Johnson closing in on NASCAR’s rare three-peat

 DALLAS - Richard Petty, the greatest living authority on Sprint Cup championships, never won three consecutive titles. He has a record 200 wins, 1,185 starts, 126 poles and a record-tying seven championships. But he failed in two bids for three straight championships.

“Winning one championship is hard,” Petty said. “Winning three in a row is a phenomenal feat.”

Petty won the championship in 1970 and ’71, before the current points system was established. He won again in 1974 and ’75.

He’ll watch with the rest of NASCAR nation as Jimmie Johnson attempts to become the first driver in 30 years to win three straight. Johnson starts today’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway with a comfortable 183-point lead over Carl Edwards.

After today, only two races remain in the Chase for the Sprint Cup — at Phoenix next Sunday and at Miami on Nov. 16.

Cale Yarborough, the only driver to win three straight championships, joked that he won’t be openly rooting for Johnson to tie his record. “But I won’t be disappointed, because he seems like a good guy,” Yarborough said. “I’m surprised that the record has lasted as long as it has with all the great drivers in the sport.”

Many of the drivers who tried and failed at a three-peat would get consideration for NASCAR’s version of Mount Rushmore, if one existed. The names include Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Joe Weatherly and Buck Baker. Earnhardt, who won seven championships, had three chances to win three straight.

“All those great champions not doing it is the perfect example of just how difficult it really is,” said ESPN commentator Dale Jarrett, who won the title in 1999 to keep Gordon from getting three straight.

“It’s difficult to compare different eras, but winning three championships in a row is tough at any time. Everything has to fall into place.”

Some of the great drivers who were trying for a third straight title were beaten by teams that were more consistent and better in that season.

Others dealt with crew chief or car manufacturer changes.

Weatherly never got the chance to go for three straight because he died in a racing accident in Riverside, Calif., in January 1964. Pearson chose not to run full time in 1970, giving up his chance.

Only Yarborough, who won 28 of the 90 races he entered from 1976-78, accomplished the feat.

Some, including Petty, say it’s tougher for Johnson to win now than it was for Yarborough.

“The overall quality of the field is better now than it was then,” Petty said. “I think that the equipment is a lot closer now.”

The Chase for the Sprint Cup format, which started in 2004, allows drivers who start a season slowly to make up points when the field is bunched for the final 10 races. That benefits Johnson, whose team has made a habit of late-season surges.

“But you still have to make the playoffs,” Waltrip said. “The real key is they’ve got a good team that has stayed together. That’s so important. That consistency allows you to focus and make your team better.”

 Dickies 500
What: Race 8 of 10 in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
When: 1 p.m. today
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
TV: Channel 15