Chase for the Sprint Cup Final Standings: 1. J Johnson 6684pts, 2. C Edwards 6615pts, 3. G Biffle 6467pts, 4. K Harvick 6408pts, 5. C Bowyer 6381pts, 6. J Burton 6335pts, 7. J Gordon 6316pts, 8. D Hamlin 6214pts, 9. T Stewart 6202pts, 10. K Busch 6186pts, 11. M Kenseth 6184pts, 12. D Earnhardt Jr 6127pts

"We've got to finish 400 miles. I'm looking forward to it," said two-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Johnson prior to the final race of the 2008 season on Sunday, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “Really, I just want to do my thing.”

With a 141-point lead in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup over second place driver Carl Edwards, Johnson was confident heading into the 36th race of the season and at the 10th and final round of The Chase, but my no means overconfident.

“There is no way to keep things out of my mind,” he added on race day. “It isn’t calming. Any kind of athlete can’t keep things out of their head in a situation like this, but that helps keep me honest and focused. I’m ready to get out there and do it today.”

Nonetheless, 267-laps after Edsel B. Ford II delivers the command, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" at 3:52 P.M. (ET), Johnson found himself in 15th place at the finish, more than enough to win his third consecutive NASCAR title, the first and only driver to do so since the charismatic Cale Yarbrough won three straight titles (then called the NASCAR Winston Cup) in 1976, 1977 and 1978.

The only driver with any sort of shot at ripping up Johnson, Edwards started the race in fourth, immediately behind pole sitter David Reutimann, Roush Fenway Racing’s Matt Kenseth and former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed. By lap number 13, Edwards was in the lead with Johnson, who had qualified 30th, moving cautiously through the field and safely in 20th place.

As the race neared the 200-lap mark, Reed Sorenson crashed on lap number 198, brining out the caution flag. The leaders of the race duly pitted, Johnson taking just two tires and exited pit road with the lead over Kenseth and Edwards. When the race wert back to green on lap 204, it took two laps for Kenseth to find his way to the front, but then Penske Racing South driver Kurt Busch clouted the wall bringing out yet another yellow flag. The restart came on lap 212, and while Kenseth continued to lead and Johnson allowed Edwards to drive by him and into second, the Californian played it safe, sliding back down the leader board, his third championship all but locked down.

When the checkered flag flew, it was Carl Edwards winning his ninth race of the 2008 championship season, yet coming up short on Johnson in the Sprint Cup point's race. Kevin Harvick was second, just ahead of Jamie McMurray and Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon, amazingly winless in his 2008 NASCAR campaign.

"It's the ultimate reward,” remarked Johnson after climbing from his #48 Hendrick Motorsports’ Chevrolet Impala SS. “We worked so hard to put ourselves in this position. It's just total teamwork and dedication. There were times this year when things were dark, but we buckled down and got to work and that's what it was really all about."

Added longtime crew chief Chad Knaus, the first NASCAR crew chief ever to win the straight NASCAR Sprint Cup titles: "It's what we work for, it's what we do. We don't want to do anything but race and win races and win championships."

Eric Johnson