Jimmie Johnson left no doubt as to whom the 2013 Sprint Cup Champion would be awarded, as he put in yet another superb performance at Miami-Homestead Speedway. Johnson’s solid 9th place finish secured his 6th Championship in 8 years. Johnson finished the Chase 19 points ahead of Matt Kenseth, whose only blemish was that awful performance in Phoenix a week ago.
Johnson’s performance during the past eight years has put him into the discussion of all-time greatest sports dynasties. Let’s take a look at some:
Boston Celtics: Between the years 1957 and 1969 the Celtics won 11 NBA Championships in 13 seasons. What the Celtics did may never again be repeated in professional sports. If Chad Knaus stays with Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motor Sports continues to be successful both off the track and on, Johnson has a legitimate shot at 11 Championships. Will he achieve 11 for 13? Nope.
New York Yankees: Between the years 1947 and 1962 the Yankees were the most dominant team in major league baseball history. During the 16-year span, the Yankees won 10 championships. It’s impossible to compare NASCAR with a team sport such as baseball, but Johnson could very well match the amazing winning percentage and number of championships as those Yankee teams.
Montreal Canadiens: During the years between 1956 and 1960, the Canadiens won the NHL Stanley Cup all five years. Their team featured 10 future Hall of Famers. They were a team that seldom lost, even in a 6-team league which featured some great teams in Boston, Toronto and Detroit. For my money it was the greatest professional team ever assembled. As great as Team 48 is, they’ll never reach equal footing with this bunch. Between 1956 and 1979 the Canadiens would win 15 Stanley Cups in a 25-year stretch.
UCLA Men’s Basketball: In my opinion this is the greatest sports dynasty ever. Between the years 1964 and 1975, the John Wooden coached Bruins won 10 National Championships in 12 seasons. At one point during their dynasty the team won 88 consecutive games. The UCLA team’s featured many future basketball greats such as Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Johnson has a chance to equal the 10 championships of the Bruins but 88 consecutive victories? Wow!
What we in NASCAR are now witnessing is one of sports great dynasties. We all hear how it’s bad for the sport, how Jimmie Johnson is boring, and how people are sick of the same team winning all the time. All that and more were said of the other 4 great sports teams aforementioned as well. We are probably witnessing the last great sports dynasty in any sport.
In addition to having a great car race in and race out and year after year, Jimmie Johnson is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, drivers of all time. He always gets the most out of his car and is seldom out of any race. On top of that he’s a super nice guy as well.
So what we have here is a fan-friendly athlete who is a down to earth family man, dominating a sport that is as hard to dominate today as ever. There are more good cars on any given race day at the Sprint Car level than at any other time in NASCAR history. Johnson continues to beat them all.
No one knows how many Championships Johnson will win before he pulls off the helmet – 10 is certainly a reasonable guess. One thing I know, going into the 2014 season he’s the favorite once again.
Love him or hate him, Jimmie Johnson is now in the same conversation with the Montreal Canadians, Boston Celtics, UCLA Bruins and the New York Yankees as the greatest sports dynasties ever.
Final Chase Standings:
1) Jimmie Johnson
2) Matt Kenseth -19
3) Kevin Harvick -34
4) Kyle Busch -55
5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -56
6) Jeff Gordon -82
7) Clint Bowyer -83
8) Joey Logano -96
9) Greg Biffle -98
10) Kurt Busch -110
11) Ryan Newman -133
12) Kasey Kahne -136
13) Carl Edwards -137
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