Tony Stewart claims Dale Earnhardt wouldn’t have been able to “rattle” Jimmie Johnson in the HMS driver’s dominant years
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Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt
The arguments around who is the greatest NASCAR driver of all time are still a considerable debate. Three drivers take center stage during this debate. Record seven times cup champions Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, and Richard Petty dominated the sport in their prime. Johnson’s dominance came at the peak of NASCAR fame, and completeness gives him an edge over his rivals.
Few can settle the debate over who is the most dominant ever. The ones who had the championship experience and those who drove against a few of these legends have a say in the matter. Tony Stewart, the SHR legend, is one of them. Though he didn’t give a definitive answer to the GOAT debate, he gave his opinion on Jimmie Johnson’s dominance compared to others.
Tony Stewart pointed out that if Dale Earnhardt still raced during Jimmie Johnson’s dominance, he wouldn’t have been able to match him during the championship years. Stewart pointed out that the incredible consistency gave him an edge over his rivals, and he had strong backing from HMS throughout those years.
“If Dale (Earnhardt) Sr. was around during his era of championships, he would not have been able to rattle Jimmie Johnson. He just wouldn’t. Jimmie is just that solid. He had that much confidence, he had that much ability, and it wasn’t that he did anything special that others didn’t do; he just did it consistently over and over. Every week he could do it. And they had a package that could work, and they all showcased each other’s talents in that organization and race team,” Tony Stewart told RACER.
Tony Stewart’s opinion might be biased, considering they were big rivals and greater friends. He drove against both Dale and sr. and JJ in his cup years. Stewart was also the driver who ended Johnson’s dominance in the cup by stopping him from winning the 6th consecutive cup title in 2011.
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Tony Stewart reveals what made Jimmie Johnson different from his peers
Stewart pointed out that Johnson never had a dominant flawless car that could gift him easy wins as many in public perceived it. He added that JJ knew how to work to overcome the constraints of his team and make the best out of what he had.
“But it wasn’t always easy for him and that team. The public thinks they were a well-oiled machine and flawless — there were chinks in the armor but especially Jimmie knew how to work through the rough edges of it to polish it and make it good, and make it to where he could get the most out of that race team every week,” Tony Stewart said
Stewart added that Jj was never concerned about his rivals since he was focused on his performance. He said, “He was just a machine. You couldn’t rattle the guy. It didn’t matter what you did; he focused on what he was doing and didn’t care what you were doing around or behind him,”.
Also read: Mark Martin reveals Jimmie Johnson’s success formula
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