by Jeff Owens, NASCAR Scene, Special to FOXSports.com

But really, there is no comparison.

Jeff Owens (NASCAR Scene)

Johnson's third straight title is much more significant. In fact, it is one of the most significant accomplishments in NASCAR history.

Richard Petty, who has a record seven Cup championships, never won three in a row. Dale Earnhardt, the other seven-time champion, didn't either.

Nor did Jeff Gordon, the four-time champion who has emerged as the greatest driver of the current era.

David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison. All were great champions and are legends of the sport. But none accomplished what Johnson will do when he seals his third straight title at Homestead this week.

Only Yarborough, the legendary tough man, accomplished the feat, and it had been grossly overlooked until Johnson came along to match him.

Yarborough turned the trick from 1976 to 1978, dominating part of the decade that most consider NASCAR's glory years.

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But Yarborough won his titles at a time when winning the series championship wasn't such a huge deal. Back then, winning big races — the Daytona 500, the World 600 and the Southern 500 — were how the greats were measured.

Now, during Johnson's reign, winning the Chase and the series championship means everything. It's what puts the best head and shoulders above the rest.

Johnson's three straight titles are one of the most impressive accomplishments in NASCAR history because it comes in the sport's most competitive era. His streak, in fact, may be just as significant as Petty's career total of seven because of the competition he has faced and the drivers and teams he has beaten.

When Yarborough won three straight titles, he had to beat only a handful of elite drivers. Though he outran such legends as Petty, Allison, Waltrip and Benny Parsons in the championship race, the list of drivers and teams capable of winning races back then was a short one.

Only eight drivers won races in 1976. Only seven won in 1977 and again in '78.

By comparison, there were 16 different winners when Johnson won his second title last year. There were 13 in 2006 and 12 have won so far this season.

When Yarborough won his three titles for Junior Johnson, there were only 11 to 14 teams that ran the entire Cup schedule in order to contend for the championship. It wasn't until 1976 that series sponsor R.J. Reynolds began offering teams and drivers bonus money and other incentives to run every race. Until then, only a handful of teams ran every race, with only a few running enough events to contend for the title.

Yarborough and his team took advantage of the changing series to win the first three titles under NASCAR's new incentive program.

Thirty years later, more than half the 43-car field starts each season with their eyes on the championship or at least making NASCAR's championship playoffs.

Johnson not only has more potential race winners to contend with each week, but he has had to beat nine to 11 teams in the Chase the past three years.

Like it or not, it is much more difficult to win a Cup title under NASCAR's current playoff format than it was during NASCAR's old points system, which awarded consistency over the course of an entire season.

That fact that he has won three straight in the Chase adds even more significance to his accomplishment.

Yarborough was indeed one of NASCAR's greatest drivers. His 83 career victories and three straight championships put him among the top five drivers of all-time.

But in just seven years, Johnson has also cemented his status as one of the greatest ever.

He is one of just eight drivers to win three titles, joining Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Earnhardt, Waltrip and Gordon.

With three titles and 40 career victories, he is at least among the top 10 drivers of all time and headed toward an even greater standing.

At age 33, he could easily double his victory total and no doubt has more championships ahead of him. One more and he will tie Gordon, who is generally regarded as one of the top five of all time.

On the cusp of a record-tying third straight title, Johnson has already achieved greatness. The question now is, how high can he go?

Jeff Owens is a writer for NASCAR Scene, which is published weekly, 50 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information.