From Marty Smith's Column on ESPN.com. Thought it might make some interesting discussion.
Article link here.Marty,
I saw this week on "NASCAR Now" when you asked [Barney Hall] from MRN where Jimmie Johnson ranked in the all-time greatest drivers. He said one of the best in the past 10 years. Where would you rank Jimmie Johnson among the best Marty?
-- Rick King, Tallapoosa, Ala.This answer will be blasphemous to old-school fans who appreciate the hardships the sport's founders endured -- outrunning the law and risking life and limb for pennies -- and detest the money and fame and pampering today's stars enjoy.
Ready? Here it is: Jimmie Johnson very well may be the greatest NASCAR driver ever.
I can hear the good ol' boys hollerin' down the mountain now: "You dumba--! He's a pretty-boy Jeff Gordon clone who was handed everything! And they're cheaters!"
Whatever. What Johnson is doing in the era he's doing it in is nothing short of amazing. It is harder to win right now than it's ever been. By design, the cars are closer than they've ever been. The ebb and flow of excellence is fickle -- last year Carl Edwards won eight races and thus was the championship favorite among 80 percent of the media last February. Edwards hasn't won in 2009.
And the 48 continues to maintain an unparalleled performance level.
- EnlargeAP Photo/Reed Saxon
Jimmie Johnson has 45 wins in 285 career Cup starts, a winning percentage that ranks among NASCAR's greats.
Some of that is Chad Knaus' ability. He is probably the best crew chief ever, though Smokey and Ray Evernham would beg to differ. Some of that is the bottomless financial and technological and engineering pool that Rick Hendrick supplies his teams.
But the 24 and the 88 and the 5 have that same pool at their disposal and haven't enjoyed the sustained dominance the 48 has.
Johnson's too-perfect polish annoys many fans. It's hard to respect for some, and leads many to misperceive its genuineness and necessity. Johnson came from a humble background. He was raised in a trailer park until he was 8 years old and worked for everything he ever got. Having no money to fund his own effort, he had to be a good spokesperson. He had to be cordial. He had to smile and shake hands and mention sponsors and make darn certain not to ruffle too many feathers.
You don't just cut that off -- unless you forget who you are. That approach never abandons you, regardless how much fame and wealth you accumulate.
Johnson is becoming more comfortable with speaking out and has begun to accept his place in NASCAR history, though he won't embellish. Few drivers in their prime will do so.
I was hanging out with a buddy late Wednesday night, an ol' Earnhardt fan, and between sips of Jack Daniel's we debated Johnson's image. My buddy says he's too pretty, too perfect, too corporate, too New York. Then I told him Johnson will raise hell with the best of them. And that his commitment to excellence is barely rivaled. He doesn't coast.
He easily could coast. He has three straight titles and a bushel of wins and a plane and a model wife. So what'd he do? Went out and hired a revered personal trainer and got in the best shape of his life. He's in the gym every day. And his fitness level is ridiculous.
One of my favorite television programs -- that just sounded like my 95-year-old grandmother -- is "Around The Horn" on ESPN. Love the banter, especially when my boy Cowlishaw prevails. The other day Jay Mariotti won, and during his final-thought diatribe mentioned that we should pay greater respect to Peyton Manning's ability, that we are witnesses of historic greatness and letting it pass us by with a passing glance.
He was talking about Manning. But what I heard was Johnson. The very same principle applies. What Johnson is doing transcends racing. It's sports excellence, not just racing excellence.
Richard Petty won 200 races in 1,184 starts, a 17 percent win ratio. David Pearson won 105 races in 574 starts -- 18 percent. Dale Earnhardt earned 76 wins in 676 starts for an 11 percent winning rate.
Those three gentlemen are widely regarded as the best three drivers in NASCAR history. By comparison, Johnson has 45 wins in 285 starts, 16 percent.
Oh, wait … I hear the good ol' boys hollerin' down the mountain again … "Petty and Pearson and Earnhardt drove crappy cars with no power steering or pretty-boy cool-suits, idiot! And Johnson has always had the best stuff." Yep, that argument gets tossed around a lot. And, yep, Johnson has always had good cars at the Cup level.
But it's the consistent excellence that's so striking. He's never been a nonfactor.
Jeff Burton made a good point this week: It's nearly impossible to respect an athlete or team's excellence in the moment. The further down the road you get from those performances, and realize how hard it actually was to accomplish, the more respect is garnered.
"[Fans] will look back on it later with much greater perspective and much broader view. …" Burton said. "It's been incredible what they've done, and from the competitors there is a great deal of respect and I think from the fans there is a great deal of respect, too."
To get the truth about Johnson, my man Ryan McGee took a poll of industry giants and all-time greats for a story in ESPN The Magazine. One of those individuals was another Johnson -- first-class Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.
"Killer instinct," Junior Johnson said. "That's the part that Jimmie's gonna care about. The guys he races may not think he's the best at this or that, but add it all up. With five laps to go, who do they not want to see in their mirrors? Jimmie Johnson. They might not admit it, but it's been that way for years. And that's the difference between being a good racer and being an all-time great."
Say what you want about Jimmie Johnson, folks. But I dare you to tell Junior he's wrong.
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