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Sprint Cup
MILLER: It’s Johnson’s World
Jimmie Johnson's polite demeanor makes him as unbearable as he is unbeatable...
Jimmie Johnson raises the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion's trophy after clinching his fifth straight title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The Boston Celtics, UCLA Bruins, Montreal Canadians and New York Yankees are the greatest dynasties on record. They dominated the landscape of their respective sports and became as reviled as they were revered.
They were teams from big cities with lots of players sharing the love and hate heaped on them by the masses through the years.
But Jimmie Johnson has changed the face of a dynasty. He’s a one-man wrecking crew who doesn’t gloat, trash talk or light up victory cigars like Red Auerbach. Johnson has the NASCAR faithful spitting their tobacco, throwing their die casts and cursing his name because he’s No. 1 again.
And he’s done it with an “aw shucks” persona that irritates the stock-car set almost as much as Kyle Busch’s swagger.
“I spent the majority of my career as a 'Class C' driver. I never expected this,” said the 35-year-old Californian after earning his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship with a spirited run to second to overcome a 15-point deficit to Denny Hamlin. “We’ll just come back and try to do it again next year.”
Johnson doesn’t have a pretentious bone in his body and his clean-cut, polite demeanor (on and off the track) doesn’t sit that well with people who adored the bravado of Darrell Waltrip or Dale Earnhardt.
To many, that makes JJ as unbearable as he is unbeatable.
And it’s also given NASCAR a bit of a headache without any Goody’s for relief.
In a series that’s losing paying customers and television viewers, the last thing it would seem to need is another dose of those boring Lowe’s commercials, the preening of crew chief Chad Knaus or Johnson’s meticulous, maddening method of destroying his rivals.
It would appear that NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France has two options: He can either put a $10 million bounty on Johnson’s head for 2011 or offer JJ that money to change his act. How great would it be to see ad campaigns with the champ proclaiming: “Little E is a Big Flop,” or “Jeff gave me a ride and I gave him a driving lesson,” or “Beating the Buschs is like clubbing baby seals?”
Of course, neither of those scenarios is going to happen. NASCAR will continue to proclaim it’s got the most competitive series in the world and Johnson will use his smarts and skills to kick 42 butts again.
He’ll raise the trophy over his head at Homestead and empty Bud cans will be heaved at TV screens all over the country. It’s JJ’s world; deal with it.
Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82. Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000. In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
They were teams from big cities with lots of players sharing the love and hate heaped on them by the masses through the years.
But Jimmie Johnson has changed the face of a dynasty. He’s a one-man wrecking crew who doesn’t gloat, trash talk or light up victory cigars like Red Auerbach. Johnson has the NASCAR faithful spitting their tobacco, throwing their die casts and cursing his name because he’s No. 1 again.
And he’s done it with an “aw shucks” persona that irritates the stock-car set almost as much as Kyle Busch’s swagger.
“I spent the majority of my career as a 'Class C' driver. I never expected this,” said the 35-year-old Californian after earning his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship with a spirited run to second to overcome a 15-point deficit to Denny Hamlin. “We’ll just come back and try to do it again next year.”
Johnson doesn’t have a pretentious bone in his body and his clean-cut, polite demeanor (on and off the track) doesn’t sit that well with people who adored the bravado of Darrell Waltrip or Dale Earnhardt.
To many, that makes JJ as unbearable as he is unbeatable.
And it’s also given NASCAR a bit of a headache without any Goody’s for relief.
In a series that’s losing paying customers and television viewers, the last thing it would seem to need is another dose of those boring Lowe’s commercials, the preening of crew chief Chad Knaus or Johnson’s meticulous, maddening method of destroying his rivals.
It would appear that NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France has two options: He can either put a $10 million bounty on Johnson’s head for 2011 or offer JJ that money to change his act. How great would it be to see ad campaigns with the champ proclaiming: “Little E is a Big Flop,” or “Jeff gave me a ride and I gave him a driving lesson,” or “Beating the Buschs is like clubbing baby seals?”
Of course, neither of those scenarios is going to happen. NASCAR will continue to proclaim it’s got the most competitive series in the world and Johnson will use his smarts and skills to kick 42 butts again.
He’ll raise the trophy over his head at Homestead and empty Bud cans will be heaved at TV screens all over the country. It’s JJ’s world; deal with it.
Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82. Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000. In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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