Johnson Eyes Fourth Straight NASCAR Title

AVONDALE, Arizona — Jimmie Johnson's pursuit of an unprecedented fourth straight NASCAR championship is all but a done deal after his victory Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Johnson's Checker 500 victory was his ninth win of the season and his fourth in the 10-race Chase for the Cup, an ersatz playoff that determines the Sprint Cup Series champion. The season finale is this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Johnson needs only to finish 25th or better to claim the title.

Johnson joined Cale Yarborough last year as a three-in-a-row champion. Yarborough won in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

The driver of the Lowe's-sponsored No. 48 Chevrolet rebounded nicely from a setback the week before at Texas Motor Speedway, where he was involved in a crash on the second lap and finished 38th.

Johnson is poised to become only the fourth driver to win more than three championships. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, is a four-time titleist, and legendary drivers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt each won seven.

Johnson dominated Sunday's 312-lap, 500-kilometer race on the one-mile Phoenix oval, leading 238 laps and finishing more than a second ahead of runner-up Jeff Burton. His closest challenger in the Chase for the Cup, Mark Martin, finished 4th.

Martin trails Johnson by 108 points. The 50-year-old from Batesville, Arkansas, has never won the Cup Series championship, but has finished 2nd four times.

Johnson has won 18 of the 59 Chase races held so far and has finished 2nd and 5th the two years he did not win.

Inside Line says: Johnson's performance during the Chase, ever since its inception in 2004, has been amazing. — David Green, Correspondent