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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Who’s Better, Earnhardt Or Johnson?
Mark Martin said it’s unfair to compare the late Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 23, 2009   Martinsville, VA
Mark Martin (Left) and Dale Earnhardt Sr. (Right) exchange post-race greetings in victory lane after an IROC event in 2000. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The late Dale Earnhardt won seven NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, 76 races in 676 starts and claimed 22 poles in a career that ran from 1975-2001.

Three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson has 46 victories and 22 poles in 286 starts, and is in excellent position to be the first driver ever to win a fourth consecutive title.

So who’s the better driver? And if they went head to head, who would prevail?

Mark Martin is one of the few drivers in a legitimate position to weigh in on that question, as he raced against both drivers for championships, while both were in the primes of their respective careers.

With the question put to him Friday morning and Martinsville Speedway, Martin insisted one couldn’t really compare the two drivers, simply because their styles are so very different.

“That's not fair,” Martin said when asked to evaluate Earnhardt vs. Johnson. “Jimmie does his on technical. Earnhardt did his with his hands. Earnhardt did a lot of what he did with his hands and he wasn't near above playing head games as well.”

To Martin, Johnson is more of a student of racing and more attuned to the nuances of how his car performed. In Earnhardt’s case, it was sheer force of will that brought the black No. 3 to the front.

“Jimmie is good because of technical (ability), because he works physically and understands about the car and writes things down,” Martin said. “Dale Earnhardt didn't take notes after every race and make out a full page set of notes after every single race so that they could go back to them before the next race. Dale just piled in that thing and wheeled it like an animal, you know?”


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