Motor sports: Johnson wins 4th straight NASCAR championship

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 now 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.

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.