Jimmie Johnson: Why Johnson's Disappointing 2011 Season Was for the Best

Jimmie Johnson's streak had to end sooner or later. He had a historic run from 2006 to 2010, but it was just a matter of time before the rest of the field caught up.

It caught up last season, of course. Johnson was in contention for his sixth consecutive Sprint Cup title until late in the proceedings, but his luck ran out.

The task (maybe we're better off calling it a nightmare) of trying to beat Johnson hasn't gone away for the rest of the drivers in the field, though. The start of a new season is upon us, and nobody should be too quick to doubt Johnson's ability to reclaim what he lost in 2011.

The fact that Jimmie Johnson is still Jimmie Johnson should be enough to put the rest of the field on high alert, but the Johnson they're going to see this year is a new and improved Johnson. He's motivated, more motivated than he's been in some time.

This is the gist I got from reading Lee Spencer's recent article about Johnson for FOXSports.com. Part of the article's focus is on how Johnson and his team failed to "evolve" during their championship streak, and this is something that changed over the offseason.

Here's what Johnson had to say:

"

But until the streak was broken — now looking back this offseason at what we’ve been through and trying to rebuild the team and make sure we’re looking at everything we can — we’ve gone to different depths, different levels of focusing on my interaction with the team, how I provide information to the team, what information I’m looking at.

There’s a lot of things that I haven’t done in the past, and I felt like I was one of the most in-depth drivers out there. I’m trying to even take that steps further now. Because of the loss, we’ve been able to dig deeper and look and get away from the road map that we’ve built and challenge ourselves more.

"

None of this is out of the ordinary for NASCAR, or any other sport. You win some, you lose some. And when you lose, you find out a way to start winning again.

Johnson's team may have tried a little too hard, as it was reported several days ago that some modifications had been found on Johnson's No. 48 car during an inspection for the Daytona 500. Johnson's crew chief and a couple other members of his team are facing suspensions.

It was a bad start to Johnson's quest at Daytona, where he hasn't won the 500 since 2006. For that matter, it was a bad start to his 2012 season in general.

But this rough start won't affect Johnson the driver, who is still one of the very best drivers in the field. He's also probably the most motivated driver in the field, as he told Yahoo! Sports that he wants nothing more than to keep winning championships:

"

“Of course I want to win six championships,” he said. “And then seven and eight and nine. I never want to stop. That’s a given.

“I’m far from retiring I can tell you that. So if I’m out on the track and away from my family and I’m committed to this team and my sponsor, I’m going to give 100 percent. I’m here to win races and win the championship.”

"

Granted, despite how prevalent it is in NASCAR, talk is indeed cheap. Johnson's actions out on the track will rule his fate.

But hey, nobody ever accused Johnson of being a bad driver in the first place. The fact that he sounds like he's got a chip on his shoulder for the first time, well, ever, should be taken as a sign that he means business.

That's just what the rest of the field needs: a five-time champion who feels like he needs to prove something.