Jimmie Johnson was chasing much more than a championship. He was also chasing NASCAR history. The most dominant driver of this decade won a record fourth consecutive championship Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he raced hard to finish fifth when 25th-place would have gotten the job done.

Jimmie Johnson has moved closer to a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship with a dominating win at Phoenix International Raceway. Johnson led 238 laps Sunday to win his seventh race of the season, and fourth since the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. The win stretched his lead to 108 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin heading into next week’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Martin finished fourth, but it wasn’t enough to derail Johnson. He only needs to finish 25th or better in the finale to grab a spot in NASCAR’s record books. Jeff Burton finished second and was followed by Denny Hamlin, Martin and pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr.

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Jimmie Johnson’s drive to history took a hard hit against a wall and Kyle Busch ran out of gas trying to complete an unprecedented NASCAR trifecta. Kurt Busch drove to Victory Lane at Texas after his younger brother ran out of fuel with 2½ laps left Sunday, finishing 129 laps ahead of the rebuilt car driven by Johnson, who saw his points lead slashed from 184 to 73 over Hendrick teammate Mark Martin with two races left.

NASCAR demanded drivers be on their best behavior at Talladega Superspeedway, where a ban on bump-drafting sanitized what’s usually one of the most spectacular races of the season. In the end, chaos reigned, just like always. After 450 miles of what resembled a slow Sunday drive, the action picked up and the outcome was much of what everyone has come to expect out of Talladega: An unlikely winner, two spectacular crashes and an army of drivers frustrated about the unpredictability of restrictor-plate racing. Jamie McMurray was the surprise winner, snapping an 86-race winless streak by leading 32 late laps and holding on in a race that ended under caution. Jimmie Johnson, meanwhile, ended up sixth, likely wrapping up his NASCAR-record fourth consecutive championship because of all the late action.

Germany’s Sebastian Vettel won Formula One’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the first race to start in daylight and end at night, in a Red Bull one-two finish. The 22-year-old German beat Australian Webber by a comfortable 17.8 seconds under the floodlights for his fourth win of the season to make sure of second place overall in the championship. Britain’s Jenson Button, who clinched the title in the previous Brazilian Grand Prix for his championship-winning Brawn GP team, rounded out his season with third place after hunting down Webber and chasing him nose-to-tail in the closing laps.

Il tedesco Vettel vince il GP degli Emirati Arabi ad Abu Dhabi davanti al compagno Webber. I due approfittano del ritiro di Hamilton. Terzo Button. La Ferrari (Kimi 12° Fisichella 17°) manca anche il terzo posto nel Mondiale costruttori.

Denny Hamlin was as patient behind the microphone following Sunday’s victory at Martinsville Speedway as he was behind the wheel over the final laps holding off Jimmie Johnson for the win. Hamlin knows the game. He knows the stories that follow what was a big feel-good moment for him winning again in his home state will be overshadowed by Johnson’s extending his lead in the Chase to 118 points over Mark Martin.

Briton Jenson Button won the Formula One World Championship after finishing fifth in a scrappy race at Interlagos in Brazil won by Mark Webber. Robert Kubica of BMW and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton also finished on the podium, the latter having started down in 17th. The result saw Brawn claim the constructors’ title, becoming the only team to take the crown in their first full season. Title rival and Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello’s fate was sealed after suffering a late puncture while being passed by Button’s English compatriot Hamilton: he pitted and came home in eighth for a solitary point.

L’inglese della Brawn GP Button (regina tra i costruttori) ha vinto il Mondiale: a Interlagos gli è bastato arrivare dietro a Webber, Kubica, Hamilton e Vettel. Sfortunato Barrichello, settimo dietro a Raikkonen.

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Jimmie Johnson has a commanding lead in the race for the Sprint Cup title. He’s practically on cruise control to a NASCAR-record fourth consecutive championship. Yet he refuses to claim this title, even after a “perfect weekend” at Lowe’s Motor Speedway gave Johnson his third win in five Chase for the championship races this season. He has a 90-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin at the halfway point of the 10-race Chase.

Jimmie Johnson sat in his No. 48 Chevrolet during a lengthy red-flag delay six laps from the finish at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday and worried he didn’t have enough car to hold off Jeff Gordon. Gordon, second next to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, had no such fears. It’s California. It’s the Chase. It’s Johnson’s time. Johnson’s fourth win at the 2-mile oval propelled him into the lead in the standings for the first time all season. He’ll take a 12-point lead over Mark Martin into Saturday night’s race at Charlotte.

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Tony Stewart didn’t have time for a debate. He had one last chance to grab the win at Kansas Speedway, and it came down to one critical decision. Two tires, or four? The two-time series champion asked for two on the final pit stop Sunday, and crew chief Darian Grubb immediately agreed with the strategy. The rapid thinking got Stewart the race lead, and he held on over the final 26 laps for his fourth win of the season.