INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Jimmie Johnson is having one of those seasons. Again.
He’s already won the Daytona 500 and NASCAR’s All-Star Race. On Sunday, he’ll try to claim a record-breaking fifth Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
If it sounds familiar, it should.
Back in 2006, Johnson pulled off the Cup’s version of a grand slam _ winning Daytona, the All-Star race, the Brickyard 400 and the series title _ pulling off what NASCAR officials described as one of the greatest seasons in the history of sports.
Now, it could be happening all over again.
Two years after a streak of five straight Cup titles ended, Johnson holds a 56-point lead on Clint Bowyer in the title chase and already has won four times in 2013.
So where does Johnson’s 2006 feat rank among the best of all time?
NASCAR compares Johnson’s feat to Roger Federer winning three of the four tennis majors in 2006, Tiger Woods winning three of golf’s majors in 2000, Michael Jordan leading the Chicago Bulls to the 1991-92 NBA title while averaging 30.1 points, Joe Montana throwing 26 touchdown passes and leading the San Francisco 49ers to a second straight Super Bowl title after the 1989 season; Wayne Gretzky scoring 87 goals and winning the Stanley Cup title in 1983-84, Muhammad Ali beating Joe Frazier and George Foreman to reclaim the heavyweight title in 1974 and Babe Ruth hitting 60 home runs in 1927 when the Yankees won the World Series.
Of course, the common thread is winning championships, something all of those athletes did in their big seasons _ and something Johnson will have to wait to do until The Chase begins later this year.
If Johnson pulls off a win at Indy and follows that with a sixth points title, he would be the first athlete in any sport to make the list twice.
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