The 2011 Sprint Cup Series is officially underway as has begun in Daytona Beach for the 53rd running of the Daytona 500.
That means the six-pack is being chilled.
“We like beer, so it works,” says five-time champion Jimmie Johnson.
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[/media-credit]As Johnson looks to add another title to his growing collection, the campaign moves from ‘Drive for Five’ to ‘Six-Pack.’ It’s going to be storyline A this season because again it’s a season where Johnson is the head of the class. Again the driver 42 others are chasing.
This past offseason the same questions were posed, can Johnson do it again? What are Johnson’s odds of winning six in a row?
The simple answer: his chances are just as good now as they were the last five seasons.
They aren’t winning the most races in a season – but they win the championship. Sometimes, they don’t even have the best pit crew – but they win the championship.
All of which has left drivers and fans shaking their heads time in again.
It also leaves for a long offseason. Lists are complied of why he will and won’t repeat. There’s the list of which drivers are going to be contenders and who has the best shot to dethrone the No. 48 team.
But the truth is it’s becoming quite hard to find reasons why Johnson won’t or can’t do anything. The seasons roll on and every list gets smaller.
Welcome to 2011, the newest season of trying to escape déjà vu.
As you do, Johnson and his team have been hard at work. Crew chief Chad Knaus was adamant in Homestead that once the 2010 season ended the 2011 season had begun. Take the pictures with the trophy, collect the check, load the car on the truck and head back to Charlotte.
It needs to be torn down and looked over for research purposes. After all, he finished second in Homestead and it needs to be found out why he didn’t win.
Knaus was already lining up testing dates and building new racecars. When team owner Rick Hendrick announced changes to three of the four HMS teams, Johnson’s was left intact and kept on working. Not having to move or blink an eye.
It’s a wonder why Johnson worries about anything with the work ethic of his team, but he’s always thinking. It started at the end of last season when wondering how competitive his team was going to be and what the competition was going to look like.
Have no fear Johnson fans, the Lowe’s team knows what they need to do and how they need to do it. Race wins are still up for grabs. Championships sit ripe for the taking.
Johnson sits 10th on the all-time wins list after finding victory lane six times in 2010. His total is 53 and should he win seven more this season he’ll be at 60 career wins in 10 years, putting him third on the wins list.
He sits third on the list of Sprint Cup champions with five. NASCAR fans are well aware what winning anymore would do. While he’s already entering the discussion of one of the greatest NASCAR drivers in history, adding any more championships would start a whole new discussion about greatness.
“I would love to get 10 straight,” Johnson said after Homestead last November.
“I don’t know how ridiculous that sounds. But, in your mind, shoot, I would love to do X, Y, and Z. The realistic side, there’s no telling how long it’s going to last and I think we are all shocked it’s gone on this far.”
No one thought he would get five straight, what’s another five more?
It’s time to not only think ahead to title number six but to what’s after that: Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
They may not come consecutively and don’t have to, Johnson’s already going into the history books and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Some might think the pressure is beginning to get to him. Not just from wondering when it’s all going to come to a screeching halt, but of knowing whom he’s chasing. But Johnson has never been a driver to get ahead of himself.
One race and one year at a time has always been their motto.
His drive and focus may be unmatched by another driver. At 35-years-old Johnson isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, whether another title comes this year or a few down the road, it’s a long shot to think he’s done winning.
Mark Martin is still racing at 51 years of age. Earnhardt passed away at 49-years-old. Johnson isn’t going to lose talent from one year to the next and it doesn’t look good for those hoping he’ll wake up one day and decide he has enough championships.
For the last half decade, Johnson has shown fans something they may have never seen before. Now as he looks for a sixth Sprint Cup Series championship he’s trying to show fans something else they’ve never seen before and not just in how many titles he can win back-to-back.
He’s showing fans that a driver can and is closing on two drivers that were thought to never be touched.
“If I can seam together seven [championships] in any shape or form to tied those two greats, I would be extremely honored,” said Johnson.
“If I was ever able to surpass them, it would be out of this world.”
Before Johnson had wrapped up his fifth championship last season his father Gary Johnson was already looking ahead.
As the command to fire engines was given in Homestead for the Ford 400, the elder Johnson exclaimed, “We’re going for the six-pack and you can quote me on that!”
Wonder what he must be thinking now.
I don’t think many care whether Jimmie wins his 6th consecutive. If asked, they’d be against it because it’s boring.
I’m in favor because that means he goes for 7 straight. That would make for an exciting year and remove all doubt that he has the greatest team in the history of the sport.
It may not happen consecutively but I hope to see Jimmie win his 8th someday!