HAMPTON, Ga. — Carl Edwards did his seventh celebratory backflip of the season and headed to Victory Lane confident he had closed in on Jimmie Johnson’s bumper in the race for the Sprint Cup title.
As the champagne flowed, his spirits were dashed.
Even with his win Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Edwards didn’t dent Johnson’s lead in the championship standings.
With a masterful final drive to the checkered flag, Johnson, the two-time defending champion, rallied from a rare penalty to finish second and stretch his points lead to 183 points over Edwards with three races remaining in the Chase for the championship.
How’s that? Well, Greg Biffle was the previous runner-up to Johnson, 185 points behind. Edwards previously was in fourth place.
“Are you kidding me?” a deflated Edwards asked when told Johnson had finished second. “You’ve rained on my parade. I could have done without that one. That’s unbelievable. He does a great job.”
And that’s a championship-winning job.
It’s mathematically possible Johnson could clinch his third title next Sunday in Texas. If he leaves there up 323 points over the competition, Johnson would need only to start the final two races to become the first driver since Cale Yarborough (1976-78) to win three consecutive championships.
“I’m just as shocked as (Edwards) is,” Johnson said. “I thought we would finish probably ninth or 10th today. I thought I was in big trouble.”
So did everyone else.
NASCAR flagged Johnson for speeding on pit road early in the race, and the penalty dropped him a lap off the pace and to 30th in the field. He worked his way back onto the lead lap through cautions, then steadily moved back toward the top 10.
But as the laps wound down, that seemed to be the best Johnson could hope for.
Despite his comfortable margin in the standings, Johnson has resisted laying claim to yet another title.
He realistically won’t clinch the championship for another two weeks in Phoenix.
NASCAR point standings:
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,248
2. Carl Edwards, 6,065
3. Greg Biffle, 6,063
4. Jeff Burton, 6,030
5. Kevin Harvick, 5,941
6. Jeff Gordon, 5,936
7. Clint Bowyer, 5,934
8. Tony Stewart, 5,847
9. Matt Kenseth, 5,835
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 5,829
11. Denny Hamlin, 5,823
12. Kyle Busch, 5,783
