Jimmie Johnson is a great driver, but Indy promised more intrigue
Jeff Owens
Jeff Owens has been covering NASCAR since 1991 and began covering the circuit full time in 1993. He has been with Street & Smith's Sports Group since 1998.
If you are a Jimmie Johnson fan, you should probably stop reading now.
No offense to Johnson or his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, but his win in Sunday’s Allstate 400 at Indy was a huge letdown.
NASCAR was on the verge of seeing two huge stories develop at Indy. Juan Pablo Montoya, who dominated the race, was cruising to his second NASCAR Sprint Cup victory and poised to become the first driver to win both the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Cup race at Indy.
It would have been a milestone victory and further launched Montoya’s stock-car career, enhancing his growing relevance as a NASCAR star. Instead, Montoya was nabbed for speeding on pit road, ruining what could have been one of the finest days of his career. Like him or not, it would have been a monumental moment for NASCAR.
With Montoya sadly out of the picture, Mark Martin was in position to win at the Brickyard, becoming the oldest NASCAR driver to win one of the sport’s biggest races.
Though Martin has won four times already this season, a win at Indy would have been the biggest of his career and just added to what has already become a remarkable story for the 50-year-old driver.
Instead, Johnson outruns him to win at Indy for the third time in four years.
That’s the last thing most fans watching the race wanted to see.
Johnson is NASCAR’s greatest driver and he and his team deserve every single accolade they receive. He is a worthy three-time champion and one of the greatest drivers of all-time. There are very few, if any, reasons not to like Johnson.
But fans have simply grown tired of seeing him win so much, which is typically what happens to the great ones. Jeff Gordon knows a thing or two about that.
And now, on a day when fans were poised for a new winner and another fascinating twist to this intriguing season, Johnson wins another one of NASCAR’s biggest races.
For many, it was simply a bummer.
