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Jimmie Johnson Sitting on the edge of history. You, however, would hardly know it by watching him conduct himself or listening to him speak. Johnson, a megastar in his sport, is as nondescript and low key as Pete Sampras was when he was dominating the tennis world several years ago, before retiring on top. Another driver would be talking up the fact that he was about to tie the great Cale Yarborough’s record for winning three consecutive NASCAR titles, a record that has stood for 30 years. But with Johnson, you’d think he was merely headed to another day at the office. “I do appreciate and respect history and what’s been done in the sport, and know that I have a chance to do something very, very special,” Johnson said last month. “It’s back in my mind, deep somewhere, but I haven’t let it out yet.” Yarborough won the NASCAR title in 1976, ’77, and ’78, and he knows that record is set to be tied, saying on a recent conference call with reporters, “The handwriting’s on the wall. It’s going to happen. I understand that I was Jimmie’s hero when he was growing up, so if he does it, more power to him. If he does it, I’ll be in good company.” The 33-year-old Johnson has not finished worse than fifth in points since he became a full-time Cup driver in 2002. As he chased the title, he was asked about the pressure of tying the record with several drivers, such as Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton, his closest competitors, trying to hunt him down. “I’ve just done well in pressure situations through my career,” Johnson says. One of the fascinating traits in Johnson is how he stays away from the fray of negativity in his sport when it comes to controversy and conflict, two things that permeate auto racing. While many of his fellow drivers bicker with each other after competitive races or accidents, Johnson deftly skates by without incident. While many other drivers are grudging in their praise of each other for races won, it’s difficult for even his rivals to find flaw in Johnson, though some jealousy surely exists. Take for example the race at Talladega when rival Carl Edwards was involved in a 12-car crash with 16 laps to go while Johnson avoided all contact and cruised to victory. “I don’t know where Jimmie gets his horseshoes, but he’s got amazing luck,” Edwards said afterward. “Jimmie didn’t make it through that wreck because of his skill,” Biffle says. “He made it through that wreck because he was at the right place at the right time and made the right decisions, turned the right way. I’m not saying he just went through there blindfolded, but it would have been easy for someone to come off the wall and clip him, but he made it through, and that’s just the luck of the draw.” When Johnson completes his inevitable chase down of Yarborough and history, though, it’ll be difficult to count that as luck. Yarborough, despite deep down inside not wanting to see his long-standing record tied, has an appreciation for Johnson. “I’ve watched Jimmie, and he’s the kind of driver that likes to run up front,” Yarborough said. “That’s the way I drove. I can appreciate what he’s doing. He’s got his head on straight and he’s doing everything right, and I can appreciate that.” — Mark Cannizzaro
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