Fontana: RUMORS OF JIMMIE’S DEMISE GREATLY EXAGGERATED
Admit it, like me, you thought Jimmie Johnson’s chances of a repeat championship were slim. Sunday night, the driver of the Lowe’s 48 Chevy gave NASCAR nation a wake-up call with his victory at the California Speedway.
To me, the 31-year-old native of El Cajon may very well be the most underrated driver in the Nextel Cup Series. A champion? Underrated? Yes. Think about it. A sports card shop owner once told me Dale Earnhardt sells 70% of the NASCAR memorabilia that’s sold. In spite of having no championship trophies at NASCAR’s top level, you can still see why- between the name, a decent number of wins (17), and the country boy charm. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are likely a distant 2nd and 3rd respectively. Where’s Jimmie on the list? Really, who argues passionately for or against this guy? Very few.
In a way, I don’t get it. Now I’m no authority on male sexiness, but he seems like a good looking guy to me. Winning? He and Tony are running neck and neck on wins and the Rushville Rocket’s been around longer. It doesn’t add up.
I’m guessing that as long as he’s winning and Chandra still loves him- Jimmie crack corn and he don’t care. I will say this though, his HMS teammate Gordon better wake his sleepy self up or we’ll see Jimmie Johnson holding another cup. THE Cup.
Other random reflections:
Burning Busch. Give Kyle Busch props. He just doesn’t quit, and as long as he’s not acting liking a child, he’s running near the front. Kyle Petty sure thinks a lot of him, and at times, you can see why.
The Michael Waltrip fireworks show. I’m just glad he got out of there o.k. A similar fire killed Glen Roberts 40-some-odd years ago. Mikey owes his fire suit to Fireball Roberts.
What happened to Kurt? The man just disappeared! His race car just went to hell on him!
Poor Newman. He’s all but out now. Personally, I think his luck is worse than Junior’s.
Old School Strong. Good to see old school drivers Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte run well. These guys need to get more wins.
Earth to Harvick? This guy just had a horrific night. His Chase position is shaky, and he just couldn’t get his car to cooperate Sunday.
Junior…hanging by athread.the more I get to know about this guy, the more of a class act I think he is. He’s done everything he can, but will it be enough? I hope so, but……
Stay Tuned.
