Mark Wright’s Blog

I decided that I wanted to write about something positive today.  It is difficult to do when I find out that the CEOs of the Big Three automakers arrived to plead for money on their private jets to the tune of about $20,000.  Once again another example of people just not getting it.

However, today I want to talk about a champion.  His name is Jimmie Johnson and he has dominated the sport of NASCAR for the past three years.  Last Sunday in Homestead, Florida he wrapped up his third consecutive championship, a feat only accomplished previously by the great Cale Yarborough.   While Johnson pilots the car and is a fine driver, he can’t do it by himself.  His crew chief, Chad Knaus has become a genius at setting up race cars and working to make ill-handling cars better during a race.

While I tend to like drivers such as Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart who are good personalities (as well as being great drivers) Johnson goes about his job like a surgeon.  He is not controversial, is very politically correct and to be honest, boring.  There have been those that said his first championship was a fluke.  There were those that said his second championship was a fluke.  After the third I’m sure people will still say it even though if I am not mistaken, a fluke only happens once. 

Other critics say that if he wasn’t driving for Rick Hendrick, he wouldn’t be as successful.  That maybe true but the reality is he does drive for Hendrick Motorsports.  It is rare in any business to put a team together in which all of the parts work perfectly.  From the fabricators, engine builders, pit crews, crew chief, owner and the driver, the 48 team does it better than anyone else.  Yes, they have the resources and good equipment, but ultimately all of the pieces have to fit. 

Winning the Sprint Cup is an unbelievable accomplishment.  Winning it three consecutive years in damn near impossible.  The current talent in the sport is better than it has ever been.  There are theoretically 20 drivers on any given week that can win.  Also with the Chase For The Sprint Cup format, it makes it even more difficult.  In the old format, Carl Edwards would have won the title if they had gone by the old system.  Johnson has proved that he is a big game player.  While Kyle Busch dominated the competition during the races before the chase, Johnson played big in the big races.  He did what it takes to win. 

Winning a championship four years in a row would be an unprecedented feat.  It has never been done.  Not by Petty, Earnhardt, Waltrip or Yarborough.  The odds favor that he can do it a fourth time.  There will be lots of competition but you have to put your money on him to four-peat.  While I will probably never wear a 48 hat or done a Lowe’s Racing T-Shirt, the business model that the 48 team has put together has been nothing short of dominating.  In a world where businesses seem to keep doing it wrong, it is nice to see someone do what they do well.