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Jimmie Johnson dominated the Nextel Cup and ended the race with a second straight title.

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Car owner Rick Hendrick turned toward Jimmie Johnson and arched an eyebrow upon hearing the question. Johnson blushed.

Is this the Jimmie Johnson era?

The question, posed three days before Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was directed toward teammate Jeff Gordon but Johnson, sitting nearby, admits the question "caught me off guard."

It shouldn't anymore.

Johnson's seventh-place finish clinched his second consecutive Nextel Cup title, asserting a dominance that befuddles foes and forces many to reassess how they'll race next season.

"What more can you do?" Gordon said after finishing fourth to score his series-record 30th top-10 finish of the season.

He then answered his own question, while Johnson celebrated and Matt Kenseth relished his race win.

"We probably should have got a lot more aggressive sooner," Gordon said of strategy and the car's setup.

"Our thing all year long was that we were consistently in the top five and we'd sneak those wins in there when we could. Jimmie and ... those guys were a little more aggressive and they were a little bit faster at times."

That's the way Johnson has been since he and crew chief Chad Knaus were paired together five years ago.

Perfect match

Johnson sought advice. Gordon sought a driver.

Johnson approached Gordon before a Busch series drivers meeting at Michigan in 2000. Johnson wanted help as he sorted through driving offers he received.

"I can't help you," Gordon said, noting the circumstances earlier in his career were different from what Johnson was going through.

Johnson, though, could help Gordon. Hendrick Motorsports planned to add a fourth team and Gordon, part-owner of that car, wanted Johnson.

"Excuse me?" Johnson said. "I had no idea that was what he was going to bring up."

Team officials later debated who should be Johnson's crew chief. Someone suggested Knaus, a former crew member on Gordon's three title teams.

"No way," Gordon said, laughing at the idea of the ultra-intense Knaus leading a crew.

Team manager Brian Whitsell campaigned for Knaus, then a crew chief for another team. Whitesell said Hendrick Motorsports needed Knaus, whose experimental setups pushed the sport forward. A few teams were finding ways to lower a car's nose and make it more aerodynamic. Hendrick Motorsports had fallen behind.

Knaus helped them catch up.

Changing the sport

Knaus and Johnson blitzed the series in 2002, their first together. Johnson charged in practice, qualifying and the race. Fellow rookie Ryan Newman also ran the same way. Veteran drivers often paced themselves in races but the gung-ho style by Johnson and Newman forced many to change their driving habits. Especially since Johnson won three races that year.

"All of a sudden, there was one guy ... running wide open," said former champion Rusty Wallace, an ESPN analyst, about Johnson. "All of a sudden, I can't doink around. I've got to go."

That approach nearly helped Johnson (2004 runner-up) and Greg Biffle (2005 runner-up) win series titles while winning the most races those seasons.

Johnson says he's matured and found "where the limit is'' when he drives. Even so, he led nearly more laps this season than any other year, and he became the first driver to win 10 or more races in a season since Gordon won 13 in 1998.

"To see a guy win 10 races in one season, I thought that era was over," Denny Hamlin said after his third-place finish Sunday.

Johnson and Knaus have made out-of-reach records seem possible.

For as strong as Johnson is on the track, Knaus is as dominant on pit road. His aggressive pit calls rattle his rivals. Knaus showed that teams could win even when pitting in the first stall on pit road -- teams favor the last stall so they can accelerate quicker on to the track.

His ingenuity expanded NASCAR's rule book.

Series officials struck back this summer, as they often have.

They suspended Knaus six races after his car failed an inspection at Infineon Raceway.

Johnson didn't win without Knaus but won six of the season's final 13 races upon Knaus' return. No one outside his Hendrick Motorsports teammates has come close to Johnson in the last three months.

What to do?

Theories exist but no answers arise. How to beat Johnson?

"If Jimmie would have won three races and Jeff (Gordon) would have won three, then you would look at it and say, well, we don't have as far to go," former champion Bobby Labonte said of catching the Hendrick team. "When they win 10 and six ... everybody has got to step it up."

Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports have been strong in all races: Short track, intermediate track, superspeedway, Car of Tomorrow and current car. Johnson won on several track types this season -- it's the same thing nearly everywhere. The main reason: his car goes through the corner better than anyone else's. Getting a car to turn in a corner and maintain its speed is what separates winners from middle-of-the-pack racers.

"We haven't seen anything like this, especially in the Chase," two-time champion Tony Stewart said.

"That's made the Chase more interesting to me ... just seeing how dominant he and his team have been."

Not everyone is happy, though.

Ricky Rudd, who finished 21st in his final Cup race, says Johnson's dominance darkened the garage's mood.

"You've got guys really frustrated," he said. "It's always been this way but not to the extent it is now. You take some of these guys that are really great drivers who don't have a snowball's chance."

Dynamic

Johnson woke up at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, nine hours before the start of the race.

He wanted to sleep in but couldn't. He admitted having some jitters throughout the day but once the race began he showed no anxiety.

Neither did his team.

Their mood seemed to be of expectation instead of anticipation. Even a minor glitch didn't upset anyone. Johnson was on pit road when the caution came out for an incident between Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Johnson was nearly a lap behind the leaders when the race restarted on lap 58 of the 267-lap event.

Another quick caution and Johnson was "back on the lead lap like that," Knaus radioed Johnson in a calm voice.

That was the race's only drama for Johnson.

Then, it was just a matter of waiting for the race to end and Johnson to enjoy another title before the questions came about a dynasty.

"I don't see anything that is going to slow Jimmie down," Hendrick said.

Neither can Johnson.

"I feel we're just really hitting our stride," he said. "We've got a lot of good years ahead of us and ... hopefully be a three-time champion in the near future."

Nextel Cup

Final standings

1. Jimmie Johnson 6,723

2. Jeff Gordon -77

3. Clint Bowyer -346

4. Matt Kenseth -425

5. Kyle Busch -430

6. Tony Stewart -481

7. Kurt Busch -492

7. Jeff Burton -492

9. Carl Edwards -501

10. Kevin Harvick -524

11. Martin Truex Jr. -559

12. Denny Hamlin -580

MORE INSIDE

n Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishes 36th in his final ride in the No. 8 car.

n Race replay

Page 4

n Complete final standings in Scoreboard

Page 8

MORE INSIDE

n Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishes 36th in his final ride in the No. 8 car

n Race replay and results

n Top 12 standings

Page 4

n Complete final standings in Scoreboard

Page 8