The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the recent Super Bowl and destroyed their hopes of a 3-peat. The upset stunned fans across the USA, and former football quarterback Robert Griffin III pointed out on X that there have been only eight 3-peats in USA sports in the Super Bowl era. His list missed out on the seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.
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Johnson won five Cup Series titles consecutively between 2006 and 2010. This achievement being continually ignored by other sports communities showcases that NASCAR drivers are still not considered athletes. Craftsman Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth wouldn’t let things simply slide and responded to Griffin’s post.
He pointed out Johnson’s record and drew major support from racing fans. One follower stated, “Not a Johnson fan but you have to respect dominance.” The Hendrick Motorsports icon’s dominance was such that NASCAR resorted to changing the playoff format just to give other drivers a chance at winning a title.
Another fan wrote, “I’d say that @JimmieJohnson’s 5 in a row is monumentally harder to achieve than 3 in a row in any other sport. He had to compete against 40+ other teams every week. Also, the way the cars changed over those 5 years is another huge factor. It is mind-blowing what the 48 team did.”
Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, with seven Cup Series championships each, are considered to be the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR. Not even they managed to win five championships in a row. This proves that Johnson did something truly special in his career that remains largely underrated to date.
people jus don’t want to accept that JJ is the single most dominant athlete of all time
try to change my mind you can’t ♂️
— Sean Peleg (@SeanP171) February 10, 2025
One fan pointed out, “JJs run from 2006-2010 (really 2004-2013) gotta be the best run of form we’ve seen from an athlete/team EVER.” Johnson’s dominance wasn’t limited to title wins. He reached victory lane 83 times in the Cup Series and secured several top 5 and top 10 finishes. Not once between 2004 and 2013 did he finish outside the top 6 in standings.
Another comment that shouldered Caruth read, “people jus don’t want to accept that JJ is the single most dominant athlete of all time try to change my mind you can’t ” The reason why NASCAR is often not included in such discussions of athletic performance is that the sport uses powered machines. It is also why motor racing isn’t a part of the Olympics.
But what the majority fails to see is that driving a stock car is as hard a workout as any. The immense pressure and downforce that drivers undergo is not something to be taken lightly. Hopefully, this image that motorsports has will change in the future. If not, there is always a huge crowd of racing aficionados to force the change.
