Three-ific

Jimmie Johnson wrote his name into the history books on Sunday, notching up a hat-trick of titles.

The odds were heavily in favour of the California native at Homestead, but credit to Carl Edwards for making a race of it. Edwards knew it was mission impossible. But that didn’t stop him giving his be-all and end-all. He did everything he could, leading the most laps and securing victory. All he needed was for Johnson to have bad luck.

None came, but that was hardly a surprise.

Arguments rage in the Nascar community about where Johnson’s achievements stand in the sports history. Some have pointed to Johnson taking advantage of the Chase format to collect titles that otherwise he may not have earned.

It is a fair point. For those interested, Edwards would have taken the title by 16 points under the pre-Chase format. But, this is the era of the Chase. Looking back at how points would look under the old system is pointless nostalgia. Not every season of the Chase can be brilliant, like the first year of the concept.

Every driver starts the year knowing what they have to do to be champion. While Johnson didn’t have a stellar regular season compared to the likes of Edwards or Kyle Busch, he did the job when it mattered. Everyone else is afforded the same opportunity as the #48 team. It is up to them to take it.

Honestly, I hate when people start comparing achievements from different eras. Keyword here is different. When Cale Yarborough achieved his three-peat, it was a different time, different cars, and different competition – different. It reminds me back to when Schumacher achieved his fifth F1 title and the comparisons with Fangio. You can’t just look plainly at the statistics and compare one person’s title rack up to another.

His achievements should be respected on merit. Like I said above, every single one of the drivers started the season knowing what they had to do to win the title. At the end of the season, Johnson achieved those goals. Chase or no Chase, that is what should really be remembered.