Jimmie Johnson Wins 2008 Sprint Cup Title; Carl Edwards Wins Fuel Mileage Gamble

Dominance and dynasty were the two words most thrown around in post-race celebrations at Homestead-Miami Speedway after Sunday's Ford 400.

And most of those words were aimed at NASCAR's second driver in history to win three-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships -- Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus had a solid car Sunday night in the season-finale event of the 36-race NASCAR season, but with the race playing out in a fashion that required drivers to stretch fuel mileage to earn the race victory, the driver and team leader opted to play it safe by coming in for a splash of gas. The pit stop left Johnson to finish 15th and ultimately surrender 72 points to race winner Carl Edwards.

Edwards, though, couldn't overcome Johnson's enormous 141-point prerace advantage despite leading the most laps and winning the event thanks to a spectacular fuel mileage. It was Edwards' ninth win of the season and doubled as the most wins for any driver in 2008.

Edwards appeared to be the only driver who didn't pit either late in the race or out of sync with the race leaders, as the rest of the Top-5 featured drivers who pitted during the final caution flag. Kevin Harvick took 2nd, the resurgent Jamie McMurray took 3rd, Jeff Gordon remained winless in 2008 with a 4th-place finish and Clint Bowyer ended his run in No. 07 with a fifth-place finish.

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Justin Skinner, driver of the #03 Germain Toyota Toyota, poses on tack prior to the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Justin Skinner

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Mike Skinner (L), driver of the #5 Toyota Tundra Toyota, poses with son, Justin Skinner (R), driver of the #03 Germain Toyota Toyota, on the track prior to the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Mike Skinner;Justin Skinner

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Jeff Green, driver of the #40 Westerman Companies Chevrolet, spins as leader Ron Hornady, driver of the #33 Camping World Chevrolet passes during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Green;Ron Hornady

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Toyota Tundra Toyota, celebrates winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Benson

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Toyota Tundra Toyota, leads the field on the final restart during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Benson

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Toyota Tundra Toyota, makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Benson

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L Carriers Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ron Hornaday Jr.;Johnny Benson;Kevin Harvick

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Toyota Tundra Toyota, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Benson

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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 18: Johnny Benson, driver of the #23 Toyota Tundra Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 18, 2008 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Benson

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Tony Stewart, in his final race with Joe Gibbs Racing after deciding in July to get into the ownership side of NASCAR in addition to driving, led in the final 20 laps with a very strong race car but wound up 9th after coming to pit road for fuel.

Matt Kenseth led 73 laps of Sunday's race and was trying to outrun Edwards late in the race when he ran out fuel with less than three laps to go. He wound up 25th

Two other Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders also suffered late-race problems to impact the final point standings and whether or not they would be heading to New York City during the first week of December for the Sprint Cup Series Awards banquet.

Jeff Burton made contact with Joe Nemechek on the backstretch and spun his No. 31 around and wound up 40th, 8 laps down. Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered an odd brake failure that broke the caliper in the final 30 laps of the race to push him to a 41st-place finish.

Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. finished 11th and 12th, respectively, and if NASCAR continues its tradition, they won't be attending the awards banquet that is only open to the sport's Top-10 drivers -- not the Chase for the Sprint Cup field.

Some other notable finishers included Travis Kvapil in 7th, Casey Mears in 8th, A.J. Allmendinger in 11th, Bill Elliott 12th, Scott Riggs 14th, Scott Speed 16th and pole-sitter David Reutimann in 20th.