Finally - Some Respect In The Sports Media!!!

interesting comparisons to Kobe/Brady/Tiger.

however, I wonder how the long view of history will treat Johnson's 4 championships in the Chase, especially if they ever go back to the "old" points system with a full-season championship.

 

And that touches on my question: If the
"Chase" points system were not in place and
NASCAR ran the old points system, would
the results have been the same?

As I recall, Mark Martin was leading the
points at the end of the "regular season"
and Tony Stewart was right up there with him.

Johnson's accomplishment cannot be marginalized
however. The article is correct and if four consecutive
championships are being pushed aside by NASCAR
insiders (IE: PR reps for all the other drivers) then
it only suggests the commercial aspect far outweighs
the sport as if they said what they really think, it's
a "show" not a "sport", the championship would be
handed to NASCAR commercial golden boy Dale Earnhardt,
Jr. at Daytona each February.

And, imagine if Earnhardt, Jr. did by some miracle
win the championship, it definately would be shoved
down our throats (and any other orifice the media
could find).

This double standard is an all too bad situation as
we see, deserved or not, the commercial darlings are
always in the spotlight and the deserving are pushed
aside by the blathering media.

Johnson's accomplishment however is not is own doing.
Racing is a team sport which in NASCAR means there
is a crew that unloads a competive car off the trailer,
makes the adjustments and consistently fast pit stops
in order for their guy to win races. Didn't Hendrick Racing
finish 1-2-3 in the points? That likewise cannot be overlooked.

RM
spotlight

 

Tony Stewart had the lead at the end of the first 26 races. Johnson would have won it this year regardless of points system.

Final UNOFFICIAL 2009 Sprint Cup CLASSIC
the OLD way - Driver Points Standings [after Homestead, race 36 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson (X), 5156
2) #24-Jeff Gordon (X), 5090, -66
3) #14-Tony Stewart (X), 5085, -71
4) #11-Denny Hamlin (X), 4806, -350
5) #5-Mark Martin (X), 4762, -394
6) #2-Kurt Busch (X), 4758, -398
7) #16-Greg Biffle (X), 4541, -615
8) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya (X), 4503, -653
9) #18-Kyle Busch, 4457, -699
10) #39-Ryan Newman (X), 4447, -709
11) #99-Carl Edwards (X), 4398, -758
12) #17-Matt Kenseth, 4389, -767
13) #9-Kasey Kahne (X), 4388, -768
14) #33-Clint Bowyer, 4359, -797
15) #00-David Reutimann, 4221, -935
16) #83-Brian Vickers (X), 4122, -1034

 

true, but that is not always the case...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_for_the_Sprint_Cup

 

The team with the most wins for the season often does not make the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the Stanley Cup finals, the NBA finals, or the World Series. A great season gets you a good chance at the final, but in most sports does not mean you win the championship on its own.

 

Excellent comparison and the one that matters.

The Chase is the Nascar equivalent of the playoffs in other sports.

That is when the qualifiers go head to head in sudden death and raise their games to survive.

Jimmie Johnson and his team has done that four years in a row. That shows that everyone is focusing their main effort on the playoffs (the chase), just do enough to qualify for them and save your best shot for the chase when it matters.

It is HARD to win a championship 4 years in a row with everyone aiming for you. By then any revolutionary advantages you used for your first championship or two has been copied and mastered by the other teams.

To win 3 or 4 championships in a row comes down to consistent performance and execution under pressure and "bringing it home". That is your entire mentality is to max out what you've got (there's ALWAYS something wrong with the car, nothing is ever completely perfect); but your first priority is bringing it home...that's how you rack up points to a championship.

 

Thanks for posting the points under the old system.

Reminds me of a long time ago when during one of the "stick
and ball" competitions on ABC, the commentators brought up
the subject of best atheletes when none other than Howard
Cossell said he thought racing drivers were the top sport stars.

Cossell elaborated on about "If you ever saw Jackie Stewart
racing at Monte Carlo..." And, how drivers must have reflexes
beyond any other sport while at the same time working in an
extremely hot and dangerous environment, how racing must be
seen in person to really be appreciated, etc.

This was really suprising as Cossell was noted for being
a boxing, football and baseball expert and when his colleagues
in the booth scoffed, he shot back in typical Cossell style,
"Until you see this spectacle in person, you cannot understand
what phonomenal atheletes racing drivers are" (sic). I'll never
forget that.

RM

 

Great story!

Thanks for sharing.