Jimmie Johnson Dynasty Bad for Nascar

Most people think of the most popular sport as being football but that's really never been the case.

For years Nascar has been considered the most popular sport in the country. No other sport covers such a wide fan base. That might start declining if the competition doesn't become more balanced.

Jimmie Johnson just won his fourth straight Sprint Cup championship. This has never been done in any major sport. Storied franchises such as the Yankees, Lakers, Celtics, or Steelers have never won four straight championships.

Nascar has never been a particular favorite of mine, but my interest has decreased to basically non-existent over the past couple of years. There's simply no reason to watch a race anymore because you know who will be in the top five; Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and a few other drivers will occasionally sneak in there.

In no way am I taking anything away from Jimmie Johnson. What he has done is absolutely amazing and I give him all the credit in the world. It's not his fault he's running, or I should say driving all over the competition.

Not only is there no parody among the drivers, but there's no parody over the teams. Hendrick Motorsports fielded the top three drivers this year. The team concept of Nascar has all but disappeared during this historic run by Jimmie Johnson. ?

Parody is very important in sports. There has to be good competition otherwise what is suppose to draw you in? If the same three drivers win every week then the interest will quickly be lost by the casual Nascar fan.

One major reason why college football, college basketball, professional football, among others all continue to be popular.

Nascar needs a big driver to come in and spice things up a little bit. Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have elevated this sport trememdously if he could just manage to win a race every now and then.

Something or someone has to rise up and challenge these same drivers that continue to dominate otherwise it could slowly fade away from being relevant in today's sports world.

Edwards Has Stong Words for NASCAR

Another big crash occurred at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, and Carl Edwards was the centerpiece of the crash.

Edwards was just seconds away from the victory before attempting to block Brad Keselowski causing his car to flip into the fencing used to separate the fans from the track. Seven fans were injured but fortunately none were severely injured.

It might have been one of the best finishes NASCAR has seen, but at what price do some of these great finishes come by? Certainly it's not a fan's or a driver's health, but Edwards definitely had a strong statement after the race.

"NASCAR puts us in this box [restrictor-plate racing], and will race this way until they kill somebody," Edwards said. That statement is a powerful one that had to be directly aimed at NASCAR officials.

Former NASCAR driver Bobby Allison retracted the statement and said that the potential for danger is part of the excitement and that there's nothing wrong with that.

I wonder if Allison would be singing a different tune if someone had been killed or seriously injured Sunday. The satisfaction of the fans is very important, but not as important as someone's life.

In no way am I saying that restrictor-plate racing should be abolished, but there is nothing wrong with examining the procedures and equipment we have in place now to make sure there is a middle-ground between excitement and safety.

Seven injuries is seven too many and obviously something may need to be tweaked. I'm sick and tired of officials from anything, whether it be sports or not, waiting to change things until someone is killed. A life shouldn't have to be lost to make things right. Simple as that.