Jimmie Johnson age 17 interview after winning the superlites main event at Micky Thompson stadium in 1993

Chevy DID, specifically Herb Fishel. It's interviews like this that convinced Fishel that Jimmie was somebody they could market. If there is any ONE person responsible for Jimmie Johnson, it's Herb Fishel.
 
Chevrolet definitely liked Jimmie because of trophy trucks and not really the 92 IMO.
 
AuzGrams said:
Chevrolet definitely liked Jimmie because of trophy trucks and not really the 92 IMO.
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Jimmie's time in ASA and the Busch Series with the Herzogs was just a vehicle to get Jimmie to Cup backed and prodded by Chevrolet and Fishel. The results in the #92 were basically secondary. It was just a learning tool for Johnson.
 
Formerjackman said:
Jimmie's time in ASA and the Busch Series with the Herzogs was just a vehicle to get Jimmie to Cup backed and prodded by Chevrolet and Fishel. The results in the #92 were basically secondary. It was just a learning tool for Johnson.
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I find this so interesting because to most casual NASCAR fans, or NASCAR exclusive fans, Jimmie genuinely was a nobody both in the eyes of the fans and in NASCAR media. Dale Jr, Busch, Harvick, Kenseth, Biffle, Newman and Stewart all had the hype as the "next Jeff Gordon", the big team backing. To most, myself included, Jimmie was just some mid Busch guy who caught Gordon's eye.

When in actuality, Jimmie was just the next "super talented dirt guy in cup who didn't come from the typical NASCAR path" who actually had loads of hype and backing dating almost a decade before his cup debut.

What I wonder is why there was never any hype for him. A very young driver with loads of success and big Chevy backing, I'd imagine, would get further hyped up by NASCAR media. But Jimmie never really got that until signing with HMS.

Hell, it could be argued his future was even more locked in than the other mentioned drivers. Wonder why that is.

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jaqua19 said:
I find this so interesting because to most casual NASCAR fans, or NASCAR exclusive fans, Jimmie genuinely was a nobody both in the eyes of the fans and in NASCAR media. Dale Jr, Busch, Harvick, Kenseth, Biffle, Newman and Stewart all had the hype as the "next Jeff Gordon", the big team backing. To most, myself included, Jimmie was just some mid Busch guy who caught Gordon's eye.

When in actuality, Jimmie was just the next "super talented dirt guy in cup who didn't come from the typical NASCAR path" who actually had loads of hype and backing dating almost a decade before his cup debut.

What I wonder is why there was never any hype for him. A very young driver with loads of success and big Chevy backing, I'd imagine, would get further hyped up by NASCAR media. But Jimmie never really got that until signing with HMS.
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What he was good at was SUPER niche. Dirt oval racing was where all the guys of his generation were coming from. Not Baja and stadium trucks.

Also it can't be overstated how "bad" he was in ASA/Busch. I mean he had just 2 wins in 2 full seasons of ASA... at a time when the ASA fields were relatively small with car counts in the high 20s most races and it was still getting off its feet. It was not yet the powerhouse series it was known for being until the early-mid 00s (and then of course, its spectacular fall).
 
Speedbowl14 said:
What he was good at was SUPER niche. Dirt oval racing was where all the guys of his generation were coming from. Not Baja and stadium trucks.

Also it can't be overstated how "bad" he was in ASA/Busch. I mean he had just 2 wins in 2 full seasons of ASA... at a time when the ASA fields were relatively small with car counts in the high 20s most races and it was still getting off its feet. It was not yet the powerhouse series it was known for being until the early-mid 00s (and then of course, its spectacular fall).
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While he wasnt awesome in ASA/Busch, he got there with a start up team. Herzog motorsports was a little guy. Jimmie was signed with HMS before he finished his first Busch season.

What he did in ASA/Herzog's with lesser equipment did hurt or harm his inevitable path to cup, and Gordon, Chevy and whoever else already had an eye on him.

Unless, you're saying this is why the NASCAR media never grabbed him. In that case, I think I gotcha.

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Speedbowl14 said:
What he was good at was SUPER niche. Dirt oval racing was where all the guys of his generation were coming from. Not Baja and stadium trucks.

Also it can't be overstated how "bad" he was in ASA/Busch. I mean he had just 2 wins in 2 full seasons of ASA... at a time when the ASA fields were relatively small with car counts in the high 20s most races and it was still getting off its feet. It was not yet the powerhouse series it was known for being until the early-mid 00s (and then of course, its spectacular fall).
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Not sure I agree with your take on ASA.

ASA had been around since the 70's and peaked in the mid/late 90's, IMO. At that point when JJ was racing ASA you had a dozen or so guys capable of running up front, but then by '01 you had one guy winning half the races until they shut down after '03 or whatever year it was.
 
2 Sweet said:
Not sure I agree with your take on ASA.

ASA had been around since the 70's and peaked in the mid/late 90's, IMO. At that point when JJ was racing ASA you had a dozen or so guys capable of running up front, but then by '01 you had one guy winning half the races until they shut down after '03 or whatever year it was.
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I agree. ASA was STRONG in that era, and Jimmie did pretty well if you look at his finishes as a whole and he was well up in the points each year. He didn't win a lot, but he had ZERO oval experience, ZERO pavement experience, nothing to lean on except that he had Howie Lettow as a crew chief who was a genius, and one hell of a good guy. I also think that those cars, much like the Busch cars didn't really suit his driving style. If there is ONE knock on Jimmie Johnson as a driver, it's that he has always seemed less adaptable than some of his contemporaries. He was unbeatable in the right car car combination, but seemed much more average in lesser powered cars.
 
Formerjackman said:
I agree. ASA was STRONG in that era, and Jimmie did pretty well if you look at his finishes as a whole and he was well up in the points each year. He didn't win a lot, but he had ZERO oval experience, ZERO pavement experience, nothing to lean on except that he had Howie Lettow as a crew chief who was a genius, and one hell of a good guy. I also think that those cars, much like the Busch cars didn't really suit his driving style. If there is ONE knock on Jimmie Johnson as a driver, it's that he has always seemed less adaptable than some of his contemporaries. He was unbeatable in the right car car combination, but seemed much more average in lesser powered cars.
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I felt that Jimmie had generational raw talent, but it was harnessed into a very specific skillset that just so happened to be THE ideal skillset to get the most out of a high HP, low downforce stock car. Combined with his racing smarts, Chad, and his own drive, and you have a recipe for succesd


Another that struck me about Jimmie that doesn't get talked about enough, imo was the hunger. People say KB hates losing more than he loves winning. Well, it seemed like JJ loved winning a heck of a lot more than anyone else did. Dude would get more jacked up on the radio after running ordinary races, decade into his career.

Seemed like Jimmie had the perfect storm of people, luck, cars and skillset come together at the right time

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jaqua19 said:
I felt that Jimmie had generational raw talent, but it was harnessed into a very specific skillset that just so happened to be THE ideal skillset to get the most out of a high HP, low downforce stock car. Combined with his racing smarts, Chad, and his own drive, and you have a recipe for succesd


Another that struck me about Jimmie that doesn't get talked about enough, imo was the hunger. People say KB hates losing more than he loves winning. Well, it seemed like JJ loved winning a heck of a lot more than anyone else did. Dude would get more jacked up on the radio after running ordinary races, decade into his career.

Seemed like Jimmie had the perfect storm of people, luck, cars and skillset come together at the right time

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He has a Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady level of competitiveness and mentality. His demeanor fools people but he's crazy about winning - his physical training is an example of it, also small things like doing mental reps/visualization as he went to sleep all added up combined with his talent to make him so dominant. A group of fans also refused to see him as a "wheelman" at the level of a guy like Kyle Busch even but that was not the case. Jeff Gordon talked about how he could not drive a car as loose as Jimmie could. Prime Jimmie had a level of car control and skill that others did not possess.
 
LJ7201 said:
He has a Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady level of competitiveness and mentality. His demeanor fools people but he's crazy about winning - his physical training is an example of it, also small things like doing mental reps/visualization as he went to sleep all added up combined with his talent to make him so dominant. A group of fans also refused to see him as a "wheelman" at the level of a guy like Kyle Busch even but that was not the case. Jeff Gordon talked about how he could not drive a car as loose as Jimmie could. Prime Jimmie had a level of car control and skill that others did not possess.
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Kyle Busch was never as good of a race car driver / talent as prime JJ.

Kyle's talent has been hyperbolized since 2008, imo. He's one of the greats, for sure, but there's been this media narrative of 'GOAT raw talent' that has no basis in reality. Gordon, Larson, JJ and Stewart, who may have been the most talented of all of them all, were superior raw talents to KB, imo.

Heck, I'll die on the hill that Tony Stewart, while not as good in a stock car as JJ, is the most talented American race car driver of all time.

2011 was surreal.

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