Jimmie Johnson: Where Did It All Go Right for NASCAR, Tony Stewart in 2012?

After failing to complete the "six pack" in 2012, five-time consecutive Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson's season may have seemed like a relative failure.

He finished lower (sixth place) than any other year in his Sprint Cup career. He also won fewer times than in any prior season where he raced in all 36 scheduled events.

But Johnson's relative failure seemed to actually aid NASCAR in declaring 2011 an overwhelming success. Recently, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France was able to deliver a speech that basically expressed that the biggest challenge for 2012 is repeating 2011.

This is a fairly decent position to be in when speaking of an entire sport. Few other organizations could say the same. With the possible exception of the NFL, no organization was in such better health at the end of 2011 compared to 2010.

Johnson may have had a hand, indirectly, in this. For the first time in years, he did not truly contend for a title.

Of course, he made the Chase and certainly turned heads when he dominated the field for a Chase victory in Kansas.

This turned out to be perfect: In doing this, Johnson was able to pull his hefty fanbase back into the mix while simultaneously scaring fans of other drivers into believing that, even when not at his best, Johnson could still be a threat to take away a title from their driver.

This drama ensued until Johnson's rough crash at Charlotte a few races later. This was, for better or worse, the precise moment when most NASCAR fans realized that it would indeed be crowning a new champion as 2011 closed up shop.

Make no mistake, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards made major contributions to the success of 2011 by engaging in a now-classic Chase battle that was historically decided on the last lap of the season (and even then, it was a tie).

But Jimmie Johnson should be credited, willingly or not, on his own account for having a solid season where he simply was not the best the sport had to offer.

Undoubtedly, other factors contributed to the overall success of NASCAR's 2011 season. However, by Johnson coming up short, the only thing that could have gone better in 2011 was the complete eradication of tandem drafting at restrictor plate races.

Well, at least NASCAR has one thing to tweak in 2012. The same can be said for Johnson and his colleagues on the Lowe's No. 48 Chevrolet team at Hendrick Motorsports.