Johnson moved inches away from his record-tying third consecutive Cup championship with a dominating victory Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, where he led a race-high 217 of the 313 laps to deflate Edwards’ title hopes.
Johnson heads into next week’s season finale up 141 points over Edwards and needs only to finish 35th or better to join Cale Yarborough (1976-78) as the only drivers in NASCAR history to win three straight Cup titles.
"This is what I’ve worked my whole life for,” Johnson said in Victory Lane.
The win was his third straight at Phoenix, and had Edwards on the edge of conceding after his own fourth-place finish.
"It’s still possible,” Edwards sighed. "It’s not probable.”
No, it’s not. Not with the way Johnson is running.
Johnson has made a mockery of Chase for the championship format, reeling off 14 wins in the 49 races since NASCAR adopted the format in 2004. He contended for the title in 2004 and 2005, only to come up just short both seasons.
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