I was seven years old when the Chicago Bulls were dominating the NBA. I was young enough to have a bedtime. The only time my brother, sister and I did not have to go to bed early was the NBA playoffs.

When the Bulls were going for three championships in a row, my entire family would crowd around the one TV in our house and cheer on our home team.

My mother was not corrupting us by ignoring an early bed time, as she told us this is history being made. We may never see a team do what they are doing again.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and a completely different sport; NASCAR. Jimmie Johnson will more than likely win his fourth championship in a row. He will be the first driver in the history of this sport to accomplish this consecutively.

Yet NASCAR fans do not seem too excited about what we are about to see.

Johnson has dominated not only the Chase, but NASCAR in the last four years. Johnson has 47 career victories, 116 top fives and 179 top 10 finishes. Johnson ranks among the top of many statistical categories in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

His teammates and competitors are in awe of what Johnson has been able to do.

Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton, who finished second on Sunday at Phoenix, acknowledged that even when he started to catch Johnson, Johnson was able to turn it up and pull away.

“I thought we were going to win, to be honest,” Burton said. “I thought we had him. But he did what he always does — he found a little bit of speed. We were running him down pretty hard, and he was able to pick up just enough to keep me away from him. We were still running him down, but not at the pace we needed to.”

Johnson found a way to get it done, when it mattered and when it counted. Even before the Chase began, his competitors all knew that they would be chasing Johnson when it all was said and done.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who finished third on Sunday, acknowledged that even after Johnson’s accident at Texas the week before, he would bounce back.

“Anytime that Jimmie is down is not usually because of performance, it’s usually because of an incident like last week,” Hamlin said. “There was no doubt in my mind they were going to come this week and make a statement.”

Make a statement they did, dominating the 312 lap event and winning for the seventh time this season. Something that his competitors were not surprised by.

Clearly Johnson has earned the respect of his peers.

With all his success in the last few years, Johnson still struggles to reach NASCAR’s core fan base. That is not to say he doesn’t have a large fan base, but for one it’s not as large as his competition.

On many message boards I have read fans already claiming they will not be tuning in for the final race. With Johnson all but assured the Championship, why tune in?

My question is, Why not?

We may never see this again in NASCAR. Runs like this in any sport are rare and in auto racing and NASCAR in particular it is even harder. NASCAR is as competitive now as it has ever been, so Johnson winning like he has is even more incredible.

Johnson was already considered by many to be one of the greatest drivers of his generation, but now he will join the list of names including: Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and his mentor, owner, and friend Jeff Gordon.

Johnson doesn’t need a fourth championship to secure his place in history. He has already done that with the numbers he has put up since his rookie season.

Even if you do not root for Johnson every Sunday afternoon, we will see something truly special in American sports. As a fan of racing and NASCAR what will be completed on Sunday is something to be seen, fan of Johnson or not.

NASCAR fans need to appreciate what Johnson has done for this sport. 20 years from now, we will recall what Johnson has accomplished as an ambassador for this sport.Johnson is one of NASCAR greatest drivers to ever compete.

The numbers do not lie. When Johnson retires, his name will be mentioned among the greats. We need to appreciate the here and now.

I still remember the game where Jordan was  sick with flu. Giving everything he has for a team, a city, and a sport he loved.  Jordan scored 38 points that game and led the Bulls to a victory.

On Sunday, Johnson will race just as hard, be just as aggressive for a team, an organization, for the fans, and for the sport he loves.

 In doing so, he will complete his journey into the history books, etching his name among the greats of NASCAR.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 11:22 am and is filed under Most Recommended, News Headlines, Right Column. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.