Winning four Super Bowls or World Series in a row is extremely difficult. In auto racing, though, you're also dealing with mechanical failures, pit-stop errors or getting caught up in wrecks caused by other racers.

In the longest season in sports, from mid-February through late November, the Cup drivers race 36 times a year. So many laps, so many opportunities for things to go wrong . . .

The only comparable winning streak in racing is Michael Schmaucher's five consecutive championships in Formula One (2000-04). However, there are more quality race teams in the Cup series than in F1. In any Cup race, as many as 12 to 15 teams are capable of winning.

As the first Cup racer to win four titles in a row, "King James IV" has done what neither Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison nor Dale Earnhardt could do. Cale Yarborough (1976-78) is the only other racer to win three consecutive titles.

One of Johnson's many positive qualities is his appreciation of racing history. He and many other younger drivers respect the older drivers who pioneered their sport.

Asked Sunday in Homestead, Fla., where he thinks his four-peat ranks among racing's greats, Johnson replied: "The fact that nobody has done this puts me near the top. I certainly look at the seven championships by both Earnhardt and Petty, their race wins and all they've done, those two guys are kind of at the top. Hopefully, my stats, win totals and championship totals can rival theirs."

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, a co-owner of Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet, and also a four-time Cup champion (but not consecutively), is as impressed with his protégé as anyone.

"I never, ever thought I'd see it done," Gordon said. "I think it's absolutely incredible."

Perhaps the only Johnson negative is a perceived vanilla personality. You won't find him on YouTube, hammered at some beach party.

As a teenager in Southern California, Johnson learned early to be on his best behavior recruiting sponsors. That style has continued as he has risen to the top of the racing world.

That Johnson, 34, is the dominating racer in the Cup series is a surprise to those who watched him in the Busch (now Nationwide) series earlier in this decade. Johnson was not a hot prospect much sought after by Cup team owners.

One day, Johnson asked Gordon for advice. Gordon liked Johnson, watched him race and then urged Rick Hendrick to sign Johnson for a Cup ride. The rest is racing history. Since joining the Cup series full time in 2002, Johnson has 47 victories and has never finished lower than fifth in the points standings.

Having the shrewd Chad Knaus as his crew chief has been a major advantage for Johnson. They didn't know each other until they met at a test in Las Vegas.

"I never really paid any attention to him," Knaus said. "I've primarily been in the Cup series. [In Vegas], I was like 'This guy has got some talent.' " Now, Knaus refers to Johnson as "an incredible talent."

Despite his success, Johnson has managed to keep the same hat size. I've never seen him act like a big-timer.

In countless interview sessions, Johnson has always been polite and accommodating. But he rarely reveals much about himself. Until I read a recent Sports Illustrated story about him, I never knew that he frequently gets carsick - as a passenger, not when he's driving.

Right now, Johnson is stuck when asked to compare what he's done in racing to other sports.

"I know what we've accomplished on the track," he said. "I think over the next few days, I'll do a better job of understanding where it fits within sports. [But] four in a row . . . it doesn't matter if you're racing bathtubs or go-carts or playing baseball or football. It's tough to do, and I'm awfully proud of it."

While Johnson's winning four in a row is a great story, to maintain fan and media interest, NASCAR needs his rivals to improve next year and challenge Johnson's reign. Painful reminder to the other top Cup teams: The top three finishers in points, Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, are all Hendrick Motorsports racers.

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