HOMESTEAD, Fla. --- Jimmie Johnson is on the threshold of winning a record fourth consecutive championship; car owner Rick Hendrick already is guaranteed his ninth title; and the two celebrated their continued domination by signing a contract extension through the 2013 season.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. --- Kyle Busch only needed the green flag to drop to win his first NASCAR title. His coronation was never in doubt and neither, really, was the outcome of the Nationwide Series finale.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. --- Jimmie Johnson is 108 points away from clinching a record fourth consecutive championship on Sunday. Car owner Rick Hendrick and sponsor Lowe's started the celebration Friday.

CATAWBA, N.C. --- Jeremy Mayfield sat in the back of his large barn Friday morning about 800 miles from where NASCAR's season-ending weekend was kicking off. Several hundred people surrounded him, listening intently as a fast-speaking auctioneer sold dozens of items.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. --- For Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, the mission at Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is simple. All three want to win the Sprint Cup Series championship.

Jamie McMurray has been hired to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson knows it will take a miracle for his driver, Mark Martin, to win the Chase for the Championship this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Like everything else in his racing and business life, Rick Hendrick already has a well-crafted plan for celebrating another Sprint Cup Series championship.

Brad Keselowski', NASCAR's newest hotshot driver is quickly racking up a long list of enemies who are trying to make his transition to the big leagues a rough one.

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jimmie Johnson's victory in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 epitomized his Chase for the Championship and a likely fourth consecutive championship.

AVONDALE, Ariz. --- Of all the second-place finishes in Mark Martin's career -- and there have been a bunch -- the prospect of being second again in this year's Chase for the Championship doesn't seem so bad.

AVONDALE, Ariz. --- Carl Edwards rolled to a dominating win at Phoenix International Speedway that temporarily staved off Kyle Busch 's bid to clinch the Nationwide Series title.

AVONDALE, Ariz. --- Mark Martin won't judge this season on whether he can catch teammate Jimmie Johnson for the Sprint Cup title.