| Tiger Woods' takeover on the PGA Tour has | | | | Telling Yahoo! Sports that his persistence |
| brought nationwide attention to the sport of golf | | | | overrides disheartening blows he's been dealt by |
| like never before, and (despite his recent faux | | | | racing fans, Johnson said, "If people are trying to |
| pas) Woods' decade-long winning streak has | | | | find a way not to accept the quality of the race |
| marked an era in the sport that has yet to be | | | | team we have, that's cool. We'll just come back |
| matched. Jimmie Johnson has achieved similar | | | | this week and take the trophy again." There's no |
| milestones on the NASCAR circuit, yet his | | | | denying his 49 Cup Series wins in 294 career |
| domination in the sport of stock car racing has | | | | starts have made him an absolute force to be |
| largely been blamed for the sport's declining | | | | reckoned with in NASCAR, and perhaps a fifth |
| viewer ratings instead of No. 48 being celebrated | | | | championship title will give Jimmie Johnson the |
| as a one-of-a-kind athlete. | | | | bragging rights it takes for his career to finally be |
| After the third Sprint Cup Series race of the 2010 | | | | shed into a positive light. |
| season, Jimmie Johnson has already snagged two | | | | After all, it's not all winning for No. 48. Jimmie |
| victories. He's currently on the prowl for his fifth | | | | Johnson is human, and he's not immune to fiery |
| consecutive series championship, making No. 48 | | | | crashes and mechanical problems. In fact, Johnson |
| the go-to guy on the racetrack week after week. | | | | started the 2010 Sprint Cup Series off on the |
| While JJ has certainly carved out a niche in the | | | | wrong foot, with his car succumbing to a rear |
| Cup Series over the last several years, he's more | | | | axle problem and finishing only 185 of 208 laps at |
| likely to garner sighs than applause when he | | | | the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, 2010. Racing fans |
| zooms into Victory Lane. His dominance in the | | | | with <a rel="nofollow" |
| Cup Series has led to mutterings that NASCAR is | | | | onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' |
| becoming entirely too predictable, and slipping | | | | outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" tickets< |
| attendance numbers at races over the past | | | | a> can expect Jimmie Johnson to run toward |
| couple years are actually pointing fingers at | | | | the front of the pack in almost every race, but |
| Johnson for making stock car racing seem boring. | | | | the nature of stock car racing makes consistent |
| Despite negativity thrust in his direction, however, | | | | wins a phenomenon in itself worth watching. |
| Jimmie Johnson continues to do what it is he does | | | | As the 2010 Sprint Cup Series gets well |
| best: win races. He's been accused of being so | | | | underway, the top 10 in series standings continues |
| lucky he has a horseshoe stuck in a certain | | | | to shuffle and sift through the ranks of the top |
| crevice of his body by Kevin Harvick, who he | | | | stock car drivers. Jimmie Johnson is on the move |
| passed to win the race in Fontana (okay, so the | | | | as he currently sits at No. 5 (as of March 5) |
| early pit was lucky, but his running at the top of | | | | overall, and Kevin Harvick is the Cup Series driver |
| the pack wasn't), but Johnson insists that no | | | | to chase down as races in Atlanta (March 7), |
| matter how many knocks he takes, he'll continue | | | | Bristol (March 21) and Martinsville (March 28) bring |
| giving his all to his famed sport. | | | | racing season into the spring. |