On Friday, NASCAR will celebrate Jimmie Johnson’s latest championship and the best in the sport in Las Vegas this Friday (photo: John Clark/NASCAR This Week)

 

Jimmie Johnson, a native of El Cajon, Calif., celebrates his fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in a new locale.

After decades at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, this year’s Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony has been moved to Wynn Las Vegas in the Nevada gaming capital. The Speed cable/satellite channel provides live coverage of this year’s proceedings on Friday, Dec. 4, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. EST.

The week leading up to the banquet is known in NASCAR parlance as Champion’s Week. It began with appearances by Johnson in neighboring California on Monday and Tuesday. The scene shifted to Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The banquet will honor the top 10 finishers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. In order, they are Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

Johnson’s career has been evenly divided. In his first four seasons, he finished in the top five but never won the championships. The Chase format was implemented in 2004, but Johnson didn’t begin his streak of championships until 2006.

It seems as if he gets better every year.

"I feel that I managed the pressure a lot better this year," said Johnson. "It was the most relaxed I’ve been in the race car. … There was a lot of pressure, and I’m definitely relieved now that the pressure is off.

"I think I did a very good job this year of understanding the Chase, understanding the
pressure, understanding what I’m capable of, what the team is capable of, what to focus on, and now that I’ve got a comfortable understanding, and so does the team, I can operate in this environment so that we can continue it the next couple years."

Johnson’s words were hardly encouraging to those attempting to end his record streak of titles.

"The numbers speak for themselves," said runner-up Mark Martin, "and I don’t think they’re done yet."

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