Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson ready to go four it at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Related stories: Jimmie Johnson snags pole for Ford 400 at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – When Jimmie Johnson claimed his second consecutive NASCAR Cup series championship in 2007, some observers doubted whether the Hendrick Motorsports driver could win three straight because the feat had only been accomplished once.
 
But that’s what Johnson did last season, joining the legendary Cale Yarborough to become only the second Cup driver to reel off three consecutive titles in NASCAR’s 60-year history. Now Johnson is poised to set a new record with an attempt at a fourth consecutive championship – and has gained an increasing level of respect in the Cup garage.
 
Yarborough won championships from 1976-1978, then finished fourth in the standings in 1979.

Thirty years later, Johnson is in position to do what Yarborough didn’t. He can capture his fourth title by finishing 25th or better in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, no matter where second-place points driver Mark Martin finishes. He can finish deeper in the field if Martin doesn’t lead the most laps and win the race.
 
No matter how much the law of averages might seem bound to eventually catch up with Johnson, the days of doubting the driver and his Chad Knaus-led team appear to be over.
 
On the way to carving out a place in NASCAR history as perhaps the greatest team of all time, the No. 48 group continues to garner the respect of top competitors.
 
“They’ve done a great job and as much as many people dislike the fact that he’s been so dominant, they deserve it,” says Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman. “They have earned it and that’s a part of the sport. I don’t know what it was like in the ‘70s when Cale Yarborough won three in a row but I assume it was probably the same way. People were tired of Cale Yarborough winning. That’s OK. That’s part of the sport.
 
“If and when Jimmie gets knocked off of his throne, then we’ll have something else to talk about, but ... he’s a deserving champion. I feel it makes me a better driver to race against him.”
 
As the 34-year-old nears another possible championship, he reflects on his rise from a relatively unknown driver in what was is now the Nationwide Series driver in 2000 and 2001 to the man who is now the envy of the Cup garage. Team co-owners Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon and sponsor Lowe’s took a gamble when they joined forces with the relatively unproven talent in 2002 but the gamble has clearly paid off.
 
 “We've done a lot of great things,” says Johnson, who has scored 47 victories since joining NASCAR’s top series. “It's hard to believe. In some ways it seems like the eight years have flown by; in other ways it seems longer. But it's been a very, very special eight years. I'm thankful that Lowe's took that chance with me years back.

“Rick and I tell a story about sitting at the table trying to ensure them that I was going to be able to win a race back in the day. To see where we are now as a team and a group is really special.”
 
Much of Johnson’s success can be traced to the ability of he and his team to step it up a notch in NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup. All of Johnson’s titles have come since the 10-race championship-determining format was adopted in 2004.
 
And this year, like in past years, Johnson’s group took their performance to the next level once the Chase commenced, winning four of nine races thus far and finishing outside the top 10 just once.

Johnson starts today’s race from the pole position.
 
“Jimmie turns it up every time he straps in, but I think that the guys build toward that,” says Martin, who trails Johnson by 108 points entering today’s event. “You know, they build through the season, they build toward having a faster race car. The easiest way to win these races is to have a faster race car than everybody else; that's the easiest way.
 
“There's a lot of other ways to do it, but the easiest way is just have a faster race car than everyone. And they do a good job of putting all the pieces together at one time, you know, once the 10 starts.”
 
Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards, who finished second to Johnson in 2008, is among those who admire the accomplishments of the defending three-time champion and his team.
 
“It’s really amazing,” Edwards says. “I wouldn’t have the respect for what the 48 team has done if I wasn’t going through this over the last four years and understanding how tough it is, so I don’t know if I can convey how amazing that is to me. I don’t know if it’s something mechanically on the cars – a way of doing things there – or if it’s a way of managing people.
 
“I don’t know where exactly their advantage lies. It could be both of those places, but I’d say that that’s the team you want to emulate and figure out what they’re doing, but I don’t know the answer. I don’t know what they’re doing, but whatever it is, it’s good.”
 
Will they be good enough to eventually join Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win seven Cup championships?
 
With championship No. 4, Johnson would join teammate Jeff Gordon with four titles. Only Petty and Earnhardt have more.
 
Could Johnson someday even eclipse seven? Five in a row at least seems within reach.

“I've always said, first you got to get to four before you talk about five, first you got to get to five before you talk about six,” says Gordon. “Obviously, the roll they're on, they're clicking them off here very quickly. So anything's possible.  
 
“You know, but this sport, nobody is [immune] to being able to be humbled by this sport. So I think anything is possible. But those guys are on a roll right now, and I don't really see it slowing down. I think they're very capable of doing it again next year.”