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(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: a racer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, Fred Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done it- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. The company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.

(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: aracer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, fed Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. the company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that add, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.

(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: aracer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, fed Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. the company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that add, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.