Jimmie Johnson: Will He Drain The Life Out Of NASCAR?

Our reigning soft-spoken, good looking Sprint Cup Champion has amassed his four consecutive titles, but his attempt for a fifth may end up draining the life out of the sport he loves.

It has been repeated adnauseam how savvy the team of Johnson and Knauss are.  They appear able to pull off wins magically when it counts the most.

This year television ratings continue to drop for the first three races albeit they faced tough competition from the Olympics.  Attendance has continued it's downward spiral at events.

Jeff Gordon commented on the lack of fan enthusiasm at the racetracks.  He stated "when you go through driver introductions it's hard not to recognize where we're at."

We can only blame the economy for so much of this conundrum NASCAR is facing.

Kudos to Jimmie Johnson for winning the last two consecutive races, but he really needs some rivalry.

He is one win away from 50 career wins.  Early in this season he is setting a precedent which must impact the other teams with worry.

Jeff Gordon is certainly looking to make a strong run for the Championship this year.  It is nice to watch the two Hendrick drivers battle one another, but even Gordon admitted we need "riveting rivalries."

Johnson is such a nice guy, but he stirs very little emotion with race fans.  One cannot deny he is a smooth, talented driver.  Perhaps the most excitement he creates is when he does a burnout after a win.  The man can do awesome burnouts.

A run for the fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship makes great fodder for the media and ofcourse fans of the Lowe's No. 48 chevy.

The John Q. fan that paid a lot of money to travel to a race and attend the event must have second thoughts as they sit and watch Johnson lead most of the race flawlessly and then top it off with a win.

Everyone knows Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are not only friends, but Jeff is part owner of JJ's car.  An on track rivalry between the two of them may be a mute point.

NASCAR needs some good old-fashioned, hard driving competitive runs with personalities driving controversy over racing incidents.  We need to see some battles between the good guys and bad guys.  Perhaps Jimmie needs to accidentally tap Kyle Busch sending him into a spin after he passes the No. 48 for the lead.

It was dramatic to see McMurray take out his teammate Montoya, but for obvious reasons that conflict is history at best.

The fans are waiting for the drivers to do some of the bumping and banging that NASCAR has given them license to do.

We need to see Kyle Busch racing hard against Earnhardt Jr. as they challenge each other for the lead.  Battles that include names like Stewart, Harvick and Montoya versus Gordon, Martin, Hamlin and Johnson...........  The fans deserve action that makes them stand up and scream.

Jr. Nation always comes to life when Dale Jr. makes a good run.  His qualifying garnered attention as he grabbed the pole in fine style at Atlanta.  Earnhardt alone cannot fill the stands and raise television ratings even if he does miraculously make 2010 a winning season.

Jimmie Johnson is expected to run well and ofcourse he will attempt to win the Kobalt Tools 500.  He will attempt to win each and every race just as he should.

If the fans don't see the promised racing action with fender banging and trash talking, they will start to tune out NASCAR.  The COT may be to blame for taking some of the excitement out of racing which in turn mandates the driver's must pick up the slack.

It is sad to say, but the dominance of Jimmie Johnson could be sucking the life out of Sprint Cup racing just because he is such a darn nice guy.  It has often been said that nice guys finish last.  Jimmie Johnson has disproven that theory.