updated 7:58 p.m. ET Nov. 18, 2007

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Jeff Gordon knew his fate a week ago. Sure enough, he wasn’t wrong.

He came into the season-ending Ford 400 essentially needing a miracle Sunday to overtake teammate Jimmie Johnson for the Nextel Cup title, and one simply wasn’t forthcoming.

So Gordon settled for second, 77 points shy of a fifth championship.

“It just wasn’t meant to be this year,” Gordon said.

Forget that he topped the NASCAR standings in top-10 finishes by a wide margin, won more poles than anyone else, had more lead-lap finishes than anyone on the circuit, the best average place finish and had a mammoth points lead after the regular season — leading the standings for 21 straight races along the way.

The Chase is what counts.

And when the stakes were highest, Gordon was second-best.

“It’s a bittersweet thing for me,” said Gordon, who finished fourth Sunday, three spots ahead of Johnson — who entered with an 86-point edge. “We had one of the most awesome years that we’ve ever had, the top-fives, the top-10s. What more can you do than what we did? And yet we got beat.”

Gordon was disappointed, for certain.

But not bitter.

He drove alongside Johnson after the checkered flag dropped, paying homage. Gordon was once the sport’s dominant driver. Not anymore — that torch has now been officially passed.

“I’m very proud and excited for Jimmie,” said Gordon, who helped bring Johnson to Hendrick Motorsports and is the owner of Johnson’s No. 48 car.

The toughest part for Gordon to handle this offseason may be that he never really faltered during The Chase, yet still fell short.

His worst finish in the season-ending title run was 11th at Dover in the Dodge Dealers 400 — a day when he was still good enough to climb back into the Chase points lead.

No, Gordon didn’t blow this one.

Johnson just went out and took it.

“He’s having a run in the modern era that’s maybe unmatched,” NASCAR chairman Brian France said.

Johnson’s Chase showing overshadowed a simply outstanding year by Gordon and his team.

With 30 top-10 finishes — and an eyepopping average place of 5.1 in the Chase — Gordon would have run away with the championship under NASCAR’s old scoring system.

“We just put together one heck of a total year,” Gordon said. “I love the Chase. I love what it’s all about. ... But man, when I look at the whole year, it’s a little tough.”

Johnson won four straight races on the way to Homestead — matching a feat last done by Gordon nine years ago. And last week, when Johnson put a stranglehold on his second straight title by winning in Phoenix, Gordon entertained Victory Lane by waving a white flag of surrender and bowing at his teammate’s feet.

It wasn’t just show.

It was over.

“It wasn’t about tonight,” Gordon said. “If we performed the last four weeks like we did tonight, it might be a different outcome. When those guys stepped up and got themselves in a position to win races, we just didn’t have the car, didn’t have the whole combination together at the right time.”

Chase for the Cup final standings Driver Points Behind 1. Jimmie Johnson 6,723 -- 2. Jeff Gordon 6,646 77 3. Clint Bowyer 6,377 346 4. Matt Kenseth 6,298 425 5. Kyle Busch 6,293 430 6. Tony Stewart 6,242 481 7. Kurt Busch 6,231 492 7. Jeff Burton 6,231 492 9. Carl Edwards 6,222 501 10. Kevin Harvick 6,199 524 11. Martin Truex Jr. 6,164 559 12. Denny Hamlin 6,143 580 Standings final as of Nov. 18

With four wins next year, Gordon would pass three NASCAR stars — Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough — to move into third place on the victory list, behind only Richard Petty and David Pearson.

And while Gordon’s consistency cannot be questioned — he has been sixth or better in the final standings 11 of the last 13 years — his naysayers are quick to point out that the No. 24 car has just one title since 1998.

A word to the wise: Finishing second seems to inspire Gordon.

The last, and only other, time Gordon was second in the final standings was 1996. He recovered from that nicely, winning the next two NASCAR championships.

Gordon said in the days leading up to the Ford 400 that he believes he has more titles left to win, and very few would argue that point. But Gordon knows another trophy is contingent on one thing — finding a way to overtake Johnson’s stranglehold on the sport.

“I’m not getting any younger and I put up about as a good number as I know how to put up and it wasn’t enough,” Gordon said. “That’s tough to handle.”

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