Imagine what Jimmie Johnson's stellar Sprint Cup career would have been like without crew chief Chad Knaus. The way Knaus was going in 2005, that could have been the path Johnson followed. "In 2005, I really dedicated everything I had that year to try to win the championship, and we came up short, and Mr. [Rick] Hendrick and Jimmie showed me at the end of that season, look, you can't do this. You can't do it at the level that you're trying to do it," Knaus said in the weekly NASCAR teleconference. "It wasn't the level of success, it was the level of intensity. I was losing that edge that I had, and I was beginning to flame out." Johnson and Knaus finished fifth in 2005, but Knaus decided to put racing in better perspective after that year. What's followed has been historic. Johnson has won three consecutive titles with Knaus. They will probably win a record fourth Sunday – Johnson has a 108-point lead heading into the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. All Johnson has to do is finish 25th to secure the title and give himself and Knaus their place in history. "I've heard some people bring the Tiger Woods analogy into the equation ... and that's probably one of the best ways to summarize how good they are and have been able to be over the last four years," said Alan Gustafson, Mark Martin's crew chief. If Johnson is Woods, Knaus is Steve Williams, Woods' caddie. Knaus is Johnson's sounding board and knows how to push the right buttons to get the most out of his driver. But not even Knaus could have predicted the kind of roll the team would be on for the last four years. "I knew that I liked Jimmie from a personal standpoint, and I was like, shoot, let's give it a shot, see what happens," said Knaus, who has been with Johnson since Johnson's rookie year of 2002. "[About] his driving ability, I knew nothing. I had never even watched a race that he had been in." The pairing has paid off with huge dividends, but the story is far from complete. Knaus already has his eye on the Sprint Cup record of seven titles, which is shared by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Reunion: Jamie McMurray has been hired to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.The hiring has long been in the works, and gives one of the last remaining open seats for 2010 to McMurray. It also reunites McMurray with car owner Chip Ganassi, who gave the driver his first Cup ride in 2002. Ron Hornaday Jr.: No one is going to have it easier this weekend. He doesn't even to have show up for Friday's Ford 200 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series because he clinched his fourth title last weekend in Phoenix. Point battles: The Chase has fizzled, with Jimmie Johnson all but assured of his fourth consecutive title. And there are no point battles in either the Truck Series or the Nationwide Series.
Rk. Driver
Pts.
Back
Win
T10
Earnings
1. Jimmie Johnson
6492
–
7
23
7,143,910
2. Mark Martin
6382
-108
5
21
5,192,450
3. Jeff Gordon
6323
-169
1
24
6,331,130
4. Kurt Busch
6281
-211
2
20
4,830,130
5. Tony Stewart
6207
-285
4
23
6,738,150
6. Juan Montoya
6203
-289
0
18
5,170,700
7. Greg Biffle
6171
-321
0
16
4,717,410
8. Denny Hamlin
6140
-352
3
19
5,122,160
9. Ryan Newman
6081
-411
0
15
4,906,180
10. Kasey Kahne
6016
-476
2
14
5,644,360
11. Carl Edwards
5972
-520
0
13
5,456,250
12. Brian Vickers
5826
-666
1
13
4,624,520
