WhiningSmoke
Team Owner
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2013
- Messages
- 360
- Points
- 393
In 2013, Jimmie Johnson won his 6th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, much to the dismay of a huge amount of fans. They were sick of Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, and the Lowe's Chevrolet dominating the Sprint Cup Series. In early 2014, NASCAR announced that they were revamping the Chase to what we now know as the "Elimination Chase". Many thought that this was an attempt by NASCAR to end the 48 dynasty. Perhaps they were right. Whether this is right or wrong, it was not necessary. Since 2014, Jimmie Johnson has not run well enough to win a championship. The 48 dynasty was over, and we began to witness the humanization of Jimmie Johnson.
In 2014, Johnson won 4 races and finished 11th in points. This was the first time he'd finished any worse than 6th in points, and only the second time he even finished outside the top 5 in points. Many thought this was just an off year for the 48 team.
Initially in the 2015, Johnson seemed to prove that 2014 was just a fluke, winning 4 of the first 13 races. Early in the season, it was a common theme for him to win with Kevin Harvick rim-riding the wall trying to chase him down late in the race. Soon, Johnson was seen as Harvick's biggest threat for the championship. Halfway through the season, Johnson was 2nd in points and on top of the Chase Grid. Then, the wheels fell off.
From Kentucky to the second Charlotte race, Johnson failed to lead a lap (12 races). He did manage to lead 2 laps at Charlotte, but this was only after he was eliminated from the Chase in Round 1 just the race before. Johnson managed to win the Chase race at Texas for the 4th year in a row en route to a 10th place finish in the points in a season that saw him win 5 races. Despite the wins, the season was not up to par for the 48 team. He set a career-low for laps led in a season, and he never showed up as a contender after the 17th race of the season, save for his miracle win at Texas. People started to wonder if the golden horseshoe was really gone.
To start off 2016, Johnson won 2 of the first 5 races. This season looked like it was going to be his comeback season after a disappointing 2014 and 2015. Then the wheels fell off once again. Johnson began what looked to be the worst season of his career. Many people even picked him to be eliminated in Round 1 of the Chase. This is Jimmie Johnson for crying out loud! He may have been eliminated in Round 1 in 2015, but nobody in the world expected it. In 2016, people were writing off the 48 as one of the weakest teams in the Chase. The thing is, they certainly looked to be right. All of Hendrick Motorsports has had sort of an off year this season. They have lacked speed the entire season...
...or have they? Think about it. Kasey Kahne has spent the season just being Kasey Kahne. He's a good driver, but Hendrick just is not the team for him. He's performing just the same as he's been since the 2013 Chase began -- below average. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. started off the season inconsistently, but the speed was there. He was on his way to winning a race and making the Chase. In the 14 races of 2016 before Earnhardt suffered his concussion, he had four 2nd-place finishes. He likely would have won a race eventually, perhaps he would've even won Sonoma where he had the best car on raw speed but kept making careless errors to keep himself back in the pack (...maybe due to his concussion?). Hendrick lost their best driver (historically, that is) in Jeff Gordon to retirement. Gordon was THE lead driver and competed for the championship in 2014 and 2015. Despite losing to Jimmie Johnson for 11 years straight, Gordon was HMS's best driver the last 2 years of his career, with the 24 team escaping a slump they'd been in for 6 years in the Fall of 2013 (around the same time Kasey Kahne started underperforming... maybe they started giving more attention to the 24 instead of the 5 in the 24/5 shop?). Gordon was replaced by Chase Elliott, who's done a great job in the 24 car. Gordon probably would have won a couple of races this season if he'd still been in that car with his team (the 88 has a different team structure which Gordon is not used to working with at all so his results in that car aren't valid), but Chase has been pretty close to a few wins on his own. If he had a bit more experience, he'd likely have 3 wins by now (Pocono I and both the Michigan races). Johnson himself has done his yearly routine where he comes out of the box swinging, then he proceeds to shut it down until the Chase. He does this every year to a certain extent. The difference is, this year Johnson actually made people think he was vulnerable.
Anyway, back to the point. Since the Chase has started, Jimmie Johnson has looked like himself once again. Him and his team are still making some mistakes, but the iconic 48 speed is back. There's a difference in the reception of Jimmie Johnson now, though. People used to yawn when they saw Johnson take the lead, and they'd actively root against him because they were so tired of him winning. Now that Johnson has had a few years where he hasn't been the dominant car, people now cheer for Jimmie Johnson.
For the first time since perhaps 2007, Jimmie Johnson is a fan favorite. He has reached the point in his career where people want to see him succeed. Not as a dominant force as he once was, but as a veteran that perhaps isn't as good as he once was. People now realize the pure brilliance they witnessed from 2006-2013 and they realize they might not ever see anything like that again. They want to see a little more dominance from the 48 team before Johnson retires. Let's be honest, is there anyone who wouldn't like to see him win #7 this year? People want to be a part of history. Let's just hope history is yet to finish writing itself.
In 2014, Johnson won 4 races and finished 11th in points. This was the first time he'd finished any worse than 6th in points, and only the second time he even finished outside the top 5 in points. Many thought this was just an off year for the 48 team.
Initially in the 2015, Johnson seemed to prove that 2014 was just a fluke, winning 4 of the first 13 races. Early in the season, it was a common theme for him to win with Kevin Harvick rim-riding the wall trying to chase him down late in the race. Soon, Johnson was seen as Harvick's biggest threat for the championship. Halfway through the season, Johnson was 2nd in points and on top of the Chase Grid. Then, the wheels fell off.
From Kentucky to the second Charlotte race, Johnson failed to lead a lap (12 races). He did manage to lead 2 laps at Charlotte, but this was only after he was eliminated from the Chase in Round 1 just the race before. Johnson managed to win the Chase race at Texas for the 4th year in a row en route to a 10th place finish in the points in a season that saw him win 5 races. Despite the wins, the season was not up to par for the 48 team. He set a career-low for laps led in a season, and he never showed up as a contender after the 17th race of the season, save for his miracle win at Texas. People started to wonder if the golden horseshoe was really gone.
To start off 2016, Johnson won 2 of the first 5 races. This season looked like it was going to be his comeback season after a disappointing 2014 and 2015. Then the wheels fell off once again. Johnson began what looked to be the worst season of his career. Many people even picked him to be eliminated in Round 1 of the Chase. This is Jimmie Johnson for crying out loud! He may have been eliminated in Round 1 in 2015, but nobody in the world expected it. In 2016, people were writing off the 48 as one of the weakest teams in the Chase. The thing is, they certainly looked to be right. All of Hendrick Motorsports has had sort of an off year this season. They have lacked speed the entire season...
...or have they? Think about it. Kasey Kahne has spent the season just being Kasey Kahne. He's a good driver, but Hendrick just is not the team for him. He's performing just the same as he's been since the 2013 Chase began -- below average. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. started off the season inconsistently, but the speed was there. He was on his way to winning a race and making the Chase. In the 14 races of 2016 before Earnhardt suffered his concussion, he had four 2nd-place finishes. He likely would have won a race eventually, perhaps he would've even won Sonoma where he had the best car on raw speed but kept making careless errors to keep himself back in the pack (...maybe due to his concussion?). Hendrick lost their best driver (historically, that is) in Jeff Gordon to retirement. Gordon was THE lead driver and competed for the championship in 2014 and 2015. Despite losing to Jimmie Johnson for 11 years straight, Gordon was HMS's best driver the last 2 years of his career, with the 24 team escaping a slump they'd been in for 6 years in the Fall of 2013 (around the same time Kasey Kahne started underperforming... maybe they started giving more attention to the 24 instead of the 5 in the 24/5 shop?). Gordon was replaced by Chase Elliott, who's done a great job in the 24 car. Gordon probably would have won a couple of races this season if he'd still been in that car with his team (the 88 has a different team structure which Gordon is not used to working with at all so his results in that car aren't valid), but Chase has been pretty close to a few wins on his own. If he had a bit more experience, he'd likely have 3 wins by now (Pocono I and both the Michigan races). Johnson himself has done his yearly routine where he comes out of the box swinging, then he proceeds to shut it down until the Chase. He does this every year to a certain extent. The difference is, this year Johnson actually made people think he was vulnerable.
Anyway, back to the point. Since the Chase has started, Jimmie Johnson has looked like himself once again. Him and his team are still making some mistakes, but the iconic 48 speed is back. There's a difference in the reception of Jimmie Johnson now, though. People used to yawn when they saw Johnson take the lead, and they'd actively root against him because they were so tired of him winning. Now that Johnson has had a few years where he hasn't been the dominant car, people now cheer for Jimmie Johnson.
For the first time since perhaps 2007, Jimmie Johnson is a fan favorite. He has reached the point in his career where people want to see him succeed. Not as a dominant force as he once was, but as a veteran that perhaps isn't as good as he once was. People now realize the pure brilliance they witnessed from 2006-2013 and they realize they might not ever see anything like that again. They want to see a little more dominance from the 48 team before Johnson retires. Let's be honest, is there anyone who wouldn't like to see him win #7 this year? People want to be a part of history. Let's just hope history is yet to finish writing itself.
