Jimmie Johnson claimed his fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup title with his second-place finish in Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus held up a message on a card for the TV cameras. It read, “Our team won.” Knaus called it “awesome” and a total “team effort.”
Unofficially, Johnson finished 39 points ahead of Denny Hamlin and 41 ahead of Kevin Harvick.
Carl Edwards did his celebratory back flip and also went into the stands to celebrate after winning the race. It was his second consecutive victory after a 70-race winless drought and enabled him to finish fourth in the point standings. USA Today
“Why didn’t you set the cars up like this before, Bob?” Edwards joked with crew chief Bob Osborne after the race. “That was the best performance down the straightaway I’ve had in a long time.”
The race for the championship was anything but perfection. And it wasn’t the high drama fans had anticipated from the closest Chase since the introduction of NASCAR’s playoff format in 2004.
An early spin on the part of Denny Hamlin, the Chase leader by 15 points entering the final race, ultimately proved decisive. A pit-road speeding penalty knocked Kevin Harvick (third in points) to the rear of the field just when he appeared ready to contend for the victory. Hamlin finished 14th; Harvick rallied to finish third. NASCAR.com
Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick took the champion all the way to the edge this season, waging the most serious threats yet to Johnson’s reign atop NASCAR. Only the outcome didn’t change, and Johnson maintained his ironclad hold on the Sprint Cup.
Johnson became the first driver in the seven-year history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship to overcome a points deficit in the season finale, finishing second Sunday to race winner Carl Edwards while winning his record fifth consecutive title.
He became only the third driver to overcome a points deficit in the season’s final race and win the championship since 1975. MiamiHerald.com
Johnson joins Formula One stalwart Michael Schumacher as a five-time consecutive champion in a major auto sports series. The dynasty label also fits Johnson’s team, Hendrick Motorsports, which has won 10 Cup titles in 16 years.
“Jimmie, you are a rock star, my friend,” Chad Knaus radioed after Johnson crossed the finished line 1.608 seconds behind Edwards. “You have proven it time and time again. And you damn did it [Sunday], my friend.”
“I felt like, as soon as we dropped the green, I thought we could win the race,” Hamlin said. “Our car was really fast at the beginning—I mean, just unbelievably fast at the beginning—and I knew we had a car that could contend for a win, and obviously when we got in that incident on the back straightaway, it tore up the front and knocked the toe out, and obviously the car did not drive as well for the rest of the day.
“We just tried to patch it and work on it the best we could, but it just wasn’t the car that it was at the beginning. It’s just part of racing.”
“I’m just beside myself,” Johnson said in Victory Lane. “Four was amazing. Now I have to figure out what the hell to say about winning five of these things, because everybody is going to want to know what it means. I don’t know. It is pretty damn awesome—I can tell you that.” NASCAR.com
“Somebody has got to win it, and I’m glad it was us,” team owner Rick Hendrick said, noting “this race was so up and down. It was like who’s going to screw up the most?”
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Ford 400 at Homestead - Race Results
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