Jimmie Johnson: Why He Won't Win His Fifth Straight NASCAR Title
NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson is on the verge of doing something no one else in the history of his sport has ever come close to accomplishing.
The 35-year-old Johnson is currently leading the Sprint Cup points standings, putting him in position to win his fifth straight title, the most consecutive titles in NASCAR history.
But Johnson's win is far from being in the bag, with both Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick well within striking distance of the four-time defending champ.
Can Johnson hold on over the final three weeks of the season? Here are 10 reasons why he won't.
10. The Spark Might Be Gone
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Johnson's focus and drive is renowned in many racing circles. It's what has allowed him to win four straight titles and to be in the driver's seat for a fifth.
But it's also impossible to say that someone can't lose a bit of an edge after winning four straight titles. After all, it's easy to be motivated to make history the first time. It's continuing that excellence after history is made that is difficult. Perhaps Johnson has softened a bit. Perhaps the field is more determined to knock him off his perch than he is to keep it.
Maybe Johnson's focus is as good as ever. But there's enough doubt there to make a person wonder if this is the season his run comes to an end.
9. His Age
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Jimmie is 35 years old. He's no longer the fresh face he was seven or eight years ago, and he's not getting any younger. Johnson is nearing an age where many NASCAR veterans begin to slow down ever so slightly. Perhaps, down the stretch in 2010, Johnson's age starts to catch up to him.
8. A New Baby
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Johnson and his wife Chandra celebrated the birth of their first child, Genevieve Marie Johnson, in July. Anyone who knows anything about babies knows that they seldom—if ever—sleep through the night, especially during those first 12 months.
In other words, Jimmie is probably not as well-rested as he's been during previous Chase seasons. That lack of sleep could equate to a lack of focus on the track, and could easily cost him precious points.
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7. Current Point Margin
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Johnson's points lead with three races to go is one of the slimmest he's held at this point in any of his title seasons. He's held up well against the pressure in the past. But the stakes have never been quite this high in the last four years.
The margin for error down the stretch is razor thin. And with both of the drivers who can realistically catch him running extremely well recently, one slip could cost him a title.
6. The Field
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The field in NASCAR is the great equalizer. It gives everyone a chance to win every week and it can make crazy things happen when you least expect them to.
The field can steal wins, top 10 finishes and top 20 finishes from Chase drivers, doing so on a weekly basis. The field causes wrecks, ends seasons and can suck racers out of contention in a heartbeat. If there's one thing that should scare Jimmie coming down the stretch, it's the unpredictability of the cars around him.
5. Homestead-Miami Speedway
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Homestead-Miami Speedway is the final course on the Sprint Cup circuit. If things are still close heading into that race, Johnson could find himself in trouble. He's never finished better than fifth at the track (and has never needed to do all that well there), and it's one of the few NASCAR tracks on which he's never won in his career.
If Hamlin or Harvick are still close at Homestead, this could get really interesting.
4. Kevin Harvick
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Harvick has come on in a big way down the stretch in 2010. He's finished in the top 10 in seven of his last eight races and in the top five in four of those seven. He's racing like a man who's hungry for his first-ever Sprint Cup title, and he could get it this year.
Harvick is a cagey veteran racer who shouldn't fade much down the stretch. Johnson will need to be on his game to keep him out of the top spot at the end of the year.
3. Texas Motor Speedway
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Texas has been Johnson's worst track of any in the Chase format. Since it was put into the Chase, he's won the race once. But he finished 15th there in 2008 and 33rd in 2009. He needs to get over whatever's been troubling him in the Lone Star State if he wants to hang on at the top of the leaderboard when all is said and done. And this course could easily be his undoing.
2. Denny Hamlin
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Hamlin sits just 14 points back of Johnson and the 29 year old is running extremely well in the Chase this year. He's just as hungry as Harvick to take the title and he could easily take the lead with a victory at Texas—where he's already won this season. Hamlin knows how to get wins in the Chase, snagging a victory in Martinsville two weeks ago.
He poses a serious threat to JJ's title hopes and he could easily knock him off in 2010.
1. History
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Johnson is breaching uncharted territory in most major mainstream sports. Typically, title runs last three or four years and almost never five. NASCAR's only had one four-time defending champ, in Johnson, and has never seen someone hold the title for five years.
Prior to JJ, winning four-straight Sprint Cup titles was seen as impossible. Now, he's trying to do the impossible again and win a fifth straight. Can he do it? Maybe, but history's not on his side.
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