AVONDALE, Ariz. -- History isn't always dramatic. Even when it's remarkable.

Jimmie Johnson's run to a record-breaking fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship might not be appreciated by all who tire of seeing him in Victory Lane -- as he was again Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Get used to it.

Johnson holds a 108-point lead on Mark Martin heading into this weekend's season finale at Homestead. Nine times in 265 races Martin gained 108 points or more on Johnson in a single race, including once this season. That's 3.4 percent of the time.

Such is Martin's chances of winning his first series title. It will take something dramatic like Johnson being involved in a crash -- as he was at Texas last week -- or blowing an engine for Martin to have a strong chance of becoming a series champion.

Otherwise, history will occur and Johnson will do something that Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough or anyone else could not do in winning back-to-back-to-back-to-back championships.

Johnson, who needs to finish only 25th or better next week to clinch the crown, isn't ready to celebrate, though.

"Anything can happen,'' Johnson warned.

Then he admits, "yes I am excited'' about his title prospects.

Martin, who finished fourth Sunday and still lost 35 points to Johnson, suggests Johnson's run might not be finished.

"From my experience from 1981 to today, no one has been able to sustain the kind of performance they have,'' Martin said of Johnson's team. "It might come unraveled at any time, but I don't see that. I see that continuing for a long time.''

So, then how can Martin and his team beat Johnson?

"I've got to find a way to work harder,'' said Martin, considered among the most dedicated drivers in the sport. "I've got to dig deeper. I've got to find some more.''

More of what, though?

For whatever others do, Johnson continues to succeed. He's won a title with the old car. He's won a title in a season where the old car and current car were both used. He won last year's title with the current car and now looks to repeat that feat.

"I don't know how good these two guys can get,'' car owner Rick Hendrick said of Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus. "I really don't. But they're two of the best I've ever worked with and the best I've ever seen, at a time when this sport is probably more competitive than it has been at any time that I've been racing.

"These two guys have the most awesome amount of talent I've ever been around. And they also have the most dedication of anybody I've ever been around. Jimmie is such a student of how to race, when to race, what the car needs. And Chad is 24/7 trying to figure out how to make anything better and never satisfied. Never satisfied.''

Think about that. Hendrick has won Cup championships with Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte. He's had Tim Richmond and Darrell Waltrip, among others, drive for him and Johnson and Knaus are the best.

Yet, in a championship-type performance that should be admired, some will lament how it's droned on. Just like Sunday's race. While Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided some excitement by spinning out and collecting eight other cars, Johnson's precision was more numbing. He led 238 of the 312 laps, including the final 65. No one could keep up with Johnson.

"For whatever reason, turn 3, everyone enters that corner the same, but he can just accelerate off the corners much, much better than a lot of guys,'' said third-place finisher Denny Hamlin about Johnson. "That's what makes him so strong on the short tracks and one of the guys you usually have to beat every time.''

Each track it's something different for Johnson who has scored seven wins and 23 top-10 finishes in 35 starts this season.

And it's why Johnson nears a historic mark, even if not all will celebrate it.

"I don't think your generation ever gives you the credit you deserve,'' runner-up Jeff Burton said of Johnson's place in history. "I think the next generation will give Jimmie the credit he deserves."

Johnson admits he's willing to wait. In the meantime, he'll continue to vie for wins and titles even as some fans tune away.