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Johnson became the second to win three consecutive Sprint Cup championships, wrapping up the first three-peat since Cale Yarborough’s (1976-78) with a 15th-place finish in Sunday’s Ford 400 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver pitted while running fifth with 15 laps remaining rather than risk running out of gas. He finished 69 points ahead of Carl Edwards, whose No. 99 Ford ran dry on fuel shortly after taking its series-high ninth victory this season.
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“We didn’t need to risk it,” said Johnson, who let loose with an exuberant celebration in his No. 48 Chevrolet.
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“We lost the war but we won this battle,” Edwards told his crew. “Second place in the championship isn’t what we came here for. But Jimmie is a great guy and he deserved to win.”
After doing his trademark victory backflip off his No. 99 Fusion for the final time this season following the Ford 400, Edwards was philosophical about the latest of his runner-up finishes.
“I’m sure glad we won today’s race because it will make it a little bit earlier to deal with the off-season and coming so close to that championship,” Edwards said. “We ran really well this season and it’s something I wanted to make sure my guys understood is they did their jobs.”
“We have given it our best and performed very well.”
Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer.
Gordon’s fourth-place finish culminated a winless season for the four-time series champion - the first since 1993 during his rookie campaign. Gordon had won at least two races every season after his first full year on the circuit.
“It’s the ultimate reward. We worked so hard to put ourselves in this position,” Johnson said. “It’s just total teamwork and dedication. There were times this year when things were dark, but we buckled down and got to work and that’s what it was really all about.”
UPDATE: November 17, 2008 12:44 am
Carl Edwards did everything he could, but Jimmie Johnson made sure Edwards’ best wasn’t good enough.
Edwards led the most laps and won Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway to score his series-best ninth victory of the season, but Johnson claimed the big prize—his record-tying third consecutive Cup Series title—with a 15th-place finish that gave him a 69-point advantage over Edwards in the final standings
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“We lost the war but we won this battle,” Edwards told his crew. “Second place in the championship isn’t what we came here for. But Jimmie is a great guy and he deserved to win.”
Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer.
Gordon’s fourth-place finish culminated a winless season for the four-time series champion - the first since 1993 during his rookie campaign. Gordon had won at least two races every season after his first full year on the circuit.
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE
1 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford
2 5 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
3 7 26 Jamie McMurray Ford
4 37 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
5 27 7 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet
6 18 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge
7 19 28 Travis Kvapil Ford
8 12 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet
9 13 20 Tony Stewart Toyota
10 10 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet
11 43 10 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge
12 15 21 Bill Elliott Ford
13 25 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota
14 39 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet
15 30 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
16 2 83 Scott Speed Toyota
17 11 42 Juan Montoya Dodge
18 23 16 Greg Biffle Ford
19 8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota
20 1 44 David Reutimann Toyota
21 29 12 Ryan Newman Dodge
22 33 22 Dave Blaney Toyota
23 31 25 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet
24 6 6 David Ragan Ford
25 3 17 Matt Kenseth Ford
26 14 7 Robby Gordon Dodge
27 34 38 David Gilliland Ford
28 24 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge
29 21 109 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet
30 36 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet
31 9 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge
32 20 84 Brian Vickers Toyota
33 35 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge
34 26 1 Regan Smith * Chevrolet
35 40 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet
36 16 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet
37 32 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet
38 42 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota
39 28 45 Chad McCumbee Dodge
40 17 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet
41 22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
42 41 347 Marcos Ambrose Toyota
43 38 2 Kurt Busch Dodge
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