CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Rick Hendrick sat with drivers Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin situated to either side of him at a long table on an elevated stage Thursday at the posh Hyatt Regency hotel.

The special occasion Thursday afternoon was the Cup Series championship contenders press conference, and folks were there to talk mostly about history.

“

I've never known an organization that wants to win more for the boss. It feels like to me they want to win more for him than they even do for themselves.

”

-- MARK MARTIN

Yes, Jimmie Johnson almost certainly will make some Sunday in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He needs only to finish 25th or better -- regardless of what Martin does -- to secure an unprecedented fourth consecutive championship.

And if Johnson somehow slips up and Martin erases the formidable 108-point deficit he is facing heading into Sunday's Ford 400, Martin would make history by becoming the oldest driver in history to win a championship.

But Hendrick was the only one on stage Thursday already assured of putting his name and his organization on a new page in the NASCAR record book. With both Johnson and Martin in his employ at Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick already knows that his ninth Cup championship is in the bag -- as well as his 12th overall championship in NASCAR's three national touring series.

Only the former Petty Enterprises has won as many Cup titles, and no one has won more overall. Hendrick entered this season tied with Richard Childress Racing for most overall NASCAR championships.

"I would have to say this is probably as good as it gets," Hendrick said. "You know, to have the three cars in the points where they are right now [Jeff Gordon, another Hendrick driver, is third behind Johnson and Martin], having the championship as owner going into Homestead already secured, we've won a lot of races ... this has got to be as good as any season we've ever had." (Continued)