HOMESTEAD, Fla. — With the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship in his grasp but still room for a mistake, the racer’s mentality in Jimmie Johnson started to come out.

“So the racer in me, I was trying to pass the 1 car (Truex) on the last lap. Then, I’m like, ‘What are you trying to do? Just stop.’” - Jimmie Johnson

With Jeff Gordon in front of him, all Johnson had to do was finish 19th or better to clinch his second-straight Nextel Cup title in the closing laps.
He saw Martin Truex, Jr.’s Chevrolet ahead of him and Johnson knew he could easily pick up another position with an easy pass.
That’s when the sensible side of Johnson’s brain started to debate the racer side.
“We came in prepared, we came in ready to race for this thing,” Johnson said. “I don’t think I could have won the race tonight, but I feel like we could be in the top three if we needed to.
“So the racer in me, I was trying to pass the 1 car (Truex) on the last lap. Then, I’m like, ‘What are you trying to do? Just stop.’”
Johnson said it was tough to not make the easy pass, but the risk was greater than the reward. There were enough cars running in the race that if Johnson crashed trying to make a meaningless pass, Gordon could have still won the title.
“We would have loved to have won our fifth race in a row, but the big prize was the championship,” Johnson said.
So as Gordon finished fourth, Johnson’s seventh-place finish was enough to shoot off the fireworks in his honor as he won the Nextel Cup title for the second-straight season in just six years on the circuit.
He became the 15th driver to win multiple championships in NASCAR’s top series and it’s the 14th time in history that a driver has won back-to-back titles. That includes Cale Yarborough, who won three championships in a row from 1976-78.
Entering the final race of the season with an 86-point lead, Johnson only had to finish 18th or better to win the title. But he won the pole and led the first lap, which dropped the clincher to 19th or better.
That would be the only lap Johnson led in the race, and he settled back into the field and kept his eye on his closest rival, friend and teammate Gordon.
Johnson, who had taken charge of The Chase with four-straight victories, had his winning streak snapped in this race, but he got the biggest prize of all by not winning the race.
Instead of running aggressively, he closed out his second title by racing conservatively and sensibly.
“I think in the last four weeks for anyone to win four races in a row especially with what is on the line is pretty amazing,” Johnson said. “We knew the streak would come to an end. We were being smart. We played our car smart during the race, raced when I needed to and ran in comfortable air when I needed to.
“What I’m more proud of — is the way we attacked this race weekend.”
By taking a sensible approach to the final race of the season, Johnson gave team owner Rick Hendrick his seventh Cup title, second only to Petty Enterprises with nine.
Hendrick has won championships with three different drivers including Jeff Gordon (1995, ’97, ’98 and 2001), Terry Labonte (1996) and Johnson (2006 and 2007).
“This has been an unbelievable example of teamwork and dedication,” Hendrick said. “Jimmie had been phenomenal. For the level of competition to do what they have done in The Chase.
“The most gratifying thing to me was the way the 24 team handled this,” Hendrick said of Gordon. “I felt it was important to go to the second place team first and they congratulated Jimmie on his championship.”
Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have become NASCAR’s most potent combination. And they issued a bit of a warning to the rest of the sport when they said there are more championships yet to come.
“Chad and I like to go out and let our stats speak for ourselves,” Johnson said. “We’re in elite company winning two championships and back-to-back championships is something I’m proud of. We’re just hitting our stride and are ready to win more championships. We hope to be a three-time Cup champion soon.
“I look forward to a lot of good times ahead of us.”