Johnsonverse World History/Sports

== Motorsports ==
=== IROC ===
IROC was purchased by Johnson in 1976. Here is a list of changes that resulted:
* The series did not become what was essentially a NASCAR exhibition series; instead, drivers from other racing disciplines were invited as well, and the schedule uses other track types.
* IROC did not collapse in 2007.
* Crown Royal still provided title sponsorship from 2004 to 2007; since 2008, Camping World has filled this role.
* Cars are still painted in a specific color, rather than white with colored trim. Also, numbers are still determined by drivers' finishing order, as in the pre-2004 era.
* Because IROC still exists, the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) does not exist.
=== NASCAR ===
NASCAR was acquired by Johnson in 1987, seeing major changes as a result.
* After Bill France Jr. retired as CEO in 2003, Sheldon Johnson Jr., instead of Brian France, succeeded him; Brian was also fired as executive vice president. Tim Johnson succeeded his father as CEO in September 2009.
* Winston continued as the Cup Series' title sponsor until the end of 1995 instead of 2003; it ended earlier due to Johnson's strong anti-smoking stance. RCA became the Cup Series' title sponsor in 1996 (after an intense bidding war with Coca-Cola) and remains so to this day; the Winston was renamed to the RCA All-Star Challenge followed by a Roman numeral for the year's event, and the Winston Open was renamed to the RCA Open.
*The 2017 logo's stripes are different; there is one yellow stripe, one red stripe, one purple stripe (which is twice as wide as the yellow and red stripes), and one blue stripe (which is twice as wide as the purple stripe). The wordmark is unchanged from OTL.
*The RCA Cup Series trophy has been called the Bill France Cup since 1996; it is essentially OTL's 2017-present championship trophy, though with a 24-karat gold overlay, a section for an illustration of the champion, their car, team logo, and signature, and fully accurate track layouts; the 2020 championship trophy is silver to commemorate RCA's 25th season as title sponsor. A larger version with the names and likenesses of every champion since 1949 into perpetuity (as well as a lid with a #1 Plymouth Superbird with NASCAR logos topping it) is permanently housed at the NASCAR Hall of Fame (formerly Daytona USA until 2010), being brought out during the championship race at Ontario Motor Speedway. The 1999 Busch Series trophy design continued being used until 2015, when OTL's Xfinity Series design was introduced, and the Craftsman Truck Series trophy has been used since 2003 as IOTL. The 2004-16 championship trophy from OTL was instead used for San Jose Motorplex.
* The Daytona 500 has had a ring ceremony since 1998. Its logo continues to change every year rather than only minor alterations being made, and the following year's logo is still unveiled at the Champion's Celebration and Lunch along with the date.
* Busch still sponsors the second-tier series, and Craftsman still sponsors the Truck Series.
* The Convertible Series was brought back in 1995 with title sponsorship from Arby's.
* An SUV division was formed in 2005, sponsored by Howard Johnson's.
* Anheuser-Busch also still sponsored the Pole Award instead of Molson Coors in the 2008-2017 period; the Budweiser brand was used during that time (except in the Busch Series), and the 2006-2007 Budweiser Pole Award decal was used until the end of 2011; a new decal was introduced in the 2012 and 2017 seasons, and Busch was brought back as the Pole Award brand for the Cup and Truck Series in 2018; in the Busch Series, the 2004 Busch Pole Award decal was used until the 2014 season, when a new decal was introduced; the current Busch Pole Award decal was introduced in 2017. Also, the Pole Award decal is still used on race cars (as contingency decals weren't phased out ITTL), with regular and Pole Award Winner (for drivers starting on the pole) variants, and a generic Anheuser-Busch Pole decal for drivers under 21.
* 76 remains as NASCAR's official fuel instead of Sunoco.
* Hoosier and Firestone supply tires along with Goodyear.
* The Chase/Playoffs format was never adopted in 2004, and the 1975 Bob Latford system is still in use, though each win awards 200 points in most races to lessen chances of drivers clinching the championship before the end of the season; 50 extra points are awarded for winning Crown Jewel races (the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, Southern 500, and the Bass Pro Shops Night Race). Other unpopular changes such as the green-white-checkered rule (or overtime), double-yellow line, charter system, damaged vehicle policy, and stage racing were never conceived or implemented.
* The cars' generations are different; the Generation-4 car (used from 1990 to 2013) is more accurate to the street models, and the Strictly Stock Car was introduced in 2014, with the Strictly Stock Car II succeeding it in 2022.
* For 2022, the number placement remains on the door area rather than being moved.
* The schedule is very different. For one, Ontario Motor Speedway has hosted the season finale since 1988, and NASCAR never abandoned traditional venues such as North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, or Nashville Fairgrounds, and the Cup Series has also had races at Nazareth, Milwaukee, Pikes Peak, and Iowa.
* Many daytime races still start at noon. This also applies to USAC.
* NASCAR in general never suffered a decline throughout the late 2000s and 2010s; the racing is much better, and major sponsors such as Home Depot, Dollar General, 5-Hour Energy, Target, Lowe's, Pepsi, Camping World, and Mars (among others) are still actively involved in the sport. Alternate paint schemes are mainly reserved for night races and the RCA All-Star Challenge as well.
* The quality of the broadcasts never declined, either:
** Since 1988, WBC (which adopted a two-booth system), ESPN, and (from 1991 on) TNN have broadcast events regularly (aside from any events that neither WBC, TNN, or ESPN are available for; Speed generally broadcasts those events), rather than Fox/FX and NBC/TNT from 2001-06, Fox/Speed/FS1, ESPN/ABC, and TNT from 2007-14, Fox/FS1 and NBC/NBCSN/USA from 2015-24, and Fox/FS1, TNT, Prime Video, and NBC/USA from 2025-31; as an aside, CBS pulls out of broadcasting events after 1978 ITTL (with WBC taking their events) and WBC's 1995-present theme is the same as OTL's 1998-2000 NASCAR on CBS theme; broadcasts from 1979 to 1987 used "Indy Style" (the theme used in WBC's USAC coverage), and 1988-1995 broadcasts used OTL's 1989-1990 Daytona 500 theme.
** WBC's main booth (booth A) consists of Mike Joy as the lead announcer, and Larry McReynolds and Jamie McMurray as analysts. Booth B consists of Allen Bestwick, Andy Petree, and Dale Jarrett. TNN's booth consists of Eli Gold (with Rick Benjamin as a fill-in), Kurt Busch (who replaced Neil Bonnett after 2023), and Steve Letarte (who replaced Buddy Baker in 2015), and ESPN's booth consists of Wendy Venturini (who replaced Bob Jenkins in 2021), Phil Parsons, and Jeff Hammond. Bill Weber (who isn't nearly as egotistical ITTL) is the studio host for WBC events (except the Daytona 500, which is hosted by the anchor for WBC World News (Don George from 1988 to 1995, Tom Stephenson from 1996 to 2023, and Ally Tyson since 2024), while ESPN events are hosted by Jerry Punch, and Kelly Burns (a fictional analyst who succeeded Glenn Jarrett in 2019) hosts TNN events.
** All live coverage during practice, qualifying and the race are dong trackside with a stage in the infield and a crowd in the background.
** The full starting lineup is still read, with storylines and backstories given out as well as hometowns. The drivers' names, teams, primary sponsors, qualifying speeds, manufacturers, and hometowns are shown on-screen in addition to footage of the drivers and CGI graphics of their cars.
** Post-race shows are still present.
** Post-race interviews for winners are still done at victory lane instead of the frontstretch. Also, the top five are all interviewed, along with the winner's car owners.
** Booth announcers have input into what is onscreen.
** Each NASCAR and USAC race uses minimal commercials, only showing them during cautions.
** On-board shots or single-car shots aren't nearly as frequent, with backward shots only used for replays of wrecks. On-board shots also aren't used during restarts, only being seen when trying to get info about a specific car or explaining how they run.
** NASCAR RaceDay, NASCAR Race Hub, NASCAR Trackside, and NASCAR Victory Lane all air on WBC, ESPN or TNN (depending on the race). Also, RaceDay and Victory Lane are still shot at the track rather than a virtual studio.
** The 2017-present vertical ticker style is based on this mock-up, rather than Fox or NBC's designs from OTL, though the drivers' names are only spelled with three letters similar to Formula 1 (with the ticker taking up significantly less space as a result) and the graphic showing the race name is bigger. This also applies to USAC broadcasts.
** The camera angles are much better and follow the action when and where it happens, as well as being more zoomed-out. They also focus on other cars when there is a wide gap from the leader and show the top ten crossing the finish line at the end of races.
** The idea of commentators announcing from a studio instead of the track wasn't conceived, nor was the idea of side-by-sides with few laps remaining.
** Constant screen battles, lay of the track, replays of missed accidents, rundowns focusing on one driver at a time and providing updates on their race before moving to the next driver, going through the full field periodically, tech segments, human interest segments, up-close and personal interviews with drivers, owners, crew chiefs, and crew members (including after wrecks or mechanical problems), cutaway cars. and crowd noise for key moments are used. Mistakes such as showing fans instead of on-track action don't happen.
** Data such as interval time between positions, sector times around the track, tire degradation and track evolution data, total time on pit road, in lap and out lap time, zero to pit road speed limit times, and amounts for remaining sets of tires are touched on as well, with NASCAR also having a much more featured timing and scoring app.
** Significant practice and qualifying coverage is still broadcast, giving each race a "weekend" feeling.
** Physical cutaway cars are still used with a former crew chief explaining facts about the car.
** Qualifying trackers weren't adopted.
** Points standings are reported after each race.
** Bill Weber and Dave Despain were used in the South Park episode "Poor & Stupid" (rather than Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond), while Joy, McReynolds and Waltrip appear in the Talladega race scene in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby as well as in the Coca-Cola 600 scene; the Dickies 500 scene uses Bestwick, Petree, and Parsons.
** The NASCAR Awards and NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony are broadcast on WBC.
* NASCAR Hot Pass is still active, though on PrimeStar and the NASCAR app instead of DirecTV.
* Confederate flag display was banned in 1998 instead of 2020.
* Ticket prices are much cheaper.
* Johnson has published the Dale Earnhardt NASCAR games since 1983, with Papyrus being the series' developer beginning in 2004; since then, Johnson has had exclusive rights to NASCAR games, meaning none of the later games from OTL exist (their main menu soundtracks are still used, though the rock remix of "Thunder" is always the first theme played; as an aside, Earnhardt is absent from EA Sports and Infogrames' games due to endorsing Johnson's games, the graphics and UI from the 2011 installment onwards is mostly the same as OTL's games for their respective years, and iRacing still exists, though its basis is updated as the Dale Earnhardt NASCAR series' engine changes). Also, features introduced such as the Team Communicator still exist to this day, and Johnson released Ultimate NASCAR in 2015.
** As Earnhardt endorsed Johnson's NASCAR games, he did not appear on EA Sports, Papyrus (pre-2004) or Hasbro Interactive/Infogrames' games.
** Due to the 704Games NASCAR Heat series not existing ITTL, the eNASCAR Heat Pro Series is instead called the Dale Earnhardt eNASCAR Pro Series.
* The Winston Million is still held every year to this day as the RCA Million (the races being the Daytona 500, the spring Talladega race, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and Southern 500) with a $5 million prize, and the No Bull 5 never existed. The Unocal 76 Challenge (renamed the 76 Challenge in 2005) was not retired. Additionally, a bracket challenge sponsored by Camping World was introduced in the 2013 season, taking the top 32 cars in points and having them in virtual one-on-one single elimination races over five races in the summer, with the winner receiving a $100,000 prize.
* More money is attached to race purses than overall points standings. 
* NASCAR has done much more to market its drivers. Also, it doesn't use incidents in promotions if drivers are suspended for them.
* All full races uploaded on YouTube run from the beginning of the broadcast to the end.
* Cup drivers are restricted to a maximum of five events in lower series since 2001.
* The rules have some differences:
** TBA
** Deliberately ramming drivers on pit road nets a two-race suspension.
** Rookie of the Year eligibility is still limited to seven races.
* The track packages didn't suffer, and horsepower is still at 800 mph.
* All political paint schemes were banned, including paint schemes promoting politically-aligned organizations such as Liberty University, He Gets Us, and News Nation.
* A Netflix series similar to Formula 1: Drive to Survive (a behind-the-scenes look at drivers and teams alike) called NASCAR: Chase for the Cup (not to be confused with OTL's NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup or OTL's Chase/Playoffs format) was released in 2022.
* The 2023 Rose Parade float is somewhat different; the #24 logo on Jeff Gordon's car is accurate, and modern drivers Tony Stewart, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain are represented on the float as well.
* The Busch Clash is held at the Irwindale Event Center from 2022 on instead of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; its format remains at 25 laps and only pole winners from the previous season are still eligible as well. Irwindale also received renovations to hold the event.
* Since 1996, the RCA All-Star Challenge is held at different racetracks each year rather than Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race uses drivers from all national leagues racing Cup cars, the format involves three mixed heat races in the Open, with the top six in each heat and a fan vote winner from each series competing in the main event, it still uses gimmicks such as field inversions and elimination cautions, and the fan vote winner is still announced in the driver introductions rather than at the end of the Open.
File:NASCAR 70th anniversary logo.png|Logo for NASCAR's 70th anniversary
File:NASCAR_75th_Anniversary_new.png|Logo for NASCAR's 75th anniversary
NASCAR75post.png|75th anniversary promotional poster
File:NCCCS1998.png|1996-2007 NASCAR RCA Cup Series logo
File:NASCAR Coca-Cola Cup Series 2008.png|2008-2016 NASCAR RCA Cup Series logo
File:DEN_NASCAR_National_Series.png|1998-2007 NASCAR Busch Series "censored" logo
File:Busch Series logo 2008.png|2008-2013 NASCAR Busch Series logo
File:Busch Series logo 2008 censored.png|2008-2013 NASCAR Busch Series "censored" logo
File:Busch Series 2014 logo.png|2014-2016 NASCAR Busch Series logo
File:Busch Series 2014 censored logo.png|2014-2016 NASCAR Busch Series "censored" logo
File:Busch Series 2017 censored logo.png|2017-present NASCAR Busch Series "censored" logo
File:Craftsman Truck Series logo 2009.png|2009-2016 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series logo
File:Coke Cup trophy.png|NASCAR RCA Cup Series championship trophy since 2017
File:Bud_pole_winner_Winner_new.png|2006-2011 Budweiser Pole Award Winner decal
File:Bud_pole_2012.png|2012-2016 Budweiser Pole Award decal
File:Bud_pole_winner_2012.png|2012-2016 Budweiser Pole Award Winner decal
File:Bud_Pole_2017.png|2017 Budweiser Pole Award decal
File:Bud Pole Award Winner decal new.png|2017 Budweiser Pole Award Winner decal
File:Busch_Pole_Winner_07.png|2006-2013 Busch Pole Award Winner decal
File:Busch_Pole_Award_2014.png|2014-2016 Busch Pole Award decal
File:Busch_Pole_Award_Winner_2015.png|2014-2016 Busch Pole Award Winner decal
File:Busch Pole Award round.png|2017-present Busch Pole Award decal
File:Busch Pole Award Winner decal.png|2017-present Busch Pole Award Winner decal
File:Anheuser_Busch_Pole_Award_2012.png|2006-2016 Anheuser-Busch Pole Award decal
File:Anheuser_Busch_Pole_Award_Winner_2012.png|2006-2016 Anheuser-Busch Pole Award Winner decal
File:Anheuser_Busch_Pole_Award_2017.png|2017-2022 Anheuser-Busch Pole Award decal
File:Anheuser_Busch_Pole_Award_Winner_2017.png|2017-2022 Anheuser-Busch Pole Award Winner decal
File:Anheuser_Busch_Pole_Award_2022.png|2023-present Anheuser-Busch Pole Award decal
File:Anheuser_Busch_Pole_Award_Winner_2022.png|2023-present Anheuser-Busch Pole Award Winner decal
File:NASCAR Coca-Cola All-Star Challenge 2017 generic.png|2017-present RCA All-Star Challenge generic logo
File:NASCAR Championship Weekend logo.png|2020-present NASCAR Championship Weekend logo
File:76 Rookie Contender.png|2017-present 76 Rookie Contender logo
File:Dale Earnhardt eNASCAR Pro League logo.png|Dale Earnhardt eNASCAR Pro League logo
=== USAC ===
USAC was purchased by Johnson in 1979.
* The USAC National Championship Trail received title sponsorship from Marlboro in 1981, renaming it to the Marlboro Indy Car World Series. In 1984, it became the Marlboro Gold Crown Series, and the Mini-Indy Series and National Dirt Car Championship were renamed to the Silver Crown Series (with sponsorship from PPG) and Bronze Crown Series (with sponsorship from Lowe's from 1984 to 1995, and FedEx since 1996), respectively. In 1998, it became the Gold Crown Series presented by NTT.
* International events were first held in 1984.
* A simplified logo was introduced in the 1988 season.
* All events are broadcast on either WBC, ABC (after Johnson acquired Disney in 2013) ESPN, or TNN. The 1999-2018 IndyCar on ABC/ESPN theme was introduced by WBC in 1999 as a reorchestrated version of an earlier theme used since 1979. WBC's events are currently called by Leigh Diffey, Wally Dallenbach, and James Hinchcliffe for Booth A and Rick Benjamin, Parker Johnstone, and Steve Matchett for Booth B; ESPN's events are handled by Marty Reid (who isn't overworked ITTL) and Scott Goodyear, while Bob Varsha, Tommy Kendall, and Danny Sullivan commentate TNN's events.
* The Indianapolis 500 still changes its logo every year instead of using a template beginning in 2019. Also, the full name is used for all 2016-present Indianapolis 500 logos rather than the Indy 500 name.
* USAC has much more variety in engines and chassis.
* Since 1979, the Astor Cup is the USAC Gold Crown Series' championship trophy, presented at the final race of the season; smaller replicas of the Astor Cup are awarded to Gold Crown Series driver and owner champions. The Vanderbilt Cup was later repurposed as the trophy for the U.S. 500 event (which IOTL was held at Michigan International Speedway) at San Jose Motorplex, which is traditionally held on the 4th of July weekend.
File:USAC_50_Years.png|USAC 50th anniversary logo (2005)
File:USAC_60_Years_logo.png|USAC 60th anniversary logo (2015)
File:2019 Indy 500 logo.png|2019 Indianapolis 500 logo
File:2020 Indy 500 logo.png|2020 Indianapolis 500 logo
File:105th Indy 500 logo.png|2021 Indianapolis 500 logo
File:2022 Indy 500 logo.png|2022 Indianapolis 500 logo
File:2023_indy_500_logo.png|2023 Indianapolis 500 logo
=== Motorsports in the Olympics ===
Motorsports was introduced at the 2020 Summer Olympics (delayed to 2021 by COVID-19). There are seven categories for Motorsports:
* GT
* Open-Wheel
* Stock
* Drag
* Road Motorcycle
* Motocross
* Rally
Three tracks hosted events: Fuji Speedway hosted GT and Drag, Suzuka Circuit hosted Open-Wheel and Road Motorcycle, Tokyo Stadium hosted Motocross, Rally was held on a series of backroads, and Tokyo Superspeedway hosted Stock.
GT ran under FIA World Endurance Championship rules and used a single prototype body, Open-Wheel used Formula One rules and ran using the Dallara IR21 chassis, Stock ran under NASCAR rules and used the current IROC spec, Drag ran under NHRA rules and used identical Funny Cars, Road Motorcycle ran under Moto GP rules, Motocross under AMA Supercross rules, and Rally under World Rally Championship rules.
== Professional Sports in Japan ==
=== American Football ===
All OTL X League X1 Super and Area teams are NFL teams. No Japanese States football team has ever won the Super Bowl. Speaking of the NFL, it has a developmental league known as NFL2 ITTL, which was created in 1984 when NFL executives performed hostile takeovers of both CFL and USFL. NFL2 contains all OTL CFL teams; some surviving versions of CFL US, USFL, UFL, and NFL Europa teams; and the OTL X League X2 and X3 teams.
=== Baseball ===
All OTL Nippon Professional Baseball teams are Major League Baseball teams. All Central League teams are National League, and likewise all Pacific League teams are American League.
Many teams have different names:
* Hanshin Tigers are Nishinomiya Farmers
* Yokohama DeNA BayStars are still the Taiyo Whales
* Yomiuri Giants and Bunkyo Scholars
Teams frequently play road games on the Mainland United States, and vice-versa. No Japanese States team has ever won the World Series, though quite a few have made World Series appearances.
=== Basketball ===
Likewise, all B.League are NBA teams. Teams are split into the North and South Conferences, each with three leagues: East, Central, and West (the OTL Third Division teams are NBA G League teams). Like in the MLB, no Japanese States basketball team has ever won the NBA Championship.
=== Ice Hockey ===
All OTL Asia League teams are part of the NHL, expect for the Sakhalin team, which is part of KHL. No Japanese States hockey team has ever won the Stanley Cup.
=== Motorsports ===
The Formula Nippon Series went defunct during the 2007 season due to sponsors abandoning that series in favor of NASCAR and USAC. Many of its drivers and teams moved on to the USAC Gold Crown Series.
=== Soccer/Association Football ===
All OTL J.League J1 teams are MLS teams; all OTL J2 teams are USL League One teams; and all OTL J3 teams are USL League Two teams. No Japanese States soccer team has ever won the MLS Cup.
== Professional Sport Teams Owned by Johnson ==
===San Jose Sharks===
Category:Johnsonverse