Blame? It's not Johnson's

Attendance at NASCAR races is down as are its television ratings. One reason? Well, the rumblings have already started.

They say that Jimmie Johnson’s dominance over the early part of this season – and his previous four consecutive championships – have made NASCAR boring. When one guy wins week after week, year after year, there’s no drama. There’s no sense of anticipation. There’s no excitement.

So why bother to spend money for a ticket or turn on the TV?

Unless the scenario changes, unless other drivers find a way to derail Johnson and make NASCAR a more competitive sport, things are not likely to change.

Folks are going to stay away. They aren’t going to tune in.

There is an element of truth in all of this. In fact, it’s a reality. Interest in any sport can be diminished when one individual or team dominates.

But let’s look at another reality.

Why blame Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team? They are simply doing, and have done, what any organization would hope to do – which is to be successful.

With 51 career wins, Johnson is one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers. His four straight titles set him apart from any other driver in history. He stands alone.

He has not done it by himself, of course. His Hendrick team, under the leadership of crew chief Chad Knaus, has established itself as one of NASCAR’s all-time best. Some of its achievements are unmatched in the sanctioning body’s history.

Many choose to ignore that. Instead, they elect to blame Johnson and company for making it all look too easy and thus quash their interest in racing.

What Johnson and company have done over the past four years and have continued with two wins in the first three races of this season is yet another example of the ebb and flow of competition in NASCAR.

Through its long existence there have been drivers and teams that have dominated. In so doing, they have both engaged and repelled fans. In some cases, they have stirred feelings that NASCAR, because of their superiority, suffered competitively and thus created fans’ disdain.

Be it Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott or Dale Earnhardt – and others – when these drivers squashed their rivals through multiple victories or championships, rest assured there were fans who decided NASCAR wasn’t worth their attention.

Sure, they had their supporters, yet, with the possible exception of Petty, they were also reviled. So it is with Johnson.

What makes Johnson so good?

Is he lucky?

Sure he is. He’s had moments when things have gone his way; when he’s avoided what could have been unfortunate situations. Evidence could be provided by his pit stops that occurred in both California and Las Vegas, races he won.

But then, he wasn’t very lucky at Daytona and its now infamous pothole, was he?

Many drivers have told me that they and their teams make their own luck. By that it is meant they are prepared to overcome, or take advantage of, nearly every on-track situation thrown at them.

So it is with Johnson and Hendrick. Their high level of skill has made their luck more good than bad.

Does Johnson have something no one else does?

Well, his Hendrick team has the money, equipment, technology and personnel it takes to perform at the highest level in NASCAR.

But so do others.

However, racing, as it is with all other sports, is about talent. We’re not talking solely about the driver and crew chief here. It includes everyone from the car chief to the engineers to the engine builders to the pit crew, fabricators and everyone else.

I have always maintained that while the number of personnel per team might be impressive, what’s more impressive are the skills of each one of them.

Some are better than others.

It would appear that the No. 48 team has shown it has more than its share of those.

The point of all this is that Johnson and his Hendrick team have long since reached a performance level that, so far, hasn’t been approached by other teams.

Their accomplishments have dulled the sport for some who blame them for what appears to be an ongoing disinterest in NASCAR.

It’s seems a shame that they are blamed for this rather than recognized for their greatness.

But, hey, let’s remember this.

The season is only three races old. Yes, with two victories, Johnson seems on track for a fifth consecutive championship.

But as the old cliché goes, there’s a long way to go. Two early wins may or may not translate into another championship or even a place in the Chase.

Don’t take my word for it.

Just ask Matt Kenseth.