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

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.

Martin Comes Up Shy of Sprint Cup Title:

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) - Typically, when a NASCAR driver does something that only Richard Petty and Bobby Allison have done before is a sign of excellence.

Not this time, not for Mark Martin.

His wait for a NASCAR championship will last at least another year.

Martin accepted NASCAR's silver medal for the fifth time Sunday, unable in the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway to make a run at derailing Jimmie Johnson's march toward stock-car immortality. Johnson is the first driver to celebrate a fourth straight NASCAR title - while Martin joined Petty and Allison as the only drivers to finish No. 2 in the points standings five times.

Sunday
At Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Fla.
Lap length: 1.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (38) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267 laps, 123.1 rating, 195 points.
2. (26) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 267, 121.8, 175.
3. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267, 126.7, 170.
4. (12) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 267, 123.2, 165.
5. (1) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 267, 116, 160.
6. (20) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 267, 105.2, 150.
7. (24) Carl Edwards, Ford, 267, 86.1, 146.
8. (30) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267, 102.9, 147.
9. (14) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 267, 98, 138.
10. (13) AJ Allmendinger, Ford, 267, 86.9, 134.
11. (10) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 267, 102.5, 135.
12. (4) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 267, 92.8, 127.
13. (34) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 267, 71.7, 124.
14. (8) Greg Biffle, Ford, 267, 83, 121.
15. (22) David Reutimann, Toyota, 267, 81.2, 118.
16. (9) Bill Elliott, Ford, 267, 67.3, 115.
17. (25) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 267, 75.3, 112.
18. (11) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 267, 79.1, 109.
19. (15) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 267, 74.4, 106.
20. (33) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 267, 65.9, 103.
21. (29) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 267, 70.6, 100.
22. (5) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 267, 88.7, 102.
23. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 267, 77, 94.
24. (35) Joey Logano, Toyota, 267, 64, 91.
25. (27) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 267, 58.4, 88.
26. (36) Paul Menard, Ford, 267, 50.6, 85.
27. (2) Scott Speed, Toyota, 267, 51.7, 82.
28. (32) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 267, 61.4, 79.
29. (17) David Gilliland, Toyota, 267, 51, 76.
30. (39) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 266, 39.1, 78.
31. (19) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 266, 42.9, 70.
32. (16) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 266, 40.8, 67.
33. (40) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 266, 31.9, 64.
34. (41) David Ragan, Ford, 266, 47.9, 61.
35. (3) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 251, 53.3, 63.
36. (31) Erik Darnell, Ford, 247, 38.2, 55.
37. (28) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 243, 29.7, 52.
38. (23) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 235, 68.2, 49.
39. (37) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 227, 40.5, 46.
40. (42) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, accident, 116, 36.5, 43.
41. (21) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, accident, 116, 29.4, 40.
42. (43) Terry Labonte, Toyota, electrical, 88, 23.8, 37.
43. (18) Michael McDowell, Toyota, overheating, 35, 27, 34.

Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 126.986 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 6 minutes, 18 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 2.632 seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 31 laps.
Lead Changes: 18 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J.Johnson 1-9; M.Ambrose 10-13; J.Johnson 14-32; T.Stewart 33-52; Ku.Busch 53-54; C.Bowyer 55; K.Harvick 56-62; T.Stewart 63-85; K.Harvick 86-134; Ku.Busch 135-157; D.Hamlin 158-180; Ku.Busch 181-195; D.Hamlin 196-198; J.Burton 199-217; Ku.Busch 218; M.Waltrip 219; Ku.Busch 220-221; Ky.Busch 222; D.Hamlin 223-267.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): D.Hamlin, 3 times for 71 laps; K.Harvick, 2 times for 56 laps; Ku.Busch, 5 times for 43 laps; T.Stewart, 2 times for 43 laps; J.Johnson, 2 times for 28 laps; J.Burton, 1 time for 19 laps; M.Ambrose, 1 time for 4 laps; Ky.Busch, 1 time for 1 lap; C.Bowyer, 1 time for 1 lap; M.Waltrip, 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 12 in Points: 1. J.Johnson, 6,652; 2. M.Martin, 6,511; 3. J.Gordon, 6,473; 4. Ku.Busch, 6,446; 5. D.Hamlin, 6,335; 6. T.Stewart, 6,309; 7. G.Biffle, 6,292; 8. J.Montoya, 6,252; 9. R.Newman, 6,175; 10. K.Kahne, 6,128; 11. C.Edwards, 6,118; 12. B.Vickers, 5,929.
NASCAR Driver Rating Formula
A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.
The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.

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