Jimmie Johnson Reverse Curse

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Cup Series News

One of the most famous “curses” in sports may be in Major League Baseball involving legendary Hall of Famer Babe Ruth, nicknamed the Bambino, and the Boston Red Sox. When Boston sold Ruth to the New York Yankees, the Red Sox, who had won numerous World Series titles previously, went winless for decades while the Yankees went on to win multiple titles. The “curse” was lifted after 86 years when Boston won the World Series in 2004, but the curse remains one of the more widely known in sports.

Jimmie Johnson had a bit of a curse going last year, albeit not as lengthy or widely known, on the Sprint Cup Series’ restrictor-plate tracks. Thanks to accidents or DNFs (did not finish) inflicted by other means, Johnson was 0-for-2012 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He was credited with finishing last October’s race at Talladega, but was involved in a last-lap accident. This season, however, the five-time champion seems to have reversed the curse. In February, he got his 2013 campaign off to a successful start by not only finishing, but winning, the sport’s biggest race – the Daytona 500. He followed that up in May with a fifth-place finish at Talladega.

A return visit to Daytona is on the agenda for this weekend. The track ranks as one of Johnson’s top-five worst, statistically. He has only two top-five finishes in the July race – second-place finishes in 2004 and 2009. He has never won the race, which typically falls during the July 4 holiday weekend. However, the man they call “five-time” is halfway there in countering last year’s curse. If he finishes Saturday night’s 400-mile event, only October’s Talladega race remains on the restrictor-plate-race schedule. If he is able to break the curse, like the 2004 Red Sox finally did, perhaps it will all end with a championship celebration at the end of the year.

TSC PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 54