Jimmie Johnson Closing in on Third NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in a Row

This past week Jimmie Johnson did something he has done all year long. Lead a ton of laps and win the race. His victory at Martinsville was his sixth of the season and pushed his points lead to 149 over second place Greg Biffle. The victory also marked his 13^th career Chase win and pushed him one step closer to tying Cale Yarborough with most consecutive Cup Titles at three (source: nascar.com).

With four races remaining as of this writing, Johnson is seeking his third Cup in as many years. If he can do it, he will match the legendary Cale Yarborough who did it thirty years ago when he won the Championship in 1976, 1977 and 1978 (source: nascar.com). Johnson has won the Championship in 2006 and 2007 already and continues to show the same consistency late in the season as he did in the previous two seasons.

While always a consistent driver throughout the regular season, Johnson seems to get really consistent when it comes time for the Chase. He seems to understand that consistency and perhaps just a tiny bit of caution are what bring Championships home. A few weeks ago, Johnson backed off in the late stages of the race at Talladega. His car was good all day and definitely good enough to via for the win, but Johnson didn't want to get caught up in a big mess. His cautious approach worked. With only a handful of laps left, an overzealous Carl Edwards got into his teammate Greg Biffle and caused a huge wreck that claimed many of the Chasers as victims. Johnson came home 10^th on the day and preserved his point lead.

How did he know that trouble would happen? Well let's just say, this isn't Johnson's first dance. He has been here before and he knows what it takes to get the title. He has also lost the title by very little and knows the heartache of how it feels to almost win it all as he came in second in points in 2003 and 2004 (source: wikipedia.org).

If Jimmie Johnson wins the NASCAR Sprint Cup title again this year, he will forever cement his name among the greats in NASCAR. By winning a third title, Johnson would move into a tie for third all time for Championships with the likes of Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty, David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip. He would only be one behind his mentor and team mate Jeff Gordon who has four and he would be four behind the legends of "The King" Richard Petty and the late, great Dale Earnhardt who both had seven (source: wikipedia.org).

Just to be mentioned along with such great manes speaks volumes to the skills of Jimmie Johnson. While he may never get seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships in his career, he may very well get 4 or 5. After all he is only 33 years old and still has plenty of driving left in him. And if Johnson continues to do each year what he has done in the past, he will always be considered a favorite for the title and will always be a force to be reckoned with.