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After Jimmie Johnson's Daytona 500 win, he made
it known to the NASCAR world that he was "dedicating this win to
all the haters of the 48 team." I'm trying to figure out why
after you just conquered Daytona, would you dedicate your win to
all of the haters! What about dedicating your win to the fans
that supported the #48 team through the last 3 or 4 scandals?
What about dedicating your win to NASCAR for allowing it to go
on this long? This isn't a 'bash Jimmie
Johnson' article by any means. I think Johnson drove a smart
race and once again put himself in position to win the Great
American Race. And I was fine with Johnson's win right up until
his post race comments.
I just have a hard time trying to figure out
why Johnson is so concerned about the 'haters' instead of the 'likers'.
Why make yourself even more unlikeable. It's no secret that
Dale Earnhardt was at one time the most hated driver in NASCAR.
As I recall, he never let the criticism get to him. That's what
eventually reduced the number of 'haters'. The same goes for
Johnson's teammate Jeff Gordon. To this day, Gordon is showered
with boos. And it obviously got to him earlier in his career,
but as time has progressed, Gordon no longer seems concerned
with the boobirds. And now, among all of the boos, Gordon hears
just as many cheers when his name is introduced. When Tony
Stewart won his first championship in 2002, among all of the
negative press he received that year, he didn't dedicate
his championship to all of the 'haters'. When Kurt Busch won
the Sharpie 500 in 2003 after his infamous confrontation with
Jimmy Spencer a week earlier at Michigan, a record-breaking
number of boos were directed towards victory lane. Did Busch
arrogantly dedicate his win to all of the 'haters'?
The point is that Johnson and his fans should
enjoy this victory. Yes, there will be some who will say
that his Daytona 500 win was clouded with controversy, but the
bottomline is Johnson is a Daytona 500 champ. Instead of making
yourself susceptible to more criticism, it would have behooved
him to thank to his fans and team and focus on them instead of
his detractors. It just made him look like a pompous jerk.
Ryan Newman's comments
With all due respect to fellow Speedwaymedia
writer Brian Batease, I have to disagree with him regarding Ryan
Newman's post-race comments. If you missed it, Newman publicly
criticized Johnson and the #48 team and questioned the legality
of their win. Mr. Batease referred to Newman as a sore loser. I
would say that Newman was out of line if this was the first or
even second time that a team has been busted for bending the
rules. But Newman is stating his observations and concerns.
Give him credit for standing up and saying exactly what was on
his mind. And it is not just Newman who is grumbling about the
#48 team's integrity. Plus, isn't Newman accused of being
robotic and emotionless? Let's not get all bent out of shape
when the quiet guy speaks out. |
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