Sports

HOMESTEAD (CBS4) ― Jimmie Johnson has won a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship with a fifth-place finish in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday.

Johnson needed only to finish 25th or better to beat teammate Mark Martin in the race, won by Denny Hamlin, to give team owner Rick Hendrick his own NASCAR record, a 12th championship.

Johnson did better than that in a sometimes-testy Sunday drive into history.

He was at times annoyed at rival drivers and even Jeff Gordon, the mentor and teammate who helped him land his job with Hendrick Motorsports.

Nobody gave Johnson anything, either. The other drivers raced hard around him all day, making Johnson earn every point while sending Martin to a fifth runner-up finish in the final standings.

Check out the timeline of events that led up to Johnson's victory:

6:10 p.m. - Kurt Busch came out of the pits in first, but only took two tires, which may hurt him if there's no other caution. Jimmie Johnson dropped to eighth but will win his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup barring a miracle for Mark Martin. Green flag drops with 46 laps to go.

6:03 p.m. - Jeff Burton is pulling away from the pack with 55 laps to go. He's 2 seconds in front of the Busch's, Kyle and Kurt. Jimmie Johnson has the cup in his grasp as he's running fifth. Less than 100 miles left in the race.

5:51 p.m. - Robby Gordon lost control of his car going into turn 2 and slightly tagged the wall. All of the cars came onto pit road under the yellow flag. Denny Hamlin's crew sent his car out in the lead for the second time in the race. 70 laps left to run in the Ford 400.

5:41 p.m. - Denny Hamlin has pulled in front of Kurt Busch in the Ford 400 at Homestead Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson is running fifth and barring a major accident, will win his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup at the end of the race. 86 laps to go in the Ford 400.

5:22 p.m. - Tony Stewart just paid for what he did to Montoya earlier. Montoya tapped Stewart from behind coming out of turn 4 and sent Stewart into the infield wall. NASCAR black flagged Montoya for "aggressive driving." Isn't that the point of racing? Denny Hamlin came out of the pits in first with Kurt Busch in second. Johnson is in 14th position and Martin is just behind him in 16th.

5:15 p.m - Kurt Busch has taken the lead at Homestead after 137 laps at Homestead. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suffered a flat tire on lap 137 and had to pit to replace four tires but drops to the back of the pack at Homestead. Jimmy Johnson is moving up through the pack and is currently running in 16th position.

4:53 p.m. - Montoya tangled with Tony Stewart coming out of turn three on lap 115. Montoya knocked had a problem with his fender and is out of the race at this point. As the cars came into the pit in front of Montoya, four cars ran into each other and one car briefly caught fire before getting stuck in the entrance to pit road.

4:39 p.m - Juan Pablo Montoya is running second in the race. All of the drivers on the lead lap are pitting. Kevin Harvick came out of the pits in first and Montoya dropped to fourth. Johnson is running seventh while Mark Martin has dropped to twelfth. The crews are making adjustments to the cars as the sun goes down and the track conditions change.

4:30 p.m. - Juan Pablo Montoya is making a run towards the lead. He has moved up to third after the green flag dropped to restart the race.

4:21 p.m. - The first caution of the day has hit as Marcos Ambrose gets sideways and brings out the caution flag. The cars are expected to pit as the temperature starts to change. Storm clouds are building, but the rain is holding to the south for now. Tony Stewart won the race off pit road, Jimmie Johnson pulls out in fourth, and Mark Martin came out in eighth. 83 laps have been completed.

4:15 p.m. - Tony Stewart in the number 14 Old Spice car has taken the lead at Homestead. Jimmie Johnson has dropped to fourth but did pass Mark Martin as they made it through the slower cars. It appears that barring a massive crash or some unforeseen problem, Johnson will make history and win his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup.

4:05 p.m. - The drivers have hit the pits after 100 miles of racing. Johnson made it out of the pits with no problem, as did Mark Martin. Multiple drivers are saying they are getting loose through the turns, four tire change for almost all of the drivers. It's been a clean race so far, no accidents. Martin is one spot ahead of Johnson after the pit stop.

3:55 p.m. - Jimmie Johnson is running in second position through 40 laps at Homestead. His closest competitor in the chase for the Sprint Cup is Mark Martin, who has dropped to fifth place.
 
3:45 p.m. - Mark Martin is running 3 seconds behind the leader, Jimmie Johnson. Marcos Ambrose had a problem with a tire and fell a lap off the lead after a quick pit stop. Johnson has been dominating the race through the first 25 laps.

3:35 p.m. - Jimmie Johnson has led the first 3 laps of the race and has a four car length advantage over the next car. Each lap that Johnson leads pushes his point advantage further ahead and currently he has to finish in at least 27th place to win the 2009 Sprint Cup.

3:25 p.m. - The engines have been started and the pace car is out in front and the cars are hitting the track as the Ford 400 is ready to get the green flag.



CBS4's Tim Kephart contributed to this report.

(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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