Lack Of Championship Drama
Jimmie Johnson Has The Nextel Cup All But Locked
Usually, I am the guy that calls out the fans who persistently moan and groan about anything and everything when it comes to NASCAR.
However, this time I agree with the disenchanted fans regarding the excitement-deficient championship battle we are witnessing in 2007.
It is inevitable that the Hendrick Motorsports fans will inundate my inbox with emails stating how I am a Hendrick basher or that I am a ‘hater’ and this and that; nevertheless, this is an unarguably a lackluster championship weekend, well, that’s not totally true. The Craftsman Truck Series battle is quite intriguing.
How is the Nextel Cup championship showdown exciting? You have Jimmie Johnson with an 86-point lead over his teammate and close friend Jeff Gordon. Now, Johnson is almost a carbon copy of Gordon, mainly because Johnson was mentored by Gordon. A lot of Gordon's personality traits and driving style has rubbed off on Johnson.
Of course, I am not insinuating that is a bad thing by any means, it just simply does not excite a lot of fans; those two battling for the championship. It is far from a Richard Petty vs. David Pearson, or Dale Earnhardt vs. Rusty Wallace duel. And truth be told, they are not really battling. Jimmie Johnson pretty much has the 2007 Nextel Cup championship wrapped up. With the quantity of good fortune meshed with the talent of the entire 48 team, a bad showing at Homestead is unlikely. Chances are, Johnson will win his fifth consecutive race, and 11th of the season. If Jeff Gordon was 16 points behind instead of a practically insurmountable 86, championship weekend would carry a little more intrigue.
This pattern of Hendrick Motorsports dominance has been the number one complaint of the season across the Internet message boards. Yes, there is more groaning about the 18 wins by one organization than there is about the ‘terrible’ television coverage. And it is warranted.
Fans do not like seeing the same driver or team winning. It is simply not enjoyable. They want to go to a race, or turn on the television, and not know who is going to win before the green flag waves. Now, we all knew before we even walked into the grandstands or hit the power button on our remote controls that Jimmie Johnson was going to win at Phoenix. People are not going to waste their Sunday afternoons watching one guy or team win ever other week, especially during football season. And it is no secret that television ratings and crowd attendance is on a steep decline. Can anyone tell me when the last time a race had a higher TV rating than the year before? I cannot say for certain but I think it was the All-State or Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
Remember when NASCAR’s popularity peaked back in the early 2000’s? Sure, the tragic passing of Dale Earnhardt brought national attention to the sport, but the attention persisted because of parity. In 2002, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte, and Mark Martin were still winning races. Rusty Wallace, Jeff Burton and Terry Labonte were still competitive. Moreover, you had the up and comers winning as well. Drivers such as Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth began to contend frequently. And of course, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt Jr were winning races. But wait a second! Ward Burton, Michael Waltrip, and Johnny Benson won races, and Joe Nemechek and Ricky Craven were threats to win on several occasions. There was no dominant driver or drivers. You had no idea who was going to win the next race. It was still a mystery.
In fact, in 2002, under the old championship format, there were only 541 points separating champion Tony Stewart and 12th place Jeff Burton. Five years later, under the Chase for the Championship format, with the points being reset prior to the 27th race of the season, championship leader Jimmie Johnson has a 599 point cushion over 12th place Denny Hamlin, with one race still left. Obviously, Brian France did not anticipate this kind of ascendancy.
Parity is not something you can really fix; it is just a matter of other teams catching up. And who knows how long it will take for the gap between Hendrick Motorsports and the rest of NASCAR shortens. And until it does, TV ratings and race attendance will continue to suffer.
With all of this being said, you have to take your hats off to Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team, and Jeff Gordon and the 24 team. Not since 1998 have I witnessed such superiority. And before that, it was 1987.
I think the drivers are not the only ones who are looking forward to the off-season. A lot of the fans are too. And hopefully, they’ll come back next year and watch.
