It certainly appears Jimmie Johnson is in
strong position to win his sixth Sprint Cup Series championship with two races
remaining.
The five-time champion has a seven-point
advantage over his nearest rival, Brad Keselowski, heading to a track this
weekend – Phoenix International Raceway – where he has been very successful.
Yet all may not be what it seems.
Why? History tells us so.
Backtrack to 1995. The late Dale Earnhardt
was fresh off his NASCAR-record-tying seventh Cup championship and was in good
shape to win an eighth.
A young upstart driver who sometimes rubbed
his competitors and fans the wrong way looked to change that. His name was Jeff
Gordon.
The previous season Gordon finished eighth in
the series standings and had won his first two races of his career. The odds
then appeared on Earnhardt’s side.
Down the stretch Gordon outpaced the veteran
Earnhardt, racking up seven wins that season to Earnhardt’s five and won his
first series championship by 34 points – a very small margin under the points
system then in place.
It would be the beginning of an impressive
career for Gordon, who has gone on to win four Cup titles and stands at 86 wins
and counting. The 1995 title was also the first for team owner Rick Hendrick,
who has become one of the most successful owners in the sport’s history.
Keselowski, 28, is just in his third full
season in the Cup series. He drives for an organization, Penske Racing, which has
never won NASCAR’s biggest prize.
He is brash, outspoken and a talented
driver.
Why does he have a chance?
History tells us so.
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