Johnson wins fifth consecutive Cup championship - Nov 22, 2010 - NASCAR.

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Jimmie Johnson displays his championship flag as he acknowledges his Cup Series title with a celebatory burnout at Autostock
Homestead.

Johnson wins fifth consecutive Cup championship

Edwards wins race; Johnson with fewer issues than Hamlin, Harvick
By Sporting News Wire Service, NASCAR.COM Sunoco Pit Moves: Ford 400
November 22, 2010 13:10 PM, EST
When the left rear
type size: + - tire changer slips,
the No. 48 falls a
few spots.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- NASCAR has a rock star -- and perhaps after a fifth consecutive championship for
unsinkable Jimmie Johnson, the sport will realize it. The No. 29 is
penalized for
Johnson ran second to Carl Edwards in Sunday's season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway speeding, also
to secure the first come-from-behind title in his skein of five championships. hits No. 38 crew
member.
Edwards' victory was perfection. He led 190 of 267 laps in winning his
The race-winning
second consecutive Cup Series race and the 18th of his career.
pit stop was made
"Why didn't you set the cars up like this before, Bob?" Edwards joked during a green
flag run.
with crew chief Bob Osborne after the race. "That was the best
performance down the straightaway I've had in a long time."

The race for the championship was anything but perfection. And it
wasn't the high drama fans had anticipated from the closest Chase since
the introduction of NASCAR's playoff format in 2004.

An early spin on the part of Denny Hamlin, the Chase leader by 15

points entering the final race, ultimately proved decisive. A pit-road
speeding penalty knocked Kevin Harvick (third in points) to the rear of Poll Winners Poll Results
the field just when he appeared ready to contend for the victory. Hamlin
finished 14th; Harvick rallied to finish third.

Sloppy work in the pits on the part of Johnson's substitute crew --

borrowed from Jeff Gordon's No. 24 team in the middle of the eighth
Chase race (at Texas) and bound to Johnson thereafter -- repeatedly cost the champion track position. Ford 400
To call the final race a comedy of errors on the part of the title contenders may be harsh, but Results
championship team owner Rick Hendrick did precisely that.
Pos. Driver Make
"It was like, 'Who's going to screw up the most?' " Hendrick said after claiming his 10th Cup title (five with 1. Carl Edwards Ford
Johnson, four with Gordon and one with Terry Labonte).
2. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
In the afterglow of a fifth consecutive title, however, the flaws in the process didn't matter. 3. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet

"Jimmie, you are a rock star, my friend," Chad Knaus radioed after Johnson crossed the finished line 1.608 4. Aric Almirola Ford

seconds behind Edwards. "You have proven it time and time again. And you damn did it [Sunday], my 5. A.J. Allmendinger Ford

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Johnson wins fifth consecutive Cup championship - Nov 22, 2010 - NASCAR.COM 11/22/10 7:51 PM

friend."
Results | Laps | Story | Video | Gallery
Johnson finished 39 points ahead of Hamlin and 41 ahead of Harvick.

Before the race was 25 laps old, Hamlin made a tough job much more difficult. His No. 11 Toyota, which Sprint Cup Series
had started the race 37th but had gained 18 positions in the first 23 laps, touched the No. 16 Ford of Standings
Greg Biffle as the cars sped through Turn 2 on Lap 24. Hamlin spun through the infield grass, damaging
the front splitter and knocking the toe angle of the tires out of position.
Pos. +/ - Driver Points Behind

Though his crew worked feverishly to repair the damage, the incident affected the handling just enough to 1. +1 Jimmie Johnson 6,622 Leader
keep Hamlin from making an aggressive run to the front. His troubles were compounded when he was 2. -1 Denny Hamlin 6,583 - 39
trapped a lap down during a cycle of pit stops and had to take a wave-around to the tail end of the lead
3. -- Kevin Harvick 6,581 - 41
lap. At that point Hamlin was fighting Harvick for second in the final standings, not battling Johnson for
the championship. 4. -- Carl Edwards 6,393 - 229

5. -- Matt Kenseth 6,294 - 328

"I felt like, as soon as we dropped the green, I thought we could win the race," Hamlin said. "Our car was
really fast at the beginning -- I mean, just unbelievably fast at the beginning -- and I knew we had a car
Complete Standings | Season Results
that could contend for a win, and obviously when we got in that incident on the back straightaway, it tore
up the front and knocked the toe out, and obviously the car did not drive as well for the rest of the day.

"We just tried to patch it and work on it the best we could, but it just wasn't the car that it was at the
beginning. It's just part of racing."

Johnson restarted second on Lap 251 after Harvick dumped Kyle Busch, Hamlin's teammate, into the inside
frontstretch wall to cause the 10th and final caution on Lap 244. Johnson couldn't catch Edwards over the
final 17 laps, but he pulled away from Harvick to secure the title.

"I'm just beside myself," Johnson said in Victory Lane. "Four was amazing. Now I have to figure out what
the hell to say about winning five of these things, because everybody is going to want to know what it
means. I don't know. It is pretty damn awesome -- I can tell you that."

Notes-n-Nuggets
Race

Auto Guide Articles

• This is Carl Edwards' 18th Cup Series victory in his 229th start.

• This is Carl Edwards' second win in 2010. He won last week at Phoenix ending a 70- race winless streak that dated to Homestead 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible
(Nov. '08). Preview
• Carl Edwards won back - to - back races for the fifth time in his career.
2011 Dodge Charger R/T: First Drive
• This is Carl Edwards' second win at Homestead. He joins Tony Stewart (2) and Greg Biffle (3) as the only multiple race winners at
Homestead.
New Lincoln Crossover Coming, Based on
• This is Roush Fenway Racing's 120th Cup Series win, ranking fourth all- time and the team's fourth in 2010 (Greg Biffle - - 2, Carl Escape
Edwards - - 2).
2011 Toyota Highlander and Hybrid: First
• This is Roush Fenway Racing's seventh win at Homestead, including six of the past seven. Look
• Jimmie Johnson (second) is the 2010 Sprint Cup Series champion. He finished the season with two poles, six wins, 17 top- five finishes More News
and 23 top- 10 finishes.

• Kevin Harvick (third) rebounded from a speeding on pit road penalty. He finished the season with three wins, 16 top- five finishes and
26 top- 10 finishes. Most Popular
• Aric Almirola (fourth) scored a career best finish - - his previous best finish was eighth at Bristol in March 2008. Headlines Videos
• A.J. Allmendinger (fifth) finished the season with two top- five finishes and eight top- 10 finishes.
News
• Kasey Kahne (sixth) finished the season with four poles (tied with Jamie McMurray for the most of all drivers), seven top- five finishes
and 10 top- 10 finishes. Scenarios: How Hamlin can clinch the Cup
RPM plans on finishing season, racing in
2011
Champion Lap-by-Lap: Homestead

Features
• This is Jimmie Johnson's fifth conseuctive Cup Series championship in his ninth full time season. 12 Things to Know: The last time Johnson
trailed going to Homestead ...
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to win five consecutive Cup Series championships in the 62 Cup Series seasons. By the Numbers: Hendrick looking to break
• Jimmie Johnson becomes the third driver to win five or more championships: Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt each have seven. through at Homestead
Fantasy Preview: Edwards rolls into finale
• Jimmie Johnson finished the season with nine consecutive top- 10 finishes. with momentum
• Jimmie Johnson won his fifth championship in his ninth full- time season. Richard Petty won his fifth in his 16th season, Dale Earnhardt
in his 13th season. Opinions
Inside Line: Harvick finds peace with his role
• Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top five in all of his nine Cup seasons (first, five times
in Earnhardt legacy
• Jimmie Johnson won his fifth Cup championship in 327 starts. It took Dale Earnhardt 390 starts and Richard Petty 655. Splash 'N' Go: Sometimes, drivers can say the
darndest things
Road Warrior's Ramblings: Season of
Powered by Racing Recall surprises comes down to this

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Johnson wins fifth consecutive Cup championship - Nov 22, 2010 - NASCAR.COM 11/22/10 7:51 PM

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Share 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Homestead

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10 per page 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 247 >

11/22/10 05:47:47 PM
rockstar that is a lol boring says it all

Dora65 0

11/22/10 05:45:54 PM
BREAKING NEWS!!! Jimmie fans just pooled together and bought the rights to the comment board from
Nascar.com! LOL
HAPPagain
0

11/22/10 05:42:09 PM
there are no (car) teams any more. Childress, then Hendrick threw the (car) team concept out the
window. Now there's just owners who mix and match employees with cars to suit their present situation,
HAPPagain kinda like kids with a Mr. Potatoe head! LOL
0

11/22/10 05:37:29 PM
Welcome to the World of Jimmie fans and their supporters..........drop of any kind words you have........all
other will be gathered up and moved to Area 51 for recylcling, next year will be used as debris on the
Chey4ever track......thank you for your contribution!
0

11/22/10 05:34:39 PM
So why can't there be a team concept? Nothing would say you couldn't have a 1 car organization.

outlaw244820 0

11/22/10 05:30:06 PM
Believe it or not, NASCAR still likes the little guys. You know. The shoestring budget start and parkers.
The feel good stories. Can you imagine being part of the show even if for only one lap. Can not have a
RecknRoll mandatory team concept. And of course you... [read more]
0

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Johnson wins fifth consecutive Cup championship - Nov 22, 2010 - NASCAR.COM 11/22/10 7:51 PM

11/22/10 05:25:07 PM
not a lot of thumbs up here! ~laughter~

HAPPagain 0

11/22/10 05:08:02 PM
We don't have to have all the technology stuff, just borrowing ideas on how to get a better points
system, create more of a team atmosphere, maybe more excitement for things that go on during the
outlaw244820 days leading up to the race
0

11/22/10 05:05:49 PM
No F1. They're way more screwed up than NASCAR. Yea yea technology and all that jazz. NASCAR's
primal. We're talking give the drivers bats.
RecknRoll
0

11/22/10 05:03:58 PM
Later nightmare

outlaw244820 0

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