This article was inspired by Kenny Wallace and his tweet from Monday morning; “No doubt at 38 yrs old that @JimmieJohnson is the 2nd Greatest driver in the History of #NASCAR, ALL stats back it up. #3 is 1st.” That is a very bold statement by Kenny and it unsurprisingly caught the attention of many NASCAR fans that began to argue the topic amongst themselves. Attempting to compare Jimmie to the likes of Petty and Earnhardt is a very difficult task considering that they all raced in such different eras of the sport. This is not the first time that this controversial topic has been brought up but Jimmie’s domination at Martinsville which marked his 8th victory at the short track and the 62nd of his career brought it to the forefront of our minds again.
So, is 5-time better than Richard Petty and even the late, great Dale Earnhardt? Let’s crunch some numbers first and see how the three compare. It took Richard 15 years to win five championships while Earnhardt did it in 13…a feat that took Johnson just 9 years to accomplish in arguably the most competitive era in NASCAR history. Jimmie Johnson has competed in 405 NSCS events coming out victorious in 62 of them giving him a 15.3% winning percentage. In their first 405 races, Petty won 82 events while Dale Sr. won 53. If you are going to base it off of that, then I’d say Richard Petty is #1 but it isn’t so black and white. There are A LOT of factors you have to look at before making an accurate determination on the issue and it would be ignorant to simply base it your stance off of that.
First of all, not to take anything away from The King but back then, Petty Enterprises was heads and shoulders above the rest of the field car wise which is a major factor to why he won so much. The only other teams that could really compete with them on a regular basis were the Wood Brothers and Junior Johnson. Petty was winning races laps ahead of his closest competitor and just dominated the sport for well over a decade. He had easily the best team, one of the best crew chiefs (Dale Inman) and of course, some natural talent when it comes to driving a race car. Once 3x NSCS champion Lee thought Richard was ready; he threw his son into the fastest car in the field which contributed to all the success and the big numbers he put up. It’s a similar story for Johnson who was thrown into Hendrick equipment from the start and teamed up with Chad Knaus who he remains with to this day.
Dale Earnhardt on the other hand is a completely different situation and what I’m about to say explains why I rank Dale #1. The cars he drove at the start of his career were mid-packers at best that rarely, if ever found victory lane. Rod Osterlund ran over 200 races as an owner but only one driver ever gave him victories and his name is Dale Earnhardt. In fact, they stunned the NASCAR world when they defeated the titans of the sport to win the 1980 championship. Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, Dan Gurney and even David Pearson couldn’t win a single race for Osterlund while Earnhardt won 7. That was definitely not the last time Sr. would get in a mid-pack car and take it to the front.
After a 2 year stint with Bud Moore, the 7x champion joined Richard Childress Racing. In the 10 years before he showed up, RCR won just 2 races courtesy of Ricky Rudd and had a best championship result of 9th. RCR’s numbers went through the roof when Earnhardt arrived winning 6 championships and 67 races! Let’s not overlook the fact that even though he was 49 years old when he was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500, he was by no means done winning. In 2000, Dale won two races finishing runner-up in the championship to Bobby Labonte. Since the legend lost his life in that tragic crash, the team has amassed zero NSCS titles and just 31 victories combining ALL of their drivers and remember, they are now a three car (once four car) team. Also, unlike Petty and Johnson who won all their championships with a single crew chief, Dale won his with several different ones proving it didn’t really matter who this man had calling the shots; he would still win.
With that being said, I can without a doubt in my mind say that Dale Earnhardt is the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time. Once a driver comes up through the ranks and starts winning NSCS titles left and right in a Front-Row Motorsports or Phoenix Racing car….then we’ll talk. As for who is #2 and #3, I think I agree with Kenny Wallace. Winning 62 races and 5 titles in the span of 12 years with how competitive this sport has become is simply remarkable. What we are witnessing right now is history in the making and it may never be repeated. Those numbers will continue to grow as his career progresses and I can easily see Jimmie as a 100x winner and 7x champion down the road. On a different note, it’s a shame that there is a contingent of fans out there who not only disrespect this true legend of our sport but go as far as to say that his team cheated and that’s why he won 5-straight. I can only imagine how many times Petty, Junior Johnson and even the Wood Brothers illegally modified their cars but got away with it. It’s not cheating, it’s innovating while trying not to step on NASCAR’s toes at the same time.
There is no doubt that all three of these men are legends in their own right and have incredible talent but obviously, there is no definitive way of saying who the best really is. It is all opinions based on some facts and individual observations which will of course vary from person to person. Fans and media members alike will debate until the end of time who should be called #1 but in my mind, only one man has proven that he deserves that title and his name is Ralph Dale Earnhardt…..the greatest NASCAR driver that ever lived.
Very interesting Nick. Interesting to see another side
Mr. Bill France stated shortly before his death that in his opinion the late Curtis Turner was the greatest. With their history, Curtis and Mr. France certainly had their differences, but that was put aside to compliment Curtis. The founder and creator of Charlotte Motor Speedway does not get the recognition that he deserves.
Harry Turner (Roanoke native and distant cousin)
Jimmie Johnson is only in the top ten. His 5 championships are of the Nascaar manufactured kind. They all came in the chase era. I’ll give him the wins because this is the toughest era to win races in, but he hasn’t really had to beat more than a couple of (as of right now) hall of fame type drivers. The cars are so equal now that the slightest little innovation in setup can set you apart by a wide margin. Championships alone don’t determine rankings. Jimmie hasn’t dominated Nascar seasons, only chases. That doesn’t make you the greatest of all time. You have to do it over the course of full seasons. Jeff Gordon in 1998 had the most dominate year in the modern era. That whole second half of the 90’s were dominated by him. Dale Earnhardt dominated the second half of the 80’s. Darrell Waltrip the first half of the 80’s. IMO Bobby Allison is a greater driver than Jimmie. He could race anything and win plus he worked on his own cars for most of his career. Jimmie has never dominated a full season. His only 10 win season was 2007 and he still would have finished over 300 points out of the championship if not for the chase. He is top 10 but not in the top 5 IMO. Petty, Earnhardt, Pearson, Gordon, Allison/Waltrip, Johnson, Stewart/Wallace, Ned Jarrett would be my top 10.
That is the one problem with 5-time, we don’t know how good he would be in a completely different car and different crew chief. You have to say the same for Richard too who had practically all of his success with Petty Enterprises & Dale Inman…and once Inman left, Petty stopped winning.
Well, yeah. Who do think prepared the cars for those races? Jimmie, as a driver, is very good. If he were put in equal equipment or lesser equipment, like some of his competitors, I just don’t see the success being possible. That being said, everybody said that about Jeff Gordon too and then he went and won a title with Robbie Loomis. So who knows for sure? I think there are better drivers in the series than Jimmie who don’t have the lofty stats. These guys can win or be competitive in anything. Jimmie hasnt proven he can do that. Nor does he have to. I can’t blame him, knaus or Hendrick for sticking with what works. Imagine Evernham stayed with Gordon? It would have been ridiculous. Just like this.
@Jeremy… You’re right…Knaus wasn’t AT those tracks and JJ still did quite well…BUT…we have email, skype, Internet, texting, etc. etc, etc….. and anything the team could see or have access to at the track Knaus had access to in his own living room! If you think Knaus WASN’T calling those races…I have some prime swamp Florida real estate I’d like to sell you! Or maybe you prefer The Brooklyn Bridge!!
I totally agree with you Robert, lets see what Johnson can do with a different crew chief and team truly if he is a great driver then it would show. He has tried a few nationwide races but finished mediocre at best. A true champion can drive about anything but I guess we will never know since Jimmy never drives anything else. Thank god we have Kyle and Tony and Kevin H who all drive different race cars and do well.
In my opinion Earnhardt Sr surpasses Johnson as no.1 driver…but Johnson surpasses Earnhardt as the driver with the no. 1 crew chief of all time! Earnhardt had a couple crew chiefs..JJ has been with Knaus through all his titles. There is something to be said when it comes to the eras both raced…but again, I give it to Earnhardt….The Chase waters down JJ’s titles somewhat. As far as no. 1 driver of multi racing series (NASCAR and non NASCAR venues…stock, winged and non winged vehicles, dirt or pavement) that title goes to Stewart…and, at this point no other driver within sight of the no. 2 position.
Pearson won the 1979 Southern 500 in Osterlund’s car. But your whole premise is flawed. David Pearson ran the full schedule four times in his career, and won three championships. He won 105 of 574 starts. He won 113 poles. As Pearson so eloquently put it a few years ago, the question isn’t whether he could have run with today’s drivers in his prime, but rather if they could have run with him. Pearson is NASCAR’s greatest driver of all time. NONE of today’s drivers come close.
Put them on dirt for a few years and he wouldn’t even come close.
He raced trucks on dirt for over 7 years and won championships and many races so he would be fine racing on dirt.
He is a 5 time chase champion which is different than a full season champion. Under the real full season system he would be a 3 time champ.
Jimmy has had the honor of Hendricks cars and the best crew chief (either cheating or not)in Nascar. If any other driver during his championship years drove the car, they would have been in his seat. Sorry, it is the car and crew chief who won him the championships. He is not that good of a driver if left up to him win races without the help of his crew and fast cars.
Out of the four races he’s run in his career WITHOUT Knaus, he won two of them. But I guess that was still all Knaus? Good lord. Dumba$$.