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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Is Jimmie Johnson Ruining Nascar?

Well let me start off by saying this Jimmie Johnson is a champion point blank,and I'm a fan of his.I was a fan of his before he even won any of his titles.He is possibly the best driver next to Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. that the sport has ever known.Still fairly young, he has a chance to shatter the records set by the before mentioned drivers.The question I'm addressing though is he ruining Nascar?In my opinion the answer is no.He is a stand up guy by all accounts,and is a role model to kids nationwide.(A oddity in itself in today's sports market)Yet, on the flip side of this coin though is the fact that since the chase for the cup began 7 years ago Johnson has dominated the format.Winning 5 championships in a row unprecedented in Nascar's 63 year history.The two years before that he came in  second overall.There are 40 other drivers on any given Sunday,and sponsors......well want to sponsor winners/champions.What #48 does to some is take away excitement from other race teams as far as advertisement goes.I mean Joey Lagano the sports youngest driver,and Danica Patrick, a woman driver who's easy on the eyes,and a great Indy car driver in her own right still do not create the kind of revenue JJ does.With that being said,Nascar's ratings are down for the forth consecutive year with a loss of over 2 million viewers in that span with no sign of redemption.Thats a quarter of the viewing audience people!!!The sport itself is being punished for JJ's excellence if that makes any sense to you.Who cares to watch races with no meaning,or better yet a story we already know the script to.That at the end of the day,or should I say season Johnson will be hoisting the cup once again.Nascar says that it's biggest loss in viewers is in the male 18-34 year old demographic.So what's the magic bullet that makes it popular again?I don't know,but don't expect Johnson to drive any less harder on Sunday.The other teams need to step up ,and win some championships before Nascar becomes a one trick pony.

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