Back on top with only two NASCAR greats left to catch, Jimmie Johnson won his sixth championship in eight years Sunday and staked his claim as one of the most dominant competitors in sports history.
Johnson, needing only to finish 23rd or better to spoil Matt Kenseth's career season, was on cruise control most of the day at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson had just one hiccup en route to his ninth-place finish, when a stack up on a restart caused Johnson and Kenseth to bang slightly, costing Johnson 15 spots.
Although the incident caused slight damage to the fender on the No. 48 Chevrolet, Johnson only dropped to 23rd in the field. A caution allowed him to head to pit road, where crew chief Chad Knaus methodically barked commands to repair the damage.
Johnson was soon off and running as if nothing had happened.
He claimed the championship by 19 points over Kenseth, now looming squarely in Johnson's windshield is the mark of seven titles held by Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.
''I have six, and we'll see if I can get seven,'' said Johnson, who has been asked repeatedly of late where he thinks he stands in NASCAR history.
''Time will tell. I think we need to save the argument until I hang up the helmet, then it's worth the argument. Let's wait until I hang up the helmet until we really start thinking about this.''
Kenseth, needing a Johnson collapse to have any shot at the title, positioned himself to pounce should anything go awry. He led a race-high 144 laps and finished second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
''It was just unbelievable year for us, obviously we wanted to win the championship as good as we ran all year,'' said Kenseth, who won seven races in his first season with JGR.
Kenseth's effort just wasn't enough against a Hendrick Motorsports team that wouldn't be denied for a third consecutive year.
''If Jimmie would have got a flat or something, that would have been all right,'' Kenseth lamented. ''Never seen anything like this in the sport and probably never will again. ... Maybe he'll retire.''
Johnson won a record five straight titles from 2006 through 2010, was mathematically eliminated before the 2011 finale, but was back in the title hunt last season. Only he had a tire failure in the penultimate race at Phoenix and then a mechanical failure in the finale to lose the championship to Brad Keselowski.
His two-year drought is over, and his crew was ready for the party on the South Beach.
''You better get a sip of that (water) bottle, it's the only healthy liquid you're going to get all night,'' Knaus radioed Johnson after he crossed the finish line.
Johnson planned to savor every moment of the celebration and his championship reign.
''This is extremely sweet. I feel like those five years were a blur. And things happen so fast,'' Johnson said. ''It's not that I didn't enjoy it or appreciate it or respect what happened. It just went by so fast it seems like. Now, I'm really going to slow things down here and enjoy it. This is so, so sweet.''
It was just as special for Hamlin, who bounced back from a fractured vertebra earlier this season that sidelined him for over a month. Hamlin hasn't been the same since, and Sunday's victory, his first of the year, extended his winning streak to eight seasons.
''Is the year over yet?'' a grinning Hamlin asked in Victory Lane. ''Man, I wanted to keep that streak alive.''
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