It seems like
whenever a driver is dominating and having success in a race, season, or series,
people think 3 things: it’s boring, it’s the car, and they’re cheating. At
least that seems to be the chatter when Jimmie Johnson is having success. I
understand that it can be boring when one driver dominates, but the other two
comments, I have a problem with. To me, it’s sad when a driver has had the
success that Jimmie has had at the top of the most competitive racing series in
America, and all that most people want to say is that it’s just because of the
car and they’re cheating.
So could it really
be just the car? Well, think about this. Hendrick fields four cars and is known
to have the best engines and chassis around. If they produce the best cars then,
wouldn’t you think all 4 would be at the top of the standings? Jeff Gordon is
11th right now and hasn’t been running all that great. That is
probably because of bad luck though, so you can’t accurately depict how he is
running. Let’s look at Kasey Kahne. He
has 1 DNF to Jeff’s 3 this year. Kasey sits 4th in the standings but
has only had 4 top 10’s, which is only 28.6% of the races so far. He’s has
placed 3rd three times this year, but has only been able to close
the deal once. Dale Earnhardt Jr., like Kasey, has also had 1 DNF. Dale
actually has the same number of top 10’s as Jimmie at 9, but 3 less top 5’s. He
also doesn’t have any wins yet, and Jimmie has 3. Of full time drivers, Jimmie
also has the highest average finish so far with 8.1. The next best is Carl with
11.1. Jimmie hasn’t had any DNF’s yet and is leading the standings by 51
points.
So actually the
Hendrick guys have been all across the spectrum, and if you look at years past
as, that statement still holds true. So why would this be? I think it’s one
word: Team. From driver ability, to crew chief strategy, to pit crew agility, a
team’s ability and togetherness is what can really make or break them. There’s
been multiple times, where we’ve seen drivers who have not had the best car or
who have faced adversity, end up winning the race over a strategy call or get a
top 10 finish. I’m not saying that the car doesn’t factor in. If your car is
not performing well, then you’re probably not going to be able to place well.
With that being said, having the fastest car doesn’t guarantee a win, either. It’s
not just the car that makes the team successful.
So what about
cheating? I’m honestly tired of people saying a team is cheating or an
organization is cheating just because they are running great… and it’s not just
directed at team #48 and Hendrick. We’ve also been hearing it about JGR (Joe
Gibbs Racing). The JGR bunch has really been running well… at least if they
don’t blow their engine. I remember early on in Dover last week, about 5 of the
Toyota cars were in the top 10, including all three JGR cars in the top 5!
That’s not the only race we’ve seen Toyota’s strength either. That’s why some
people say they’re cheating, but are they? Just because someone is running
well, doesn’t mean that is the reason. It’s called innovation. There is a big
difference between the two, but they are often misconstrued. Here is
Merriam-Webster’s definition of each:
Cheat: To violate rules dishonestly.
Innovate: To make changes or do something in a new way.
The difference between the two in a sport is that one violates the rules and
one works within them. Joe Gibbs or Toyota may have found something that the
other teams haven’t yet. Maybe that’s why they have such strong cars… but quite
frankly they have to find out what is causing their engines to blow up and fix
it or it’s not exactly going to work for them that well. Maybe the reason why
they are so strong is the same reason they are blowing up. Either way, that’s
experimentation. It’s what has gotten the sport to where it is today. If a team
isn’t innovating or at least trying their best to innovate, then they are not
doing their job! Because of innovation we have one of the most hardest and
competitive racing series in the world!
So to close my
points, I think that it’s not just the car that makes a team successful, it’s
the team’s ability, togetherness, and attitude towards adversity. When it does
come to having a good car, though, I don’t think the only explanation is due to
cheating. They might have just found an innovation, and it’s the other teams’
responsibility to figure it out, apply it, and find something else to improve
on so they will maybe have an edge. It’s part of the job, and is what makes this
sport great.
