was a change of pace. I always openly pulled for road ringers Boris Said, Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett. None of these guys ever won a Cup race, but Ron Fellows came really close at Watkins Glen in 2004 and Scott Pruett had a couple of top three finishes.

                                  #7 WINSTON MILLION/NO BULL 5

To be fair, The Dash for Cash in the Xfinity Series is fairly similar to the Winston Million or No Bull 5, but it's not the same. For those of you who are unfamiliar with either one of these, I'll explain. From 1985 to 1997, NASCAR offered $1 Million to any driver who could win three of the four races (Daytona 500, Aarons 499, Coca Cola 600, Southern 500). Many drivers came close to pulling off the feat, but only two did. Bill Elliott in 1985 and Jeff Gordon in 1997. Then NASCAR changed to the No-Bull 5 in 1998, which was pretty similar. NASCAR selected four races that were "No-Bull 5" races. If you finished in the top five in a No-Bull 5 race, you became eligible for the next one, if an eligible driver won the race, he won $1 million along with the fan he was paired up with. How cool is that?

       #6 THE CARS ACTUALLY LOOKING LIKE STOCK CARS

You can't possibly tell me that the current cars even somewhat resemble a "stock car" and if you think they do, you're an idiot. The cars in NASCAR have changed drastically in the past 15 or 20 years. And while I will never criticize NASCAR for enhancing the safety features in these cars, there's a part of me that misses the days when the cars looked like something you or I could drive. But, I guess going back to that would probably mean sacrificing some of the safety features, and that can't happen.

#5 ALLEN BESTWICK 

Ken Squier might be the greatest voice in the history of NASCAR, but Allen Bestwick is my favorite. Bestwick was the lead voice of NBC's NASCAR coverage from 2001 to 2004 and then for ESPN from 2011 until 2014. Bestwick also serves as the voice of the Indy 500 (which makes that event even better). As a young announcer, Allen Bestwick is the one guy I really look up to. He started out at announcing at a Connecticut short track that his father raced at, didn't even go to college and worked his way up to where he is now. Bestwick always had a knack for capturing the moment with some intelligence and a strong delivery. I like Rick Allen and can tolerate Mike Joy, but I'd rather have Allen Bestwick.

                                                      #4 MARK MARTIN

How can you not miss Mark Martin? I've never a person who's told me that they don't like Mark Martin, and if I ever do, I will never talk to them again. If Dale Earnhardt. Jr wouldn't have gotten sympathy fans, Mark Martin would have probably been the most popular driver in NASCAR. He was pretty darn good too. Finishing second in points on five different occasion. He was such a likable guy and everyone respected him in the garage. I've never rooted for someone harder than what I did for Martin to win the 2007 Daytona 500 before Kevin Harvick edged him at the line.

                                                    #3 ROCKINGHAM

I am not old enough to remember North Wilkesboro, but I would have probably put it on the list if I was because it sounds like a track I would have loved. Rockingham was one of my favorites on the schedule. The track always brought excitement and sometimes brought surprise winners like Steve Park and Johnny Benson. The track used to run two races a year, and then it lost it's fall race. Then it eventually lost both races because some crybaby shareholder sued NASCAR because he thought Texas deserved a second race (Read about Ferko vs. NASCAR). Well boo-freakin-hoo. Texas is boring compared to Rockingham. The Rock should be back on the schedule and it was in 2012 for a truck series race, but it was taken off the some schedule for some reason. Maybe I should just sue NASCAR to bring back Rockingham.

                                                 #2 THE PERSONALITIES

Remember the old good ole days when the drivers actually had personalities? I don't, but I've watch enough Youtube videos, read enough and heard enough stories to still include it on my list. NASCAR has became so corporatized, its almost like drivers have been neutered because they are afraid of stepping out of line because they may face discipline from either NASCAR of their sponsors. The only guy that doesn't seem to be fake is Kyle Busch, and even though he's authentic, he still comes across as a crybaby. Give me the old days with guys like Tim Richmond and Dick Trickle. 

                                  #1 RACING BACK TO THE YELLOW

Even though this is the thing I miss the most, I do understand why this is no longer a part of NASCAR. This is probably smart as far as safety goes, but it always made it interesting. Definitely in the waning stages of a race if a driver felt like they wouldn't get a chance of a restart. The two biggest problems with racing back to the caution were; sometimes it led to the creation of more accidents or drivers had to try to avoid the accident while racing back to the caution, and second sometimes guys got their feelings hurt when they got passed under yellow. I remember a race at Sonoma in 2003 where Robby Gordon passed Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon under caution and went on to win the race. Gordon and Harvick complained that it was unfair, but it was racing. It was within the rules. All of these "gentlemen's agreements" in sports are stupid. To be fair, I like the green-white-checkered setup and have no problem with giving the first car a lap down their lap back. What NASCAR should do is keep things the way they are, except get rid of the wave around and race back to the caution like they used to. It would be cool if they did this, but I know they never will.