Jimmie Johnson wins record fourth consecutive Cup Series championship

 Jimmie Johnson finished fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday to win his record fourth consecutive Cup Series championship. Mark Martin once again could not attain the championship he has always coveted and had to settle for second. With the win, Johnson becomes only the fourth driver in history to win four championships joining Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who has four, and Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, who each have seven.

 Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have teamed with owner Rick Hendrick to form a dynasty in NASCAR. Johnson, only 34, just recently signed a five-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports that should keep him the guy to beat in NASCAR through the 2015 season.

 The Hendrick Motorsport team also made history today along with their driver Johnson. The 48 car’s fourth championship gave owner Rick Hendrick a record twelfth NASCAR championship. Not only did team Hendrick capture championship number twelve but they were also able to finish 1-2-3 in the final cup standings. Following Johnson and Martin was teammate Jeff Gordon while the other teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., continued to struggle again this year and finished a disappointing twenty-fifth in the final standings.

 Finishing second is nothing new for Mark Martin. With the runner-up finish, Martin becomes only the third driver in history to finish second five times joining Richard Petty (6) and Bobby Allison (5). This runner-up finish was much easier for the 50-year-old Martin to handle than the previous four, who commended himself and his team saying that it was just “such an incredible achievement to have a chance”.

 Jimmie Johnson did something today that has never been done before and may never be done again. This is a feat names like Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon, and Waltrip never came close to. Johnson, Knaus and the entire Lowe’s 48 team has accomplished something truly amazing and it should be fun watching this “dynasty” of NASCAR go for five in a row.

-scf