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Johnson wins at Phoenix to cruise into finale

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP)—Jimmie Johnson rebounded from a rare bad race with a dominating victory at Phoenix International Raceway that pushed him to the edge of a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship.

Johnson led 238 laps Sunday to win for the fourth time in the last five races at Phoenix. It was his seventh victory of the season, and fourth since the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kurt B… AP – Nov 15, 5:53 pm EST Mark Martin sits against his c… AP – Nov 15, 5:42 pm EST Mark Martin (5) and Jimmie Joh… AP – Nov 15, 5:40 pm EST Kurt Busch (2) leads Jimmie Jo… AP – Nov 15, 5:35 pm EST Jimmie Johnson drives during t… AP – Nov 15, 5:20 pm EST Pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr., … AP – Nov 15, 5:09 pm EST Driver Tony Stewart, left, and… AP – Nov 14, 3:10 pm EST Pole sitter Martin Truex Jr., … AP – Nov 14, 3:10 pm EST Driver Tony Stewart, left, tri… AP – Nov 14, 3:10 pm EST Driver Mark Martin straps hims… AP – Nov 14, 3:09 pm EST Driver Tony Stewart, left, tri… AP – Nov 14, 3:08 pm EST The crew for NASCAR driver Jim… AP – Nov 13, 7:29 pm EST Driver Mark Martin (5) smiles … AP – Nov 13, 5:48 pm EST Driver Kyle Busch, left, talks… AP – Nov 13, 5:18 pm EST Driver Juan Pablo Montoya, of … AP – Nov 13, 5:16 pm EST Driver Kyle Busch smiles durin… AP – Nov 13, 5:14 pm EST Driver Jimmie Johnson (48) mak… AP – Nov 13, 5:09 pm EST Driver Kyle Busch is netted in… AP – Nov 13, 5:08 pm EST Driver Kyle Busch buckles his … AP – Nov 13, 5:04 pm EST Driver Kyle Busch climbs into … AP – Nov 13, 5:04 pm EST Driver Mark Martin (5) grabs h… AP – Nov 13, 4:49 pm EST Driver Jimmie Johnson waits in… AP – Nov 13, 4:47 pm EST Driver Tony Stewart looks out … AP – Nov 13, 4:43 pm EST NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson l… AP – Nov 13, 4:42 pm EST Driver Jimmie Johnson, left, t… AP – Nov 13, 4:41 pm EST YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 24; 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More important, it stretched his lead to 108 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin heading into the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson needs to finish 25th or better next week to grab a spot in NASCAR’s record books.

Although his Hendrick team initially celebrated as if the title had been locked up, the No. 48 crew quickly settled down in Victory Lane.

“I can’t put my guard down,” Johnson said, “anything and everything can go wrong.”

It did a week ago in Texas, where Johnson was caught in a wreck three laps into the race and had to sit inside his disabled race car as his crew did a total rebuild of the Chevrolet. He limped to a 38th-place finish that cost him 111 points in the standings.

It still left him with a 73-point lead over Martin headed into Phoenix, but Johnson refused to play it safe and coast to the win. He raced hard all weekend, intent on bouncing back with a dominating showing in the desert.

“We could have easily been beat down, and certainly there were some dark moments over the past week thinking about the points lost,” Johnson said. “We didn’t, though. But we saw in Texas that anything can happen, so we don’t need to get too excited about this.”

Martin finished fourth, respectable but not the showing he needed to move closer to the championship that has eluded him his entire NASCAR career. The sentimental favorite this year will likely finish second in the final standings for a fifth time.

“We gave it everything we had,” Martin said.

He’s the only driver still in mathematical contention to catch Johnson. Fellow Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon will be eliminated as soon as Johnson starts next Sunday’s race, and Johnson’s win at Phoenix knocked everyone else out of contention.

Jeff Burton finished second and was followed by Denny Hamlin, Martin and pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr.

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