Johnson takes Dover race

DOVER, Del. -- Does anyone think Jimmie Johnson's dominating victory in Sunday's AAA 400 is a sign a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship is growing more likely?

Johnson sure hopes so.

"I certainly hope our performance [Sunday] scares some people and affects them in a way that benefits us," said Johnson, who led 271 of 400 laps -- including the final 225 -- in completing a victory sweep of both races at Dover International Speedway this season.

"I see guys get so worried about what other people think, what other people say and spend a lot of time in those areas," Johnson said. "That's not what works for me."

It's a good thing because an air of inevitability of another championship for Johnson's No. 48 team appeared to settle in the garage area after the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff race.

That's hard to believe because, technically, Johnson isn't even the points leader. He trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Mark Martin, by 10 points with eight races remaining.

But the series heads to Kansas Speedway this week -- a race Johnson won last season -- and since the Chase started in 2004, Johnson has 15 wins in 52 Chase races, an astounding 28.8 winning percentage.

Martin, who has never won a Cup title, is by no means ready to concede.

"It's just two races, and I think a first and a second is a pretty good way to come out of the gate," Martin said of his performance in the first two races. "You know, it might be a challenge for a couple of the teams that are toward the back right now. But you just don't have any concept, I guess, of how much racing eight races is."

Even though a driver can win the Chase for the Sprint Cup without winning a race, Johnson said getting one in the books -- especially early -- is crucial.

"Winning a race and putting the team in that situation and the driver, the pressure that comes with the race win to pull it off -- it does a lot for you mentally," said Johnson, who earned his fourth win of the season and 44th of his career. "Just a great shot in the arm for everybody."

Restart after restart in the final 200 laps, Johnson easily pulled away to a sizable advantage, whether it was Martin, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya or Matt Kenseth racing him for the lead.

Martin had the final chance to run Johnson down after a restart on lap 374 but could make little progress. Kenseth finished third, Montoya fourth and Kurt Busch fifth.

"I'm pretty sure that dude's Superman," Martin said of Johnson. "I have had the opportunity to see up close.

"I'm telling you, I see why he is so successful. I see why. He works harder at it than anybody else, I think, on the circuit."

With eight races left to decide the championship, Martin and Johnson have started to separate themselves from the rest of the 12-driver field.

Montoya, who is running as consistent as he has all season, is 65 points behind Martin, and Busch is 75 behind. Everyone else is trailing Martin by at least 106 or more.

"Overall, it was good," Montoya said of his third-place finish. "Another top-five and I had a pretty cool fight there with [Kurt Busch] at the end."

Johnson was so far out front and so focused on his performance he didn't even know about Joey Logano's vicious wreck on lap 32 -- one that sent Logano's No. 20 Toyota flipping down the track at least seven times. No one was injured.

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