Fourget the arguments -- Johnson now stands alone

Jimmie Johnson is the only driver in Cup Series history to win four consecutive championships -- point system be damned. The asinine argument that Johnson's four-in-a-row should have an asterisk or is somehow less impressive than Cale Yarborough's threepeat or other drivers' multiple championships is the result of sour grapes.

Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, team owner Rick Hendrick and each of the HMS team members deserve to be hailed for their accomplishments during this phenomenal run. The bottom line is that every team -- not just the No. 48 -- enters Daytona and races to Richmond in hopes of making the Chase. After that, 12 teams -- including the No. 48 -- enters Loudon and races to Homestead with the hopes of winning the championship.

Four-midable

After capping off his fourth consecutive championship season, Jimmie Johnson has put his No. 48 team in an echelon that includes few others. MLB's New York Yankees (1936-1939 and 1949-1953), the NBA's Boston Celtics (1959-1966), the NHL's Montreal Canadiens (1956-1960 and 1976-1979) and New York Islanders (1980-1983) are the only teams to win four consecutive titles. Other four-peat teams are the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team (1967-1973), the WNBA's Houston Comets (1997-2000), the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos (1978-1982) and the Cleveland Browns (1946-1949) in the AAFC.

A handful of athletes in individual sports also can claim four-in-a-row honors. Tiger Woods (1998-2003) and Pete Sampras (1993-1998) each hold the record in their respective sport for most consecutive years ranked No. 1. Carl Lewis is the only Olympian to earn four consecutive gold medals in the same event, taking the honors in Long Jump in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. While not a year-long championship, Lance Armstrong's seven consecutive Tour de France victories certainly qualify for dynasty distinction.

For the past four years, it's been Johnson who has achieved the most during the Chase. In his 40 Chase races during his championship run, Johnson has a series-best Driver Rating of 114.0. Yeah, he's earned it on the track. And to use the "old point system" argument is ignorant. The "old point system" hasn't been in play since the 2003 season. Get with it -- or get out of the conversation.

Another ignorant allegation is that Knaus has "cheated" to get ahead. Has he run afoul of the rules? Yes. Has he been fined and suspended? Yes. OK -- and the argument is ... what, exactly? Accept the fact that Knaus and the proverbial "guys back at the shop" mastered the old race car as well as the new car. Their efforts should be applauded.

"Those key players, guys I started this team with, are still at HMS," Johnson said at Homestead. "There is a lot of confidence in my mind knowing that Chad has been here before, our engineers have been here before ... that gives me the comfort to sleep at night."

Ask yourself this: If Jimmie Johnson is so vanilla and Chad Knaus is a blatant cheat, why would NASCAR want those two making a mockery of the Chase -- much less celebrating a record-setting four consecutive championships? You'd be better off making inroads for new evidence on the grassy knoll with that kind of idiotic conspiracy theory.

No doubt Johnson makes it look easy. However, perception is not reality. When was the last time you, the Hate on 48 crowd, walked a step -- much less drove a mile -- in his shoes? He makes it look easy because he puts in the work before he slides behind the wheel.

"I've worked my entire life to be in this position," Johnson said after the race. "So has Chad, so has Rick. So it's not that we backed into any of this. It's not that it just happened. We've gone out and worked really, really hard and have dedicated our lives to it, and it's paid off."

Knaus, who is now tied with Kirk Shelmerdine for the second-most championships as a crew chief behind Dale Inman (8), is the lynchpin for the No. 48. Knaus' tenacity and ability to narrow his focus is key when the race is on the line.

"Obviously the achievement of winning four championships is awesome," Knaus said. "But the week in, week out battles that we go through to try to win these championships is so difficult, and it's difficult on everybody on the team.

"As you guys know, I pride myself on our team being prepared and ready for action at the drop of a hat, and I think that those guys [the 48 crew] do that. I think that if the chips are down and we have to do massive adjustments to the race car to try to get the speed out of it to extract whatever it is we need to extract out of it, they do it. And I think that speaks volumes, and I'm proud of that. I'm proud to be a part of it."

So what's the rub against Johnson, Knaus and the rest of the Hendrick bunch? What, your driver isn't getting it done so it's open season on those who are excelling? Apparently it's easier to take pot-shots at those who do the work and succeed than it is to appreciate the effort that goes into a championship -- not to mention four consecutive years of outstanding effort.

Ah yes, the Chase -- that's the rub. The first 26 races are meaningless, so goes the theory. No, the first 26 races determine the top 12 team's position for the final 10 races. After that, it's every man for himself with every man still running under the same point system. What's so hard to understand about that? It's not like Johnson is scored under a different point system ...

For those who continue to hail the virtues of the good ol' days, you do realize that Richard Petty won his championships under the rules of the day, correct? (Not to mention Petty raced under two different point systems while racking up his seven titles.) Ditto Dale Earnhardt and the other 25 series champions not named Jimmie Johnson.

"You know, the fact that nobody has done this, I think it puts me near the top," Johnson said. "I certainly look at the seven championships by both Earnhardt and Petty, their race wins, their being in the sport for the number of years and all that they've done, those two guys are kind of at a draw at the top.

"Hopefully my stats and win totals and championship totals can rival theirs. But it puts us up there, it really does. And the cool thing is we're not done yet. We've got a lot of racing left ahead of us. So hopefully we can improve on that."

We're not done yet ... that's gotta chap some of you where the sun don't shine.

Johnson winning four consecutive titles ranks at the top of the charts for driver feat in the sport. And that he did it with class and dogged determination should be exalted by those who purportedly are fans of the sport. It is not a comparison of today vs. yesteryear. It is not a comparison of driver vs. driver. It is a celebration of a remarkable achievement. Anything less is whine.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.