Jimmie Johnson captured his seventh career Sprint Cup championship and his first in three years joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as a seven-time premier series champion.

The final race of the season the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Johnson became the youngest seven-time winner in the sport at the age of 41.  Petty was 42 when he achieved his seventh title in 1979 while Earnhardt was 43 in 1994 when he accomplished the feat.

Johnson who actually had a challenging season endured the longest winless streak (25 starts) of his illustrious career.  However, when it came down to the championship series during the chase he did some of his best racing and picked up wins at Charlotte, Martinsville and on Sunday at Homestead-Miami.

It’s amazing how Johnson won this race which will put him in the record books for all time joining two NASCAR immortals.  Then suddenly in Lap 258 Championship contenders Carl Edwards and Joey Logano and other drivers were involved in a major wreck which ended the race for Edwards with 10 laps to go in the contest.

Meanwhile, Martin Truex, Jr. in his No. 78 Toyota received the worst damage as his car caught fire causing him to hop out of his burning race car to safety.   Kasey Kahn, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliot were also involved in the wreck ending their day of racing.

Then with 3 laps to go on another restart in overtime Johnson in his No. 19 car passed Kyle Larson No. 42 and drove away from Joey Logano and Kyle Busch for the championship.

The top 5 finishers at Homestead were the winner and seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson second, Kevin Harvick third, Joey Logano fourth, Jamie McMurray fifth.  Kyle Busch finished in sixth place.

This is the final race of the 2016 season, race fans with have to sit back and wonder about next season which will begin in February.