Jimmie Johnson is my favorite.
That probably wouldn’t be the case if I were a NASCAR fan.
It’s easy to root for the person everybody hates in a sport that you don’t pay much attention to, but that doesn’t mean Johnson doesn’t deserve respect.
In today’s professional sports world, winning five consecutive titles is unheard of. The last team to win five or more consecutive titles was the Boston Celtics, who captured their eighth straight title in 1966.
Johnson had already set the record for number of consecutive titles last season, now he is adding to it.
Even more impressive, of his nine seasons, Johnson has entered the final race ranked lower than second only once, his rookie season.
That is domination no other professional sport has seen since Bill Russell’s Celtics.
The best part? That was when he officially won his fifth straight title and NASCAR fans across the country let out a collective groan (well, some burped because they had just taken a sip of their Budweiser).
Racing has two beloved men atop the list of career titles, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Both have seven but neither won more than two consecutive titles during their careers.
The thought of Jimmie Johnson climbing above those two historic drivers is sure to give some NASCAR fans an upset stomach, (again, it could still be the Budweiser).
Even more exciting was how he won his fifth consecutive title.
The final race, by no means, was a victory lap for Johnson and his team.
He had to be close to perfect for nearly 10 weeks while in a battle with fellow drivers Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.
He actually trailed Hamlin by 15 points heading into the race. But like the dominant champion he is, Johnson kept his composure and finished the race with a 39-point lead.
The two other drivers faded down the stretch due to their own mistakes. Johnson’s experience closed the deal.
Johnson is arguably the most dominant man in professional sports.
In a sport where seconds feel just as long as minutes, even the smallest mistakes can end a championship run.
Harvick’s small mistake was speeding on pit road, which forced him to the back of the pack and gave Johnson his window.
So I don’t know if I root for Jimmie Johnson because he is the best NASCAR driver of this era, or if it makes NASCAR fans angry that he wins. But I do know that this stretch of championships is nothing short of remarkable.
And we all know this: Johnson doesn’t need any practice for future celebrations.
Reach the columnist at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
