Turn 1 - This week's Take on Bristol Race

THIS WEEK'S TAKE - by Judy Kay

I can't believe Steve Latarte didn't give Jeff four tires last week! He's lucky I'm not his boss, because I would have fired his butt. I realize they wanted to stay up front, out in clean air, salvage their track position. But you can't beat the 48 team with two tires. Four tires was their only hope in keeping Jimmie at bay. Jeff's car was so strong all day, I really believe they could have held Jimmie off. Darrell Waltrip had a good point when he said the other drivers need to get better to come up to Jimmie and Chad's level. They don't make mistakes, and if they do they recover very fast from them. They are truly a cut above the rest of the competition. And frankly, it's not real good for the sport, to have such a dominant team. There IS parity at the Cup level, from second on down. Each team has a chance to win every week, the 48 team just has a better chance, every week. Dane was wondering if they are bringing the spoiler back to slow Jimmie down. It's true that the spoiler might make a difference at Jimmie's best tracks: the 1-1/2 milers. It will bring more downforce for better handling, more speed, easier passing. But it will also give the 48 those advantages, and you can bet your bottom dollar Chad will find a way to use them. Maybe the 48 team should be handicapped, like Golf, or bowling. It wouldn't help for him to start in the back every week, he can come through the pack with the best of him. Maybe they should only run at road courses! He hasn't really perfected that yet, but if they run every week, it won't take them long to do that. Jeff Hammond suggested breaking up the team. The only way I see that happening is if they lure Chad away with lots of money, and maybe the chance to own his own team. But I'm sure he saw what happened to Ray Everham, who couldn't multitask as well as most people thought he could. So really, all we can do is watch history in the making, and be glad that we are able to experience that. I'm jealous of all the Jimmie Johnson fans. Most of us are lucky when our favorite driver win a race, let alone 4 consecutive championships. I'm not sure any sport has had this dominant of a competitor for a long time. The fact this is happening on our watch makes us very, very fortunate. So we need to enjoy the ride. Love him or hate him, Jimmie Johnson is a racing phenom that can simply take your breath away.