1,000 Greatest Drivers: Jimmie Johnson

To goat or not to goat? That is the question.

I haven’t updated my stock car model since January and I don’t intend to do so until after the NASCAR Cup Series season ends, but I know Jimmie Johnson is still making starts this year and he definitely has not done very well since his return. He is currently 0-3 vs. Erik Jones, 1-2 vs. John Hunter Nemechek, and 0-1 vs. Corey Heim. He will presumably decline somewhat from his current rating of .250, but admittedly that is only seven teammate comparisons when he already had 1,709 prior to this year, so it is a drop in the bucket and probably shouldn’t affect him too much. Depending on how long he chooses to continue, it is probable he will drop behind Richard Petty (.249), and possible he will drop below Ned Jarrett (.242), Kevin Harvick (.242), and Ron Fellows (.240), but I can’t realistically see him dropping below any other drivers. There is a chance when all is said and done that he’ll drop behind Harvick, which would make him the highest-rated entirely modern era driver in my model instead, but I’ll only edit that if it actually happens. Although I’ve been more reluctant to write about current drivers so I don’t have to keep re-writing to account for new information, I think this one is safe as well as the Juan Pablo Montoya column I have scheduled for three days. While both those drivers are still active, I don’t see any of them having great accomplishments in the future or ever having another season that would make my annual top 200 list.