I’ve often said that rooting Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR is like rooting for the casino in black jack. Jimmie Johnson extended his lead among active drivers and inched closer to catching Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. after earning his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title with a ninth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. Petty and Earnhardt have seven titles apiece, followed by Jimmie Johnson with six.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon ranks fourth all-time with four. Jimmie Johnson dominating NASCAR like the New York Yankees dominated MLB in the 1950s and 1960s is exactly what the NASCAR higher ups want. JJ is as boring and corporate a soundbite as it gets. He’s so vanilla that NASCAR PR people view him as a dream of an ambassador.
And now Jimmie Johnson will be hosting SportsCenter on Tuesday at 5pm. Not guesting on, not being featured, HOSTING!
JOURNALISM STANDARDS BE DAMNED!! WHO CARES ABOUT ETHICS IN THE NEWS BUSINESS!
Johnson’s 2013 Sprint Cup title is the 11th for Hendrick Motorsports and car owner Rick Hendrick. Hendrick is the all-time leader in Sprint Cup owner championships and remains the only owner to win titles with three different drivers: Johnson (6), Gordon (4) and Terry Labonte.
Oh and another ridiculous way the sport is bending the rules for Jimmie Johnson:
Jimmie Johnson will be the first active athlete to have a say in his sport’s Hall of Fame voting process. He will cast a ballot for the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame class thanks to a new provision that includes the reigning Sprint Cup champion in the process.
Just absolutely ridiculous
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan