Anyone who says Johnson hasn't locked it up is crazy

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- As Jimmie Johnson launched into yet another burnout, followed by yet another Victory Lane celebration, his closest pursuers in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship insisted this isn't over.

History says otherwise. In the wake of Sunday's victory at Martinsville Speedway, history says that Johnson is certain to make NASCAR history while reducing the rest of the season to little more than a Jimmie Watch.

As in Watch Jimmie Make Laps ... Watch Jimmie to make sure his No. 48 Chevrolet doesn't blow up ... And Watch Jimmie methodically work his way to a third consecutive championship when the No. 48 doesn't.

Of course, there are those who differ with this opinion -- and they deserve their say.

Driver Greg Biffle, for instance, climbed out of his No. 16 Ford following a 12th-place finish Sunday and thrust his arms triumphantly into the air as if he -- and not Johnson -- had won the race. Curiously, he almost acted as if that was indeed the case.

Asked if Johnson's latest victory was the proverbial nail in the coffin for the rest of the Sprint Cup field, Biffle bristled and replied brusquely: "I don't think so. We can catch 'em."

Fellow drivers Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards, sitting third and fourth in the points standings, said the same. And they not only seemed to mean it, they seemed to believe it.

What are they smoking?

Did these guys not realize Johnson just dominated yet another race at Martinsville, leading 339 of the event's 500 laps and winning for the fifth time in his career at the track? Do they not realize that Johnson, with his sixth win of the season, increased his point advantage on Biffle, now his closest pursuer, to 149 points with just four races remaining in the season?

As amazingly as it seemed, one after another seemed to shrug all that off.

"We totally expected them to gain some points here," said Biffle, who finished 12th and dropped 63 points to Johnson despite moving from third to second in the standings. "We're leaving here with almost exactly what we expected. We wanted to get a top-10, and we were hoping they wouldn't win -- so if he got a top-five we wouldn't worry about it or care so much about it. He won and we finished 12th, so it's not exactly what we wanted. I guess that was almost the worst-case scenario for what we were trying to do -- but he's not going to have 10 flawless races [in the Chase]. I promise you."

Burton was penalized for pitting outside his pit stall late in the race and battled an ill-handling car, forcing him to settle for 17th Sunday after starting second behind pole sitter Johnson. He came into the day only 69 points behind Johnson and left 152 off the torrid Chase pace being set by the No. 48 team, and three behind Biffle.

Like Biffle, he seemed almost surprised when it was suggested that some were left with the impression after Sunday's race that Johnson cannot be caught in this Chase.

"No, I don't think this is the nail at all," Burton said. "If it surprises anyone that the 48 ran well at Martinsville, they're crazy. It didn't surprise me at all. They run better here than anywhere, and they run well in a lot of places. But I don't think this is over at all."

And then there was Edwards, who like Biffle acted almost as if he had won the race. He actually had more reason to feel that way after finishing third at a place where he previously had never finished higher than ninth -- but he still dropped points to Johnson, falling from 168 points off the pace to 198 while remaining in fourth in the standings.

"No way," answered Edwards when asked if Johnson had just all but mathematically clinched his third championship in a row. "He could have any sort of trouble at the next two races and be right back there with us. It could happen to anyone."

Memo to all

To their enormous credit, Biffle, Burton and Edwards are doing what they must to keep themselves in the race -- sort of like John McCain and Sarah Palin as the Presidential campaign winds down and every poll south of Alaska shows the Republicans' chances are virtually hopeless. Nonetheless, they must keep up the good fight, sending, in fact, potential First Husband (is that what he'd be called?) Todd Palin all the way to Martinsville to pump a few hands and issue a few positive words prior to Sunday's race.

Something could happen. But right now, Barack Obama is starting to look a whole lot like Jimmie Johnson -- which is to say both men look unbeatable. Still, Biffle insisted that luck can't possibly remain on Johnson's side every step the rest of the way.

"You try to do everything right, and sometimes stuff reaches out and gets you when you don't expect it," Biffle said. "I'm not saying anything is going to happen to him. But we've seen him have off days. All we need is for him to have one off day -- and then we're gonna be there.

"We feel like we can beat 'em at these next four racetracks. Whether we do or not is yet to be seen. But I think we can."

Well, last year, when Johnson also won the fall race at Martinsville, it launched his team on a streak of four consecutive victories that sapped the season finale at Homestead of any real drama. In each of the last two seasons, he and his team, led by meticulous crew chief Chad Knaus, have seemed to get stronger and make fewer mistakes as the Chase progressed.

Asked what he thought as he hustled to secure his best finish ever at Martinsville, only to still place two spots behind Johnson, Edwards said he stared at the back bumper of the No. 48 car all day long and kept thinking, "Damn, those guys are good."

They're not just good. They're the best. And they'll still be the best when this season ends.

If this Chase isn't over after Sunday, it's darn close. And the winner of it appears to be inevitable.