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SPENCER: The Greatest Ever?
Is Jimmie Johnson the greatest driver of his era? Certainly. The greatest ever? Impossible to say...
Jimmy Spencer  |  Posted December 02, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
Discussions surrounding the greatest driver in the history of NASCAR always involve names like Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson and Richard Petty. As we honor Jimmie Johnson Friday evening as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year, he belongs smack in the middle of that conversation.

Better yet, in light of his recent accomplishments, is Johnson the greatest ever? That’s impossible to conclude because there have been so many talented drivers across the different eras of NASCAR that putting them side-by-side is like comparing apples to oranges.

I raced against Earnhardt, knew him well and still think he was one of the greatest ever. Pearson was one of the greatest in his time. Richard Petty, too. But upon careful analysis of their achievements, you begin to understand why one driver isn’t comparable to the next. Pearson didn’t race for numerous championships because the money wasn’t there. Why should he compete at Greenville-Pickens Speedway for $600 or so when he could have gone to a dirt track and won $1,000? Therefore, Pearson doesn’t have the seven championships Petty and Earnhardt do, but his stats don’t diminish his abilities behind the wheel.

Many argue that the number of wins and championships determine a driver’s place in history, but stockpiling wins and championships wasn’t always the ultimate goal back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. There are so many guys who have contributed monumentally to the sport without ever winning a championship. For instance, look at what Mark Martin has brought to NASCAR without winning a Cup title. It’s not fair to say a driver doesn’t belong in the “greatest ever” conversation because something is missing from his resume, whether a victory at a particular track or a championship.

Since the sport changes so dramatically from decade to decade, the factors surrounding a driver’s accomplishments vary from year to year. Therefore, we can’t state Johnson is the greatest driver of all time, but he certainly is the greatest in his era, a period I consider to have begun with the death of Earnhardt in February 2001.

The competition today is the tightest it has ever been and the powerhouses Johnson competes against are incredible. The No. 11 team beat the No. 48 all year long until push came to shove in the Chase. Denny Hamlin lost the championship by letting the pressure and Johnson get to him in the final two races of the year. He cracked at Phoenix and ran into Greg Biffle at Homestead. But Johnson does not make those kind of mistakes. The guy never screws up.

I am amazed by how supreme Johnson is, both in his driving skills and mental fortitude. Old Man Earnhardt was as much of a machine in a race car as I’ve ever seen – so solid behind the wheel and inside his mind – and Johnson is the same way.
Jimmie Johnson and wife Chandra celebrate Sprint Cup championship No. 5 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Granted, drivers don’t earn championships alone and Johnson enjoys the support of a great organization and a terrific crew chief. But I don’t think Chad Knaus and Hendrick Motorsports stood head-and-shoulders above their counterparts in 2010. Johnson, however, did and was the only Hendrick driver to visit Victory Lane all season.

Hamlin and the other Chasers had their first and prime opportunity to unseat Johnson this year and failed to do so, despite the fact he trailed Hamlin heading into the season finale. No one could capitalize on the chinks in the armor of the No. 48 team, and with the greatest driver of this era back to defend his title in 2011, don’t expect anyone to get that close again anytime soon.

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on his “Getting Primed with Jimmy Presented by Kilz Primer” segment on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.

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