Jimmie Johnson extends contract with Hendrick

The partnership of Jimmie Johnson and top-flight team Hendrick Motorsports, which is poised to win a record fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title, will stay in place for several years to come.

Hendrick announced today that Johnson signed a five-year contract extension that keeps him with the stock-car racing team through 2015. Hendrick also said Johnson's primary sponsor, the home-improvement chain Lowe's Cos., agreed to a three-year pact that keeps the sponsorship in place through 2013.

"We're just real excited about keeping the whole deal intact," team owner Rick Hendrick told reporters today at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, where Johnson is expected to win his fourth championship Sunday at the Cup series' final race of the season.

"The key to success I think is keeping people together," Hendrick said. "This has been a fantastic ride with Jimmie. He and I have said we'd like to retire together."

Johnson's closest pursuer in NASCAR's Chase for the Cup playoff is teammate Mark Martin, 50, who is a distant 108 points behind. Martin, a five-time winner this year, said that no matter how the season ends, "I feel really good about things. And I've had the time of my life."

--Jim Peltz

Photo: Team owner Rick Hendrick hugs driver Jimmie Johnson after Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

Schumacher vs. Johnson: NHRA has the upper hand

Tony Schumacher has won six straight National Hot Rod Assn. top fuel championships and there is little criticism about his dominance.

Jimmie Johnson is on the verge of winning his fourth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and is catching heat for making a mockery out of the Chase.

What's the difference between Schumacher and Johnson's streaks? Schumacher has a legitimate rival, Larry Dixon. Johnson has no one.

Schumacher's latest championship came down to the semifinals of the season finale at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. If not for an early exit at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Johnson would have wrapped up his fourth Cup championship in a row with a race to spare.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for comments from the drivers and read why Schumacher and the NHRA are in much better shape than NASCAR.

-- Tim Haddock

Photo: Tony Schumacher won his sixth straight NHRA top fuel championship and has a healthy rivalry with Larry Dixon. Credit: NHRA

Tracking the musical chairs in Formula One

The flurry of changes in Formula One drivers and teams continues, and you'll need a program to keep track when the season opens next year. In the meantime, here's an early condensed version:

-- Mercedes-Benz this week took over the Brawn GP team, which will be rebranded as the Mercedes GP team, with its two drivers yet to be announced. Brawn was the surprise success story this year, with driver Jenson Button winning the championship. But …

-- Button has moved from Brawn to McLaren Mercedes, where he’ll join 2008 title winner Lewis Hamilton. That means Heikki Kovalainen is out at McLaren and looking for a ride in 2010.

-- At Ferrari, two-time champion Fernando Alonso has moved from Renault to join Felipe Massa, replacing 2007 title winner Kimi Raikkonen, who reportedly now plans to take a one-year sabbatical from Formula One before deciding where he’ll drive next.

Brown wins NHRA top fuel final at Pomona

Antron Brown beat rookie Spencer Massey in the National Hot Rod Assn. top fuel final at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona on Sunday. It was his sixth top fuel win of the season.

Mike Neff won the first NHRA funny car race of his career, defeating Ashley Force Hood in the final race.

Greg Anderson won the pro stock final race, beating Kurt Johnson.

Eddie Krawiec beat Doug Horne in the pro stock motorcycle final.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for video interviews of the drivers from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

-- Tim Haddock

Photo: Antron Brown celebrates his sixth win of the season in Top Fuel on Sunday, in Pomona, Calif. Credit: Teresa Long / Associated Press.

Is it time for John Force to stop NHRA drag racing?

John Force Racing driver Robert Hight won the first National Hot Rod Assn. funny car championship of his career.

Ashley Force Hood won two funny car races and was second in the NHRA funny car standings in 2009.

Mike Neff, who also drives for John Force Racing, won the first funny car race of his career at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona on Sunday.

John Force did not win a race in 2009, the first time in 22 years he has gone winless in an NHRA season.

Someone suggested that it might be time for Force to pass the torch and retire from drag racing. Force is not too keen on that suggestion.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for comments from Force about his plans for the future and video interviews of the drivers from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

-- Tim Haddock

Ashley Force Hood vs. Mike Neff for NHRA funny car final

Ashley Force Hood beat Ron Capps in the first National Hot Rod Assn. funny car semifinal race at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Mike Neff won his semifinal race against Tim Wilkerson.

That pits John Force Racing teammates against each other for the funny car final.

Force Hood was the top qualifier. Neff is a bit of a surprise finalist. He qualified 10th and was the worst of the four John Force Racing cars in the field.

-- Tim Haddock

Tony Schumacher wins NHRA top fuel championship, loses in semis at Pomona

Larry Dixon spun his tires and Spencer Massey won in the National Hot Rod Assn. top fuel semifinals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

But the biggest cheers came from the crew for Tony Schumacher. The Dixon loss gave Schumacher the NHRA top fuel championship, his sixth in a row and the seventh of his career.

Schumacher came into the NHRA season finale with a two-point lead over Dixon in the top fuel standings.

His two-point advantage turned out to be the margin of victory for the top fuel championship. Schumacher lost his semifinal race to Antron Brown.

The top two drivers in the top fuel standings, Schumacher and Dixon, will not advance to the top fuel final. Brown will face Massey.

-- Tim Haddock

Hight eliminated in NHRA funny cars at Pomona

Newly crowned National Hot Rod Assn. funny car champion Robert Hight lost in the second round at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Tim Wilkerson beat Hight to advance to the funny car semifinals. He will face Mike Neff in the next round.

Neff beat John Force, who saw his 22-year streak of winning at least one race snap.

Ashley Force Hood won her second-round race against Del Worsham. Force Hood, the top qualifier in funny cars, will face Ron Capps in the other semifinal race.

Capps beat Matt Hagan in the second round.

-- Tim Haddock

Photo: NHRA funny car driver John Force lost his second-round race to Mike Neff. Force's 22-year streak of winning at least one NHRA race was snapped. He did not win a race in 2009. Credit: NHRA

McClenathan out; Schumacher, Dixon advance to NHRA top fuel semis

Cory McClenathan had an outside chance of winning the National Hot Rod Assn. top fuel championship.

He was officially eliminated from championship contention when Tony Schumacher won his second-round race against Morgan Lucas at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Schumacher, the leader in the top fuel standings, advanced to the semifinals of the NHRA season finale. He will face Antron Brown in that round.

In head-to-head competition, Brown has a 5-2 advantage over Schumacher.

Larry Dixon, in second place in the top fuel standings, two points behind Schumacher, won his second-round race by 0.014 second over McClenathan.

Dixon will face Spencer Massey in the semifinals.

-- Tim Haddock

Photo: Tony Schumacher won his second-round race and moved into the NHRA top fuel semifinals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Credit: NHRA

Rick Hendrick says Jimmie Johnson's dominance doesn't make NASCAR boring

Although the sour U.S. economy might be the main culprit behind a slip in NASCAR's fortunes, some observers also have suggested that Jimmie Johnson's dominance over the last four years has made the racing too boring and partially accounts for a drop in NASCAR's television ratings.

Not so, said his team owner, Rick Hendrick.

"I don't think that's hurt NASCAR at all," Hendrick said today before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, where Johnson hopes to pad his series point lead and move closer to a record fourth consecutive Cup championship.

"We can look for reasons that things are probably not as good as we'd like them to be" in terms of NASCAR's popularity and financial health, "but I don't think Jimmie Johnson's success has got anything to do with it," Hendrick said. "That's his job, to come out here and do the best he can."

Johnson entered today's race with a 73-point lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin with two races left in NASCAR's late-season Chase for the Cup playoff. The season finale is next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

“I look back at when Jeff [Gordon] was winning like he was or [Dale] Earnhardt was winning all the championships in a row," Hendrick said. "People went to the track to see them get beat. So I think people are going to show up to see Jimmie get beat, and these [other NASCAR] teams are going to rally and work hard to do that.”

-- Jim Peltz in Avondale, Ariz.

Photo: Jimmie Johnson's Chevrolet is pushed to the grid before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race today at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas / US Presswire