Hendrick congratulated Johnson not just for steering the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Phoenix, but also for reaching the threshold of an unprecedented fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup title.

Hendrick, who seemed happy just to tag along for the ride, paid Johnson a compliment of the highest order when he told his driver, “I’m glad we don’t have to race against you.’’

Which got us to wondering: What if Jimmie Johnson had never met Rick Hendrick? What if he didn’t drive for Hendrick Motorsports? Would he still reign as the sport’s dominant figure?

Maybe. Then again, maybe not, if Johnson had to compete against the sustained level of excellence Hendrick’s championship-driven team has produced over the last quarter-century.

Since 1995, the year Hendrick Motorsports won its first championship with Jeff Gordon, Hendrick has presided over 149 victories - 127 from Gordon, who has all but two of his 82 career wins during that span, and Johnson (47) - with his team averaging almost 10 wins a season. Hendrick Motorsports recorded a team-high 18 wins in 2007, including 10 by Johnson and six by Gordon.

One way or another, Hendrick is going to have his ninth NASCAR championship at the conclusion of Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He’ll be hoisting the Sprint Cup with either Johnson, who needs only to finish 25th or better to clinch the title, or 50-year-old Mark Martin, who enters the finale trailing Johnson by 108 points.

Gordon, the four-time champion, will be eliminated from contention the moment Johnson flips the ignition switch on his car and starts the race. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Gordon will finish third in the standings, giving Hendrick a 1-2-3 finish in the championship.

“I can tell you what I’m going to do already in Homestead,’’ Hendrick said after the win at Phoenix. “I’m going to go to the third-place guy [first], the second-place guy [next], then the champion.’’

It’s difficult to remain neutral when you’ve got the only two drivers left in contention for the championship, which was also the case in 2007 when Johnson beat Gordon by 77 points.

“I love ’em all,’’ said Hendrick, who scored something of a coup that season when he announced he had signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive for his team. “I want to settle it on the track.’’

There’s three things Hendrick always preaches when it comes to the success of his organization: teamwork, teamwork, and, oh yes, teamwork.

Everybody gets together after practice sessions and shares information, no matter if you’re racing your teammate for the championship. It’s all about Teamwork - capital T - at Hendrick Motorsports.

“I think the important thing in the organization,’’ he said, “is for everyone to believe that if we work together and share information and make each other better, at the end of the day, one’s going to outperform, somehow, the other three.’’

Everybody pulls their weight at Hendrick Motorsports, where you are expected to pull for your teammates, as well.

“All of us, everybody pulling the same way, has helped us get to this point where we are battling three cars against each other for the grand prize,’’ Hendrick said. “But I think all of them will say that’s what got us to the party.’’

And make no mistake, it’s going to be a Hendrick party at Homestead.

It will be the second time the respected and well-liked owner has won four in a row; Gordon (1995, ’97-98) and Terry Labonte (1996) combined for the first Hendrick four-peat.

But no one begrudges Hendrick his success because for all that he has won, he also suffered the most devastating of losses. His son, Joseph Riddick “Ricky’’ Hendrick IV, was among 10 people killed in a plane crash on Oct. 24, 2004, while flying to a NASCAR race at Martinsville, Va. Also on board were Hendrick’s brother, John, who was traveling with his daughters, Jennifer and Kimberly; Jeff Turner, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports; and Randy Dorton, the team’s engine director.

Ricky Hendrick, whose own racing career had been cut short by a wreck, looked to follow in his father’s footsteps as co-owner of two NASCAR teams. He had been engaged for six months to his girlfriend of four years, Emily Maynard, at the time of his death. Unbeknownst to him, Ricky was to become a father. The day after Rick and Linda Hendrick buried their son, Maynard learned she was pregnant, and went that night with her mother to visit with Ricky’s parents, uncertain how they would take the news.

“At the lowest time in our life, it was like a miracle that happened for us because we got a chance to have a piece of Ricky left,’’ said Hendrick, whose granddaughter, Josephine Riddick “Ricki’’ Hendrick, was born June 29, 2005. “When she told us, it was hard to even believe. It was like God had given us back something. We had lost so much.’’

Which should explain why Rick Hendrick is so appreciative of any race - or any championship - that is won in his name.

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.