Hendrick at Homestead: Jimmie Johnson takes title, team takes triple, Hendrick handles emergency

  Martin, Johnson and Hendrick (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jimmie Johnson needed only to finish in 25th or better at Homestead to clinch the title over Mark Martin for the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship.

The race at Homestead provided an unique insight into the human and team element of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.  Johnson and his team were aiming to make history while HMS teammate, Martin, was racing to reverse a history of second place Championship finishes.  Adding Jeff Gordon into the mix, made HMS the first team to go for a one-two-three finish.  All of this on a day when the team owner, Rick Hendrick, rushed home to support a family member in surgery.

Jimmie started from the pole and avoided the dramas that plagued Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart even while dropping deep into the field and driving back to the front.

Denny Hamlin won the race followed by a duo of Richard Childress Racing cars in Jeff Burton in second and Kevin Harvick in fourth. Kurt Busch finished third, with Johnson rounding out the top five. Co-owner of the No. 48, Jeff Gordon finished sixth followed by Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger in tenth.

Johnson reflected on the drama between Stewart and Montoya that cost both drivers positions in the standings. "Well, Juan (Pablo Montoya) a couple of times came when his spotter told him he was clear to the wall and there were two times we almost got pinched in the wall. Then when Juan and No. 14 spun, I could see it coming. I heard they got into each other earlier and I could see them looking for each other and messing with each other."

The fat lady has finally sung on a Chase that many fans had put a fork into well before the Texas tangle Johnson that put the No. 48 into the wall on lap three.  It was a result of contact between David Reutimann and Sam Hornish Jr. that put Johnson into the wall on lap three.

NASCAR history has been made officially as Johnson becomes the first driver, ever, to win four-consecutive Championships. For all of the fan chatter, Johnson has proven that the American dream is alive and well. Johnson spent part of his childhood living in a trailer in Southern California caught the eye of a top NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon, and now has secured his spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Due to an emergency liver transplant in North Carolina for his niece, Rick Hendrick was not present to celebrate with his teams as they took the top three positions in the 2009 standings. This Championship gives Hendrick a ninth Cup title and 12th NASCAR national division title.  It is the first time that a team has taken the standings in positions one, two, and three in the same season.

Martin finished second in the points standings 141-points behind the Lowe’s team. Gordon and Kurt Busch finished third and fourth in the standings. With the Homestead victory, Hamlin moved up three spots in the points to fifth.

The remaining drivers to make the trip to Las Vegas in two weeks include: Stewart, Greg Biffle, Montoya, Ryan Newman, and Kasey Kahne. Carl Edwards, only ten points behind Kahne, and Brian Vickers finished eleventh and twelfth in the standings and will not participate in Champion’s Week.

For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:

• Is it accurate for the AP to give just Jimmie Johnson the Athlete of the Year?
• Jimmie Johnson begins his historic celebration by honoring his Southern California ties
• Jimmie Johnson put on a clinic: Let's talk legacy
  
• Jimmie Johnson celebrates in California style at a 'Breakfast with the Champ' event

Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas. You can follow Janelle as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner on Twitter as @SoCalMotorsport. 

Janelle also serves as the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner.  Feel free to join the discussion about the hard racing in the CWTS at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner fan page on Facebook