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…where will his place in history be?

I’ve said many times that I hate comparing athletes from different eras. Unless two drivers raced for the exact same years how can we compare their career stats?

I don’t like the Richard Petty vs. Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon vs. David Pearson argument but it certainly can make for an interesting conversation.

So now we have Jimmie Johnson. He leads the points standings after three races, by a mere 10 points but still leading, and if he goes on to win the Sprint Cup he will have won the past three championships.

No one has won three in a row since Cale Yarborough in 1976-78.

Things are much different these days than they were back in the ’70s. You all know I have little respect for the Chase format so I don’t think I’d be willing to put Johnson’s feat up there on the same level of awesomeness as Yarborough’s.

But three in a row is three in a row. Johnson can already be called one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever but where will he be remembered in the history of the sport if he picks up his third championship this year?

And you know how the Olympics got rid of softball because the Americans won the gold too much (with the exception of this year)? If Johnson just keeps winning can we dump the Chase?