Jimmie Johnson wins 7th Championship

Johnson had to withstand two more restarts, including one in overtime, to score his first career victory at Homestead in the most monumental race of his career.

The race is scheduled for 400 miles, or 267 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson did not lead a single one of the 268 laps except the only one that mattered. Although Tony Stewart ended their streak in 2011 and Brad Keselowski won the title in 2012, Johnson & Company were hoisting the Cup at Homestead-Miami Speedway again in 2013. Johnson had joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr.as the only drivers to win seven Cup Titles.

Johnson’s helmet had photographs of Earnhardt and Petty, separated by the numeral 7. Teams appear willing to take a risk for what could be a slight advantage – or just keeping up with everyone else – knowing they have time to work their way through the field. Now at 41 years old, he can do the unprecedented.

“I think the fact that we were in the position we were today to tie history, you know, even people wearing other hats and other tee shirts that normally shoot me the bird were holding up seven”, Johnson said. I know it was help from above.

It was Johnson’s seventh title in the last 11 years.

“The next restart worked out well, we get to second, and I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me”. It is rarer, still, to see the tale write itself like this one did. On a night when he’d started last – his team was found to have manipulated the body of his auto after it had passed inspection – and clearly wasn’t as good as the other three contenders, he had somehow lucked into the lead. Was it Divine Intervention at 200 miles per hour? Johnson took his first and only lead on the final restart of the race.

Jimmie Johnson (left) celebrates with crew chief Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane after they clinched their seventh championship together Sunday at Homestead. “But I had this insane weird calmness”.

Inside of 10 laps to go, championship contender Carl Edwards blocks rival Joey Logano.

Johnson, who qualified 14th, was sent to the back of the field after his auto failed laser inspection before the race and a piece of metal on the front of his vehicle was deemed irregular.

All of the crews lined up to give Stewart high-fives before he left pit road in his familiar No. 14 Chevrolet. Nothing was going right.

The title was there for the taking for Edwards until the fateful sequence that changed history.

Logano finished fourth, and Kyle Busch, the defending Series’ champion, finished sixth.

Edwards has been impressed with the improvement Suarez has made this year. It was his night. Edwards blocked Joey Logano, who punted the No. 19 into the wall.

And here is the frustration and the beauty of racing.

Johnson, Busch, Logano or Edwards could leave Florida a champion. Neither blamed the other.

The race for the championship would be an uphill battle for the No. 22 Ford team. He went on to triumphant turns as a buggy and truck driver in off-road and stadium races before reaching NASCAR’s premier Winston Cup series in 2002. “I’m saying, ‘I’ve got to win a championship.’ It’s my own personal thing that I want to do”. I had to push it.

“This one and the calm nature and the way we went about business and got it done only gives me more confidence for the future”.

Edwards shrugged a little, managed a smile.

“It’s really emotional for me, ” Earnhardt said.

“It’s different for sure, to come in with equal points and know that you’ve got to beat the competitors”, Johnson said Sunday night.

The wreck eliminated one of the four contenders, led to a 31-minute red-flag delay, and infused Johnson with new life.

The opportunity that Johnson needed finally occurred on a restart on lap 257 of the scheduled 268 lap event when Edwards started on the inside of Kyle Larson in second place with Logano behind him in third. Logano, who was able to continue, had the strongest short-run auto, but it was damaged.

Edwards had looked like a victor until he dived low to block Logano, who turned Edwards into the front straight inside wall, which triggered mayhem.

“I honestly feel like I’m playing with house money”, Johnson said.

The championship is decided on the Sprint stage for the final time.