Admiration for Johnson's feat stretches beyond NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson thinks his biggest threat for a four-peat comes from Carl Edwards. Michael LeBrecht/SI

Jimmie Johnson strode through the doors of the ESPN headquarters, his cell phone in hand. He'd already received more than 100 congratulatory text messages for becoming the first driver in 30 years to repeat as champion in the Cup series, and now, on Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the checkered flag had waved on the 2008 season, the love continued to flow like uncorked champagne.

When Mike Ditka spotted Johnson, he told JJ, "You're a dynasty."

Then Cris Carter approached. "I'm not a race fan," Carter said, "but I admire excellence."

This is perhaps Johnson's most remarkable achievement: He's commanding the attention -- and appreciation -- of even the non-racing fans. But fact is, he deserves it. For the third straight season, he and crew chief Chad Knaus out-smarted, out-planned, and plain out-performed the competition during the 10-race Chase for the Championship. And now that they've matched what Cale Yarborough accomplished in 1978, when he won his third straight title, the question becomes this: Can Jimmie and Chad win No. 4 in 2009?

In the days leading up to the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, I spent a lot of time with Johnson and his wife, Chandra, for the cover story in this week's issue of the magazine. We went to a charity event, had dinner at a restaurant in South Beach, hung out for a few hours during a photo shoot and cruised around the streets of Miami in the back of a SUV. Along with talking about what his life is like away from the track, we also chatted about what makes his team so special. "Chemistry," Johnson said. "I don't know how we got it, but we just have the perfect chemistry on this team."

Over the last few years, there has been almost zero turnover on the No. 48 team. And though Johnson and Knaus nearly split up after the 2005 season, their relationship is now the envy of every other driver and crew chief in the garage. "I seriously spend more time working on my relationship with Chad than I do my wife," Johnson says. "There are times when we need a break from each other, but we both know that we're far better off together than apart. Chad and I have developed such a high level of communication. He can take what I say and visualize in his mind what is going on inside the car and then make the right adjustments. It's really incredible what he does."

The Johnson-Knaus relationship is the reason I think they'll four-peat next season. And I'm not the only one who believes this. "You've got to say that they're the favorites next year, because they've figured out how to race in the Chase," says Darrell Waltrip. "Maybe Carl Edwards will catch them, but I don't see anyone else who can run with Jimmie and Chad over the 10 weeks of the Chase."

There's a long-held belief in NASCAR that you have to lose a championship before you win one. Johnson and Knaus experienced this in 2005, when they lost the title to Kurt Busch by eight points. And if you buy into this theory, Edwards, who finished 69 points behind Johnson this season, should be formidable in 2009. This season he won more races (nine) than anyone in the series and he likely would have won the championship if not for a wreck at Talladega and an ignition failure at Charlotte.

"We won more races than Jimmie and we ran with him when he won," Edwards says. "I personally feel like we closed a big gap this season... I know they'll enjoy this championship, but they knew we were here."

Indeed, they did. "Carl Edwards scares the sh-- out of me," Johnson told me a few days before the season-finale. "That team is going to be very, very good for the next few years. They are going to give us a fight every week."

But there's a difference between Johnson and Edwards, and I think this, ultimately, is going to be the reason Johnson four-peats next season: Johnson simply doesn't make heat-of-the-moment mistakes, and Edwards sometimes does.

Take Talladega. Late in the race on Oct. 5, while running near the front, Edwards slammed into the rear of Greg Biffle's car. This caused Biffle to lose control and slide up the track, where he collected Edwards and several other drivers. Edwards was clearly being overaggressive -- something Johnson never is -- and it essentially cost him the championship.

Still, if there is one person who can prevent the four-peat, it's Edwards. Kyle Busch won eight races during the regular season this year, but he flamed out in the Chase for the third straight season. Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are well behind the No. 48 team in terms of consistency and possessing the ability to turn it on when it matters most.

Add it all up and there's little reason to believe that anyone will out-run or out-smart the No. 48 team in 2009. You heard it here first: This dynasty won't crumble anytime soon.