Congrats to Jimmie and the No. 48 Lowe’s team. They did an amazing job in picking up their 4th straight Sprint Cup Championship.

I kept going back and forth over whether or not I would write about the whole “you should respect Jimmie” and “the garage respects him, now the fans need to” lines people have been repeating lately.

It irritates me because I don’t understand the perception that people dislike Jimmie. I’ve never heard anyone boo him or act disrespectfully towards him. It was never about disliking him and not wanting Jimmie to win the Championship in the sense that people felt he didn’t deserve it. It was the fact that we just wanted it to be someone else, for it to be different. I think that you can want some change, a spicier competition, and still respect someone completely.

We’re saying to Jimmie’s competition, whoever our fave driver happens to be, “Please step it up, because if he wins a 5th one, you need to re-evaluate your abilities as a racecar driver.” Okay, maybe not that harsh, but not that far off. You really have to wonder what’s up with the 42 other dudes out there every week if this one team keeps beating everybody every year.

I don’t doubt Jimmie’s talent, AT ALL. It’s because of his talent that I want someone else to give him a real run for his money.

That’s all! I like Jimmie. He is a nice guy. He’s Clark friggin Kent and Superman, how can you not like that? Ugh, I might get crap for saying that, but whatever. I certainly was never trying to discount the talent. I’m sure there are people that respect Tiger Woods’ talent but are fans of a rival golfer and would rather that person won over Tiger.

Amazing how Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, two polar opposites personality-wise, are being painted as the Rodney Dangerfield’s of NASCAR, supposedly neither of them can’t get any respect from the fans. Which is ridiculous. I think people — NASCAR fans, media, and officials — get a little overly sensitive sometimes.

Ugh.

So for emphasis I will reiterate that I am genuinely happy for the Lowe’s team and everything they’ve accomplished this year and the past 4 years. They’ve done something no one else has and they have every right to be proud of themselves. They deserve to be celebrated. It’s not easy to do what they did and I can appreciate that completely. Oh! And can I say that I loved it when Jimmie’s dad was interviewed? I loved hearing the story of how Jimmie got his name and seeing the emotion in his father.

I think instead of interviewing the winning driver in Victory Lane they should just go straight to their parents or their wife. It would be way more emotional that way. It was also super sweet to see Jimmie make a beeline for his wife, Chandra, after he got out of his car in Victory Lane.

So now that the season is over I am ecstatic that I get to say that I’m looking forward to attending Champion’s Week!

Miami resident Juan Pablo Montoya chats with Ricky Carmichael on pit road before the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Ron Hornaday Jr. and team owner Kevin Harvick celebrate Hornaday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship and Harvick’s Ford 200 win at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The championship is Hornaday’s fourth in the series and the second for Kevin Harvick Inc. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

NHRA car owner John Force (left) and 2009 NHRA Funny Car Champion Robert Hight (right) served as honorary grand marshals for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Anika totally rocked the National Anthem. I think it was the best version of the season.

National Anthem singer Anika Noni Rose, the voice of the lead character in Disney’s “Princess and the Frog”, meets Jeff Gordon and his daughter Ella Sophia prior to the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Oh yea, Denny won the race

Denny Hamlin celebrates winning the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his fourth victory of the season. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Hendrick Motorsports teammates look on as Jimmie Johnson hoists the Sprint Cup trophy for the fourth consecutive season. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

I actually tuned to the channel that had the NHRA racing on but they were in the middle of a rain delay and I started to channel surf, which is always deadly because I inevitably forget what I had told myself I would come back to later.

At any rate, I am so happy that she won, she totally deserved it and I’m sure there will be more titles to come and probably a championship. It was fun to watch the replay of John’s reaction to seeing his daughter win. That man never fails to disappoint in the emotions department.

And since I’m talking about drag racing stuff I should mention a tidbit of info I got this weekend. Next year NHRA’s top series will be known as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series instead of its current sponsor, POWERade.

From the press release:

“It’s one of the great synergies of brand and sport,” said NHRA President Tom Compton, who orchestrated the original deal with Coca-Cola North America in 2001. “To have a title sponsor for what will be, at minimum, 12 years by the end of this current deal is a tribute to a great relationship between NHRA and Coca-Cola North America, Coca-Cola Enterprises, the POWERade brand and beginning in 2009, the Full Throttle brand.”

NHRA’s top professional series, the second most popular form of auto racing in America behind only NASCAR (source: ESPN Sports Poll), holds 24 races from February through November, all of which are broadcast by ESPN2 in HD.

I’m not going to go into the whole Jeff Gordon-breaking-Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s-career-wins-record-fans-go-crazy debacle, except to say that I agree with tallglassofmilk in that if the Talladega fans can’t behave themselves ‘Dega should lose it’s second race. They should hand it over to Infineon, us Northern California NASCAR fans know not to throw things when we’re mad. We’d just make shirts that say things like “Anybody But Gordon” and call it day.

I’m still annoyed/upset about Casey Mears’ crash in the middle of the race. I thought he was going to make it this time and finally win one but alas it was not meant to be. He was so pissed when he jumped out of his car, seeing that emotion reminds you how much this means to these guys. It’s not just another day at the office. They go out there every race with the intention to win.

It was so very cool to see no-name drivers race upfront this weekend. Guys like Sterling Marlin, Kenny Wallace, David Ragan, Regan Smith, and David Stremme all led laps at Talladega. Congrats to them, I want to see more of that. Words cannot express how sick I am of seeing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon winning these races.

The rest of my Sunday was filled with more racing coverage. After the NASCAR Nexel Cup race I caught the end of the IndyCar race in Kansas. Dan Wheldon was the winner and apparently there was some pit road debacle involving teammates Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan. Tony took a page from the Tony Stewart PR handbook and left the race track without commenting on the events of pit road (Danica hit his car on her way out of the pits which ultimately caused Tony to fall 8 laps down, finishing 15th for the day).

Now everyone’s attention will turn to the Indianapolis 500, the race is on May 27th but the media hype is already beginning. Oh yay, a whole month of talking about the same things over and over and over again.

In other news…

Ashley Force went up against John Force for the first time in her burgeoning Funny Car career. She beat her dad in the first round at Atlanta Dragway.

The marquee match of the day was in round one when Ashley Force beat her famous father, John, by a 4.779 to 5.783 margin in the first father-daughter Pro-level race in NHRA history.

“Today I’m a proud father,” John said. “I’ve dreamed of this day for a long time, and it makes me emotional to think it finally came true. She’s a great young driver and she’s probably gonna whip me a bunch, but I’m okay with it because she’s my baby.”

Ashley went on to win her second round match-up but lost in the semifinals to Mike Ashley. All in all still a great day for women in the NHRA, it won’t be long until she’s a Funny Car winner.

Jeff Gordon is saluted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. after winning the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Fans throw beer cans onto the track as Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Dupont Chevrolet, takes the Sunoco checkered flag to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 29, 2007 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, poses for a photo with his wife, model Ingrid Vandebosch, in victory lane after after Gordon won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 29, 2007 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)