You would think that the best way to win the Championship is to win the last race of the year on your way to the title.  However this feat is surprisingly rare.  Only six times in NASCAR's history has the Champion won the final race of the season.  Even more interesting to note is that, of those six, only once was the win actually important.

Here is the entire list of Champions who ended their season with a bang.

This weekend Jimmie Johnson heads to Homestead needing to finish 25th or better to clinch the 2009 Sprint Cup title regardless of what Mark Martin does.   While it's not officially over, the 3.38% chance of Mark pulling off the miracle doesn't prevent me from Congratulating Jimmie Johnson early on another amazing Chase.

NASCAR fans have a long history of hating winners.  On the eve of Jimmie Johnson's fourth consecutive Championship he certainly has his share of anti-fans who would love nothing more than to see him fail.

No matter how you feel about Johnson and the Hendrick Motorsports team you have to admire what they have accomplished.   They have dominated an incredibly competitive sport that was made even more competitive by the introduction of the Chase format.  Four in a row is truly an amazing accomplishment.

In order for Mark Martin to claim the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup title in Homestead he has to make up 108 points in one single race.   How likely is that to happen?  Someone at NASCAR dug through the stats and figured it out.

Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson have been in the same Sprint Cup race 266 times.   In those 266 races Mark Martin has gained more than 108 points on Jimmie Johnson exactly nine times.   This means that 3.38% of the time Mark Martin will win the Championship next weekend in Homestead.

Here are the nine races.  One of them was even at Homestead.

1. 11/3/2002 - Rockingham
2. 6/6/2004 - Dover
3. 8/15/2004 - Watkins Glen
4. 8/22/2004 - Michigan
5. 11/20/2005 - Homestead
6. 2/18/2007 - Daytona
7. 4/15/2007 - Texas
8. 6/10/2007 - Pocono
9. 11/8/2009 - Texas

Jimmie Johnson's dominant Phoenix performance was not what Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon were hoping to see. Last week Johnson granted them a glimmer of hope in Texas.  This week he again rained on their Chase dreams in Phoenix.  Johnson was clearly the best throughout the race and earned a convincing victory to extend his point lead.

Johnson just needs to finish 25th or better next week in Homestead to clinch his record-setting fourth consecutive Championship.

Kevin Harvick had a great night in the Camping World Truck Series on Friday in Phoenix.  As a driver Kevin Harvick survived a green-white-checkers finish to claim the win.    As a car owner Kevin Harvick's driver Ron Hornaday Jr's fourth place finish was good enough too clinch the 2009 Camping World Truck Series Championship.

Consistency wins Championships in NASCAR and Ron Hornaday Jr. has embodied that in 2009 with 19 top ten finishes in 24 races.   Hornaday also has six wins so far in 2009 including an amazing stretch of five in a row.

Congratulations to Ron Hornaday Jr. and car owner Kevin Harvick on clinching the 2009 Camping World Truck Series title.

A week ago all hope seemed hopeless for Mark Martin in the Championship battle but Jimmie Johnson's Texas trouble has opened the door.

Mark has to be excited to be headed to Phoenix for the 2009 O'Reilly Checker Auto Parts 300 within shouting distance of the point lead.  Mark Martin dominated at Phoenix International Raceway when the series visited in April.   Another strong run by Mark this week and we could have a real points battle on our hands in Homestead.

NASCAR announced this week that this year the Sprint Cup awards banquet will move from the ESPN family to SPEED. ESPN Classic was willing to cover the banquet but was not interested in a live broadcast.

SPEED will show the December 4th awards ceremony live from end-to-end.  The banquet is scheduled to be shown live on SPEED from 9pm - 1am Eastern time.  In case you miss it the banquet will be re-aired at 1pm on both the 5th and 6th.

Wow,  even the lowly ESPN Classic can't clear a spot for the  NASCAR awards ceremony?  Are there really so many fans of the World's Strongest Man competition from 1981 that they can't take a break to show a live sports banquet?

Clearly this is a great move for NASCAR. SPEED was created by race fans for race fans and I have no doubt that they will do a great job covering the festivities.

Only two races remain in all three of NASCAR's top touring series.  All three series will travel together to Phoenix and then to Homestead to wrap up their 2009 NASCAR seasons.  For all three series the most points a driver can earn in one race is 195 and the max differential between first and last is 161.  Some of the Championships could be clinched this weekend in Phoenix.

Ron Hornaday Jr. could lock up the 2009 Camping World Truck Series Championship in Phoenix.   He currently enjoys a 197 point lead over Matt Crafton.  If Hornaday can keep Crafton in sight the Truck Series title could be his a week early.

Kyle Busch has an even larger lead in the 2009 Nationwide Series point standings.   Kyle has a 272 point cushion over Carl Edwards.   Given how strong Kyle has been in the Nationwide Series this season his odds of clinching this weekend are very high.

After Jimmie Johnson's Texas crash the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Point Standings are the closest of the three.  Jimmie is just 73 points ahead of teammate Mark Martin.   Of the three, this is once again the best battle in NASCAR.

The one thing that is most predictable in NASCAR is that it is unpredictable.   Jimmie Johnson came to Texas Motor Speedway with a seemingly insurmountable lead in the points.  It took just three laps for over half of that lead to be erased as Johnson crashed and spent over an hour in the garage getting his car fixed.  When all the dust settled Mark Martin was just 73 points behind with two races to go.

Kyle Busch dominated much of the race but left the win for his brother when he fell 2 1/2 laps short on fuel and had to dive onto pit road.  Kurt remained mostly overlooked even after the race as The Chase was the big story of the weekend.

The top twelve are now:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Mark Martin -73
3. Jeff Gordon -112
4. Kurt Busch -171
5. Tony Stewart -178
6. Juan Montoya -236
7. Greg Biffle -247
8. Denny Hamlin -322
9. Ryan Newman -324
10. Kasey Kahne -399
11. Carl Edwards -440
12. Brian Vickers -520

As the Sprint Cup Series rolls in to Texas Motor Speedway for the 2009 Dickies 500 I have to ask.  Has Jimmie essentially locked it up with three races remaining?

His lead is 184 points and the most Mark Martin could gain in one race is 161.  So Jimmie has one full race lead over Martin with just three to go.   Add to that the fact that Johnson has been stellar at Texas and Phoenix over the last few years and it is very difficult to imagine anyone but Johnson winning the 2009 Chase for the Cup.

I'm ready to call it.   Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson for his unprecedented fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship.