DALLAS - Richard Petty, the greatest living authority on Sprint Cup championships, never won three consecutive titles. | Auto racing page

He has a record 200 wins, 1,185 starts, 126 poles and a record-tying seven championships. But he failed in two bids for three straight championships.

"Winning one championship is hard," Petty said. "Winning three in a row is a phenomenal feat."

Petty won the championship in 1970 and '71, before the current points system was established. He won again in 1974 and '75.

He'll watch with the rest of NASCAR nation as Jimmie Johnson attempts to become the first driver in 30 years to win three straight. Johnson starts Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway with a comfortable 183-point lead over Carl Edwards.

After Sunday, only two races remain in the Chase for the Sprint Cup - at Phoenix next Sunday and at Miami on Nov. 16.

Cale Yarborough, the only driver to win three straight championships, joked that he won't be openly rooting for Johnson to tie his record.

"But I won't be disappointed, because he seems like a good guy," Yarborough said. "I'm surprised that the record has lasted as long as it has with all the great drivers in the sport."

Many of the drivers who tried and failed at a three-peat would get consideration for NASCAR's version of Mount Rushmore, if one existed. The names include Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Joe Weatherly and Buck Baker. Earnhardt, who won seven championships, had three chances to win three straight.

"All those great champions not doing it is the perfect example of just how difficult it really is," said ESPN commentator Dale Jarrett, who won the title in 1999 to keep Gordon from getting three straight.

"It's difficult to compare different eras, but winning three championships in a row is tough at any time. Everything has to fall into place."

Some of the great drivers who were trying for a third straight title were beaten by teams that were more consistent and better in that season. Others dealt with crew chief or car manufacturer changes.

Weatherly never got the chance to go for three straight because he died in a racing accident in Riverside, Calif., in January 1964. Pearson chose not to run full time in 1970, giving up his chance.

Only Yarborough, who won 28 of the 90 races he entered from 1976-78, accomplished the feat.

Some, including Petty, say it's tougher for Johnson to win now than it was for Yarborough.

"The overall quality of the field is better now than it was then," Petty said. "I think that the equipment is a lot closer now."

The Chase for the Sprint Cup format, which started in 2004, allows drivers who start a season slowly to make up points when the field is bunched for the final 10 races. That benefits Johnson, whose team has made a habit of late-season surges.

"But you still have to make the playoffs," Waltrip said.

"The real key is they've got a good team that has stayed together. That's so important. That consistency allows you to focus and make your team better."

Chad Knaus has been Johnson's crew chief since the driver's first full-time Cup season in 2002. They have never finished worse than fifth in the Cup standings and have two runner-up showings to go with the two titles. Knaus would become the first crew chief to win three straight championships.

"I don't think Chad ever goes to sleep," said NASCAR official Jim Hunter, who has been involved in the sport for decades. "I think he stays up at night thinking of ways to make that car a little better.

"Jimmie does, too. It's an amazing combination, and if they do win three in a row, it's one of those records that will jump off the page. It's history."

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Stopped at two

Since the current point system was put in place in 1975, four of the sport's most famous drivers have failed in their attempts to win a third straight championship:

Richard Petty

Year: <.b> 1976

Background: Petty came into the 1976 season with momentum after winning 13 times in 1975. He had barely outlasted Cale Yarborough in 1974, when

each driver won 10 times. In 1976, Yarborough won nine times, including five times in a six-race stretch in the second half of the season, and beat Petty by 195 points.

"We were very competitive, but Cale was more competitive," Petty said. "Nobody goes to the top and stays there forever. That's good because everyone knows if they work hard enough, they can get there. It just wasn't meant to be."

It was the first of Yarborough's three consecutive championships.

Did you know?

David Pearson didn't race full time that season, but won 10 of the 22 races he entered.

Dale Earnhardt

Years: 1988, 1992, 1995

Background: Bill Elliott halted Earnhardt's first chance to win three straight. He had six wins and six poles and held on as Rusty Wallace won four of the last five races. Earnhardt finished third.

In 1992, Earnhardt's team struggled with one win in 29 races and finished 12th. Alan Kulwicki won the championship in the final race at Atlanta.

Earnhardt won the championship the next two seasons to earn a shot at a third straight in 1995. That year, young Jeff Gordon won seven times to Earnhardt's five and won his first of four championships. Earnhardt had a great stretch drive to close the gap, finishing

a close second.

Earnhardt made a jab at Gordon's age (he was 24) and joked that the champion's toast at the banquet was going to involve milk instead of champagne. Gordon obliged, toasting Earnhardt with a glass of milk at the banquet the next month.

Did you know? Earnhardt won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and got his first road course win in 1995.

Darrell Waltrip

Year: 1983

Background:

Waltrip and Bobby Allison fought hard for the championship in 1981 and 1982. Waltrip had 12 wins each season, putting together his usual stretchdrive run. He won four in a row late in 1981 to win the title and four of five late in 1982. But in 1983, Allison finally got past Waltrip for his only championship.

Junior Johnson switched

Waltrip from Buick to Chevrolet before the season, and Waltrip said it took some time for the team to figure it out. Both Allison and Waltrip ended up winning six times, with Allison taking three straight in September.

"Bobby wasn't all that much better than us but was more consistent," Waltrip said. "It was his time."

Did you know?

Waltrip has 84 career wins, tied for third all-time. He won his only Daytona 500 in 1989 driving for Rick Hendrick.

Jeff Gordon

Year:

1999

Background:

Gordon beat Dale Jarrett by only 16 points in 1997 and dominated the circuit in 1998 with 13 wins, winning the title easily over Mark Martin. In 1999, Gordon had seven wins but also failed to

finish seven races. Crew chief Ray Evernham left the team to run his own operation in September of that season.

"We just weren't good enough," Gordon said. "As good as Ray and I were together, that year we definitely butted heads on some things, and maybe it was just because things weren't going our way and we got frustrated."

Jarrett was able to take advantage with a very consistent season that included 29 top-10s

in 34 starts.

Did you know?

Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 and both road races in 1999. He also won two events without Evernham that season.

(c) 2008, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.