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A NASCAR BLOG BY Art Weinstein
It’s so E-A-S-Y to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup championship
After scanning hundreds of reader comments in the wake of Jimmie Johnson’s record fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship, I have reached this conclusion: Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and the other drivers in the Chase For The Sprint Cup who didn’t win the championship should be thoroughly embarrassed.
Why should they be embarrassed? Because it’s easy to win a Chase. I learned this by reading the many comments from Johnson detractors who say that his fourth straight championship was nothing special, because, in the words of one fan, “it’s “E-A-S-Y to win the Chase.”
Here are some other actual comments from recent e-mails and comments on SceneDaily.com.:
• A true championship is earned by hard racing over 36 races, not treading water for the first 26 and then being above average for the last 10.
• Anyone can take it easy the first 26 races and then get lucky during the Chase.
• Past champions won their championships start to finish … not this abbreviated 10-race sprint that only serves someone who loves racing in the fall, on their favorite tracks and with a car design which perfectly fits their driving style.
Hear that, Gordon, Stewart, Martin, etc. – it’s E-A-S-Y to win a NASCAR championship these days. Just cruise through the first 26 races, being just good enough to make the Chase, then BOOM! turn it on. All you have to do is outscore 11 other drivers for 10 races. Sounds simple to me.
Sounds so simple, anyone can do it. In fact, here’s my prediction on who will win the Chase next year. The 2010 Sprint Cup champion will be … Dale Earnhardt Jr.
If not Earnhardt Jr., then maybe Scott Speed will win the championship. Or Paul Menard. Wait, let’s throw Reed Sorenson into the championship mix, too. Sure, all those drivers finished 25th or worse in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings this year. But next year could be different, because in this era of the Chase, it’s – all together now – E-A-S-Y to win a championship.
And all along I thought Johnson’s four consecutive championships were something special. Now, I see they were as E-A-S-Y as 1-2-3-4.
Art Weinstein
Managing Editor Art Weinstein has been covering NASCAR since 1995 and has worked at NASCAR Scene for 11 years.
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