(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) Jimmie Johnson, on the verge of a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship, signed a contract extension Friday to drive for Hendrick Motorsports through the 2015 season.
The announcement comes just two days before Johnson is likely to wrap up the Sprint Cup championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson goes into Sunday's finale with a 108-point lead over Hendrick teammate Mark Martin and needs only to finish 25th or better to win the title.
"Jimmie is charting new territory in our sport, and that's due to a combination of natural talent and unsurpassed work ethic," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "How he's committed himself is just incredible, and it shows in everything that he does - not just on the racetrack.
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 | Brian Vickers’ Chase Diary: We need to finish the season off on a high note (Sporting News) - Bad luck continued to stalk Brian Vickers in last Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, the ninth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Vickers was an innocent victim of the Lap 170 multicar melee that started when Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun off Turn 4 at the 1-mile track. Earnhardt's car had been smoking in the laps leading up to the crash with what was later diagnosed as an oil leak.
Sidelined by the wreck, Vickers finished 38th and remained 12th in the Chase standings, 666 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. In the 10th installment of his Chase diary, Vickers talks about his misfortune at Phoenix, Earnhardt's spin, the hazards of double-file restarts and his outlook for Sunday's season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway: (MORE)
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