– Jimmie Johnson won the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship – his third consecutive championship. Johnson tied Cale Yarborough (1976-78) as the only drivers to win three consecutive series championships. – Johnson finished the 2008 season 69 points ahead of Carl Edwards. – Johnson is 33 years old and from El Cajon, Calif. – Johnson finished the 2008 season with seven wins, 15 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s. He had just one DNF. Three of his victories and eight of his top-10s came during the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. – Johnson’s third championship comes in his seventh year of full-time competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He has finished in the top five in the final points standings all seven of those years. Team/Car Owner: Rick Hendrick/Jeff Gordon – This is the eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship for Hendrick Motorsports, second only to Petty Enterprises (nine). – This is Hendrick’s 25th fulltime season as a team owner and Gordon’s seventh year as a car owner. – This is car owner Jeff Gordon’s third championship – all with Johnson. Crew Chief: Chad Knaus – Chad Knaus won his third series championship as a crew chief – all with Johnson. He becomes the first crew chief in series history to win three consecutive championships. – Knaus is 37 years old and from Rockford, Ill. This is his eighth season as a crew chief – seventh with Hendrick Motorsports and Johnson as driver.(NASCAR Statistics)(11-16-2008)
