CUP: Johnson Not The Intimidator

Sprint Cup

CUP: Johnson Not The Intimidator

NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson is respected but not feared...

Mike Hembree | Posted March 05, 2010 Hampton, GA

Jimmie Johnson has won four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championships and 49 races. (Photo: Getty Images)

It’s difficult to get NASCAR drivers to admit to being afraid of anything. Maybe the occasional cobra.

Bobby Allison, one of the toughest tough guys ever, said he was scared only by Democrats.

It’s not surprising, then, that drivers won’t confess to being frightened by Jimmie Johnson’s quick start in 2010, even though he also has won the past four Sprint Cup championships.

Going into Race Four Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, hope springs eternal in the Sprint Cup garage area. It’s not about beating Johnson, people say, it’s about doing well regardless of which driver is dominant at the moment. The Johnson thing? You can’t let it get in your head, they say.

“I’m around a lot of people that have just flipped out (about Johnson),” Jeff Burton said. “ ‘How did he win that race? He’s lucky! Pisses me off!’ I’m not that way.

“I don’t race Jimmie with animosity. I don’t race him with jealousy. I’m envious of him, but who wouldn’t be? The only way I can do it is to go out and do it.”

Still, there is psychology at play, as there often is when one team is standing firmly on a pedestal and others are looking up from deep in the valley. Thought processes differ, but drilling into another driver’s head with a pointed comment or two seems to have an effect in many cases.

That’s why you heard Kevin Harvick barking recently that he can beat Johnson and that Johnson and his team members know it. Harvick wants Johnson – and everyone else – to know that, despite the 48 team’s quality, it’s not a free ride.

Other drivers want to be where Johnson sits. The respect level is clear.

“They’re the best of the best,” Kyle Busch said. “They’re the guys that you’ve got to beat every single week, every single year. There’s no question that the 48 team is probably the best team in history, that they have the opportunity to win every single week.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

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