Johnson captures 4th consecutive title

HOMESTEAD, Fla. --- One-by-one they came to pit road at Homestead-Miami Speedway, all to shake hands and offer hugs.

Of all the accolades awaiting Jimmie Johnson for winning his fourth consecutive championship Sunday night, the show of support from fellow drivers perhaps was the longest lasting.

Johnson has four championship trophies. He has money. He has a place in racing history.

And he has the unbridled respect of his peers.

"He's not done yet," Mark Martin said after making his stop to hug Johnson in Victory Lane. "What they did was incredible."

The fact Johnson won the Chase for the Championship wasn't a surprise. He needed to finish in the top 25 at the Ford 400 to clinch, and he wound up fifth.

His race Sunday mirrored the rest of the playoffs -- and the regular season. He ran hard when he needed to by leading the first nine laps. He stayed close to the front, running three- and four-wide at times to fight for position. He finished fifth without putting his championship hopes in danger to beat Martin by 141 points.

"History," Johnson yelled on his team radio after he crossed the finish line.

"I'm blown away by the things we've been able to accomplish in the last eight years. To love this sport like I do and respect the history like I do, to do something like this is extremely rewarding," he said later. "I have blown away all my goals. I just wanted to win a race when I got to Cup."

Martin tied Richard Petty and Bobby Allison as the only five-time series runner-up.

"I didn't leave anything out there. My race team dug as hard as they could," Martin said. "I don't have one of those trophies, so I don't know what it would mean to me. I don't know if it would mean anymore than what those fans have meant to me."

An hour after the race, Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, already was thinking about 2010 and the possibility of five in a row.

"We've got some big things coming. When you get on a wave like this, you want to ride it," he said.

Car owner Rick Hendrick wasn't at the track Sunday to celebrate his ninth Sprint Cup Series championship.

He was in North Carolina to be with his ailing niece, Alesha Gainey, who was to have an emergency liver transplant Sunday.

"A little bit of a dark cloud over it all because of the boss," Martin said. "He needed to be there." Chances are he will have another opportunity.

TITLE YEARS

In 2001, Jimmie Johnson finished 52nd in series points. Since then, he hasn't finished worse than fifth. His fifth-place finish at Miami-Homestead Speedway on Sunday made him the only driver to win four titles in a row. Here's a look at Johnson's run: