By Sam Atwell 

If anyone has watched to performance over the last six to eight weeks of the 48 team, you now know why they are the 2008 Sprint Cup Series Champs, well not officially yet.  We do still have to run four more races, a mere formality.  Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have a blueprint for the chase and they have followed the blueprint line by line.  I must admit that early in the season I thought that Jimmie was going to have an okay year, just not a championship season.  No one, since Cale Yarborough, has won three championships in a row, Hendrick had apparently lost their edge with the new car, Jimmie was having some bad luck and on and on and on.  I just thought no team was going to match what Kyle Busch and the 18 team had accomplished what a colossal collapse that has been. 

The thing about the 48 team is they can deal with adversity!  Last week in Charlotte they have a bad day and finish sixth!  No other driver/crew chief combination has the same look in their eye, the refuse to lose look.  I believe the realization has set in or the other drivers are in denial.  Just ask Jeff Gordon, he had one of the best seasons ever with 30 top ten finishes and he finished a distant second to Jimmie last season. I just do not see any team matching Jimmie the last four races, remember he won four in a row after Martinsville last season.  Will he do that again?  I would not be surprised.  It is not just that they won on Sunday, it is how they won, and they dominated the competition.  Look for more of that in the next four weeks.  A 146-point lead is not bullet proof, but it is enough for the 48 team. 

Jimmie or Chad will not say it yet, but I will, Jimmie is the 2008 Sprint Cup Champ, prepare a spot in the trophy room for the third cup in three years!