Jimmie Johnson - 3-Peat

When a sports team wins 3 consecutive championships, do you consider them a dynasty?

In the case of Jimmie Johnson, I think that this must be true. For the past 3 seasons (including this latest 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series), Jimmie Johnson has been the victor at Homestead.

When the season started this year, all eyes were on Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, because of their great success at the end of last season when they battled for the championship in the final race of Homestead. But things changed very fast when Ryan Newman won the first race, Daytona, and Jimmie Johnson finished further back than normal. This cause Jimmie to start the season very low in the points.

Then, Kyle Busch, after switching to a new team, became a very dominant driver, winning race after race. It seemed as if he was the one that would be in contention for the championship when the season came to an end. Summer began, and Jimmie Johnson slowly made his way up the points standings. He was nowhere close to Kyle Busch, who would start with a great advantage in the chase, gaining 80 bonus points for his 8 regular season wins. But that would not stop Johnson.

The Chase began, and shockingly Kyle Busch had 2 bad first races, putting him at the bottom of the Chase standings (from 1st to 12th). This opened the door for Johnson, who took over the points lead just a few weeks into the Chase. And once he got on top, no one could touch him. His only major competitor was Carl Edwards, and Edwards battled him to the very end. But at Homestead last Sunday, Johnson had a substantial lead on Edwards, and the only way for Edwards to win was for Johnson to wreck out of the race. Johnson pretty much had things wrapped up, and by the end of the night, he won his 3rd consecutive championship in NASCAR's top series.

So in 3 seasons he has won the championship in different ways, showing his strength in new avenues. Is this a dynasty? I would argue yes. Jimmie Johnson is the one every driver better watch out for in the 2009 series that starts next February.

Matt