Editor’s Note: NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary. SPEED SPORT was founded in 1934 and was already on its way to becoming America’s Motorsports Authority when NASCAR was formed. As a result, we will bring you Part 69 of a 75-part series on the history NASCAR.
First there was Richard Petty. Then came Dale Earnhardt. And in 2016, it was Jimmie Johnson’s time.
Johnson put an exclamation point on his legacy as one of NASCAR racing’s all-time greats Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he won the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 in dramatic fashion and in so doing claimed his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, tying him with Petty and Earnhardt.
All seven of Johnson’s championships have come with Hendrick Motorsports and with crew chief Chad Knaus calling the shots, making them one of the most successful driver-crew chief combinations in NASCAR history. It was their seventh title in 15 seasons.
It was the 12th Cup Series crown for team owner Rich Hendrick, who also earned four championships with Jeff Gordon and one with Terry Labonte. The victory was Johnson’s fifth of the season and 80th in the series.
Johnson started at the rear of the field because NASCAR officials discovered an unapproved modification to the A-post on his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He struggled to keep up with championship rivals Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano during much of the race.
But he and Knaus improved upon their car throughout the day and were in position to take advantage of the misfortune of others.
Edwards and Logano made contact on a restart with 11 laps remaining, triggering a multi-car accident that ended Edwards’ championship hopes and delayed the race for 31 minutes. Johnson and Busch avoided the melee, while Logano pitted for fresh rubber and to repair minor damage to his Team Penske Ford.
Johnson restarted fourth and was second behind leader Kyle Larson when the final yellow flag of the race came with two laps to go, creating a green-white-checkered finish. Johnson stormed past Larson on the final restart and drove away to secure a history-making moment in championship style.
“We got to second and was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Johnson said. “There’s really a shot at this thing. Then I get the restart of my life at the end and I get clear off of turn two and it just all like — I got the goose bumps down the backstretch. I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”
Knaus said Johnson may be the most underrated champion in NASCAR history.
“You know, he is probably the most underrated champion in this sport to be honest with you,” Knaus said. “He is a fantastic, fantastic individual, an amazing race car driver. Most people in the situation we were just in would crumble and he didn’t even waver.
“He knew what he needed to do. He knew what the demands were on him at that point in time and he made it happen.”
Petty was 42 when he won his seventh title and Earnhardt was 43. Johnson was 41.
“To see him tie Richard and Dale, it’s unbelievable,” Hendrick said. “I’m still in shock.”
Johnson, who is used to being booed by race fans, said he was surprised by the fan reaction to his seventh championship.
Johnson won five races en route to the title, while runner-up Logano won three. Busch finished third and had four victories, while Edwards won three times. Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski also picked up four victories, while Denny Hamlin won three times, including in the season-opening Daytona 500.
Matt Kenseth won a pair of races and Tony Stewart, who retired at the end of the season, won one race.
Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Chris Buescher also visited victory lane. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won another most popular driver award despite missing much of the season because of concussion symptoms. Chase Elliott earned rookie-of-the-year honors.
Ford Championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway could have been redubbed “history-making” weekend.
While Johnson took the lion’s share of the headlines, the feats of Daniel Suarez and Johnny Sauter made history in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series, respectively.
Suarez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, became the first international driver to claim a NASCAR national championship by winning the Xfinity Series finale at Homestead’s 1.5-mile superspeedway, while Sauter, a journeyman with nearly two decades of NASCAR experience, captured his first title in the Camping World Truck Series.