A Sunday drive gets him there

Johnson wins third straight Cup crown

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Jimmie Johnson arrived in South Florida a lock to win his third consecutive NASCAR title, but the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet did not want to let his mind race.

After winning at Phoenix last Sunday, giving him a 141-point lead over Carl Edwards with one race to go in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, Johnson seemed to have an insurmountable lead. It enabled him to cruise through the weekend's festivities with a certain confidence.

He and his wife, Chandra, attended a South Beach charity event Tuesday night hosted by Juan Pablo Montoya. The next day Johnson went for a long run on the beach. Later that evening, he and his wife enjoyed a stone crab dinner at Joe's, where he ran into 1999 NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett and exchanged pleasantries with the now retired driver, then headed to a Black Crowes concert.

Thursday brought a commercial shoot and a news conference with Edwards, and questions about his nerves, about his bid to become the first driver since Cale Yarborough (1976-78) to win three consecutive NASCAR championships, and about his place in history.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus went to work Friday on the car and qualified a disappointing 30th, but never let it rattle them.

When the main event finally finished at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson indeed hoisted the gleaming Sprint Cup trophy for a third time in a row after enjoying what amounted to a leisurely Sunday drive yesterday in the Ford 400.

"How's it feel to make history, boys?" a jubilant Johnson radioed to his Hendrick Motorsports crew after he finished 15th to Edwards, who scored a maximum 195 points but ran out of gas at the finish line in winning his series-leading ninth race of the season. He finished second to Johnson in the championship by 69 points.

"What a special year," said Johnson, who struggled at the start of the season and spent four of the first five weeks outside the top 12 in points. "I'm so proud of this race team. We got off to a slow start and we really worked hard to get back in championship form.

"It was an awful special year in a lot of ways and I can't believe we are a part of history."

Knaus became the first crew chief in NASCAR history to win three in a row.

"It's not been about just the last three years if you look at it," said Knaus, whose calm manner over the radio had a soothing effect on his driver and helped Johnson navigate a minefield of backmarkers when a two-tire pit call vaulted him from 17th to the lead with 64 laps to go.

"You know the 48 team has been together since 2002," Knaus said. "And I think that has been what has helped us. We've learned each other's faces, and learned each other's emotions, and how to handle each other and everybody has raised each other's level so high that it's a great experience."

Johnson and Knaus were motivated not only by their desire to deliver owner Rick Hendrick his eighth NASCAR title, but also by the specter of losing it to Edwards and Roush Fenway, who wound up winning three of the last four races.

"I want to commend Carl Edwards and the effort he put forth," Johnson said. "Those guys put a lot of pressure on us this year and they're going to be a championship threat for years to come."

That was what consoled Edwards after he won Saturday's Nationwide Series finale, the Ford 300, but finished runner-up to series champion Clint Bowyer by 21 points, then won yesterday's Sprint Cup finale.

"I'm glad that we won the race so that we can go into the offseason knowing that we won more races than anyone else in this series," Edwards said. "I think that's a big accomplishment, especially considering how well Jimmie and Kyle [Busch, an eight-race winner] ran all season. So that feels good. And knowing how well we ran it gives me a lot of confidence for next season."

Next season, Edwards likely will be a large obstacle to Johnson's bid for four in a row.

"Yeah, we want four, why not?" Knaus said, defiantly. "That's why we're here. With the team we got, we definitely feel like we can bid for four in a row. To get four championships in a row, you have to get three."

"I can start the season and go for four," Johnson said.

"We'll need some time to recharge, but it's definitely on our minds."