Homestead, Fla. – Some tenuous early moments and nervous final laps Sunday heightened Jimmie Johnson’s exhilarating championship celebration.
“I’m really looking forward to getting a cold beverage,” Johnson said while recalling his nerve-wracking day.
Johnson, who needed to finish in the top 12 in the NASCAR season finale to clinch the Nextel Cup title, overcame three near-disasters to finish ninth at Homestead-Miami Speedway and capture the 57th Cup crown.
“At times we were down and out, and in the back, and had to come back through,” Johnson said. “I knew we’d be able to do things right, but you just can’t control the outside variables, and today I was running through three or four wrecks and had a piece of debris go through the race car. Luckily, we (overcame) all those problems.”
Greg Biffle won the finale for the third consecutive year, followed by rookies Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin entered the race as one of five championship-eligible drivers, along with Kevin Harvick, who finished fifth, Matt Kenseth, who finished sixth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 19th.
Hamlin, Harvick and Kenseth could have overtaken Johnson in the standings if one of the champion’s close calls had done him in.
Johnson’s wild ride began on lap 16, when a broken spring from Kurt Busch’s car punctured a hole in the nose of Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet. The aero- dynamic and cooling-system repair sent Johnson, who was running in the top 10, to 40th.
Johnson’s next problem came in the pits on lap 115, when a loose lug nut cost him seven positions, sending him back to 16th. Crew chief Chad Knaus spotted the problem just as Johnson was given clearance to peel out of his stall. Knaus likely prevented Johnson from needing to make another pit stop to tighten the nut.
Johnson’s worst fear nearly materialized on lap 190, when he barely got past a spinning Robby Gordon off turn four. Getting caught up in Gordon’s accident could have eliminated Johnson or made his car uncompetitive.
Instead, Johnson continued to run in the top 15, a position he had fought hard to achieve. Because he led a lap early to gain five series bonus points, Johnson needed to finish only 13th to win the title. He was running in the top 10 for the final two restarts.
Johnson capped his championship season with a remarkable finish in the Chase. After beginning the playoffs with four results outside the top 10, he finished in the top 10 in his final six races, including a victory and four second-places.
“It’s going to take a little bit for it to sink in, but to just think about what this team has accomplished, the year we’ve had, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted to be, a champion,” Johnson said.
Johnson is the seventh driver to win the championship in the past eight years. Only Tony Stewart (2002 and 2005) has won more than once during that span.
Johnson finished second in the points in 2003 and 2004 and has not ended worse than fifth in his five full seasons.
Meanwhile, Biffle’s victory gave Roush Racing a sweep in NASCAR’s three season-ending events. Mark Martin won Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series race and Kenseth visited Victory Lane in Saturday’s Busch Series.
“We were constantly changing things on the race car,” Biffle said of his team’s Cup performance. “Wedge in, wedge out, raise the tires, lower the tires – we were trying everything, so it was a lot to win this race, and it wasn’t handed to us.”
Biffle added that he drove the same car he won with at Homestead the past two years.
“I’m pretty excited to come down here,” he said. “I love this place.”
Staff writer Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
