Jimmie Johnson rebounded from a rare bad race with a dominating victory Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., that pushed him to the edge of a NASCAR-record fourth consecutive championship.
Johnson won for the fourth time in the last five races at Phoenix. It was his seventh victory of the season, and fourth since the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
More important, it stretched his lead to 108 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Johnson needs to finish 25th or better next weekend to grab a spot in NASCAR’s record book.
Although his Hendrick team initially celebrated as if the title had been locked up, the No. 48 crew quickly settled down in Victory Lane.
Johnson promised to remain focused this week and not get too far ahead of himself in thinking about what lies ahead.
“I’m not one to let my mind wander and think about the possibilities — I’ve always known I’ve got to go out and race the race,” he told The Associated Press after the race.
Martin finished fourth, respectable but not the showing he needed to move closer to the championship that has eluded him his entire career. The sentimental favorite will likely finish second in the standings for a fifth time.
“We gave it everything we had,” Martin said.
