Johnson races to 4th straight NASCAR title

updated 8:57 p.m. ET Nov. 22, 2009

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - All Jimmie Johnson ever wanted was a chance to race with the best in NASCAR. Maybe even win a race or two.

Never did he expect to be a champion.

Especially four times over.

Johnson bulldozed his way into the record books by becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive championships, finishing fifth in Sunday’s season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He joins Richard Petty (7), Dale Earnhardt (7) and teammate Jeff Gordon (4) as the only drivers to win more than three titles.

“To do something that’s never been done in the sport, and love the sport like I do and respect it like I do and the greats — Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon — to do something they have never done is so awesome,” Johnson said. “And to win four championships in eight years, what this team has done — this is unbelievable.”

Yes, it is.

Johnson stands atop NASCAR as a one-man dynasty, much like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Lance Armstrong in their sports.

Only Johnson hasn’t been feted under a blizzard of confetti by himself. His mighty Hendrick Motorsports team rules NASCAR the way UCLA once dominated the hardwood or Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls reigned supreme.

Johnson’s title gave a record 12th overall championship to team owner Rick Hendrick, who was in North Carolina with a niece who’s awaiting an emergency liver transplant. In his absence, the team took the top three spots in the final standings. Mark Martin wound up with his fifth runner-up finish in the standings, while Gordon was third.

“I feel really, really blessed to have had a chance,” Martin said.

There’s seemingly plenty of chances left for Johnson’s tag-team with crew chief Chad Knaus to keep the No. 48 in the title hunt for another decade.

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The 34-year-old Californian on Friday signed a five-year contract extension to drive for Hendrick through 2015, and Knaus has insisted the No. 48 team can keep this pace for the next several years.

“He’s not done yet,” teammate Martin said.

No, he is not.

Johnson never let up in pursuit of the championship, even though he needed only to finish 25th or better to get it Sunday. But he pushed for all 400 miles and even threatened to try to run down the leaders to better his eventual fifth-place finish.

“History, boys!” he shouted as he crossed the finish line. “How about some history!”

Upon leaving his car in Victory Lane, Johnson first thanked the fans, tears sparkling in his eyes.

“Man, it’s going to take a while to sink in,” he said.

It was a sometimes testy drive into history for Johnson, who was at times annoyed at rival drivers and even Gordon, the mentor and teammate who helped him land his job with Hendrick Motorsports.

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Nobody gave Johnson anything, either. The other drivers raced hard around him all day, making Johnson earn every point in a race won by Denny Hamlin, who established himself as a driver to watch in 2010 by winning a career-high four races this season.

Hamlin also managed to keep pace with Johnson at times but fell out of contention with three DNFs.

That won’t get it done against Johnson and Knaus, who won seven races this season and, as usual, turned it up a notch when the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship began.