NASCAR Today: Jimmie Johnson Has Picked Up Where Jeff Gordon Left Off

Because Jeff Gordon won so early and often in his career he quickly became the driver that most fans love to hate. Fans hated him for a multitude of reasons. Some fans argued that he did not pay his dues like his fellow competitors did. Instead of working his way up the NASCAR ladder driving for substandard teams, he began his career driving for the Hendrick Motorsports organization, one of the powerhouses of NASCAR.

Other fans claimed that Gordon and his team cheated or bended the rules in order to gain an advantage over his competitors. Then you have the fans that disliked Gordon because he did not personify the traditional, old-school driver that fans were used to back then. Some of those fans went as far as to claim that Gordon was a homosexual.

And of course, the incessant winning didn't increase his popularity among the NASCAR faithful.

To this day, Gordon is greeted with more boos and jeers than any other driver, including Kurt Busch.

Jeff Gordon will turn 36 in August of this year, so he is no longer considered the Wonder Boy of NASCAR, but Gordon is still Gordon. The only difference between the 1990's Jeff Gordon and the 2000's Jeff Gordon, besides his age, is that he does not win near as frequently, which should alleviate some of the pain the he has inflicted upon the Gordon-haters over the years, right?

But as soon as Jeff Gordon lost his ascendancy, his protégé Jimmie Johnson has picked up right where he left off.

In 2001, Gordon handpicked Johnson to drive the car that he would partially own. Johnson was struggling at the Busch Series level; however, Gordon saw potential in the young driver.

And just like Gordon himself, Johnson won early and often in his career. In fact, Johnson scored three victories in his rookie campaign in 2002, and finished 5th in the final NASCAR Winston Cup championship standings.

Just like Gordon, Johnson has excelled in NASCAR's most prestigious races throughout his career. He has already won the Daytona 500, the Brickyard (All-State) 400 at Indianapolis, the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and the All-Star Race. And to top it all of, he is the defending NASCAR Nextel Cup champion.

It is not just the achievements that are strikingly similar. The image that both drivers portray is akin. The two drivers look alike, so much that Johnson could probably pass as Gordon's little brother. Both drivers are well-spoken and clean cut. Neither driver carries that rough around the edge persona that previous NASCAR superstars did. So it is not surprising that they attract an indistinguishable fan base. And it is even less surprising that Johnson is greeted with more boos and jeers than any other driver, with the exception of Jeff Gordon.

It is rare that you meet a Jeff Gordon fan that hates Jimmie Johnson, or the other way around.

So what are Gordon/Johnson-haters to do? Well, there is not much you can do because Jimmie Johnson, or Wonder Boy part II, does not appear to be slowing down, and Jeff Gordon has yet to hit the Darrell Waltrip-point of his career.

Yes, the Gordon/Johnson combination will continue to grind the gears of the haters for years to come.