As the checkered flags fell this past weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway on the final races for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series, three men earned their place in the NASCAR history books.

At 51-years-young, Ron Hornaday earned his 4th Truck Series title. Hornaday and Jack Sprague had been tied with three championships each but Hornaday is now on top. Since the Series began in 1995, Hornaday has won a race each year he has run in it except for 2004 and he only made one Series start that year.

In 2009, Hornaday managed to get his No. 33 Chevy Silverado into Victory Lane six times, including a 5-race winning streak from the end of June through the beginning of August. He earned 15 top-5 finishes and 20 top-10’s in 25 starts.

Hornaday earned the title a week early after the race in Phoenix. He officially accepted the trophy after Friday’s race in Homestead with a 187-point lead over 2nd place Matt Crafton and helped his team owner Kevin Harvick secure the owner’s championship for Kevin Harvick Inc.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch took home the Nationwide Series hardware by a 210-point lead over fellow Cup regular Carl Edwards. This title is the first for Busch in his NASCAR career.

This season he earned nine wins, 25-top 5 finishes and 30 top-10’s in the Series’ 35 races. Previously, his best finish in the Series’ point standings was 2nd in 2004 when he lost the title to Martin Truex Jr. by 230 points.

In the Sprint Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson made NASCAR history by winning his 4th consecutive title, a feat that has never been done before. Johnson has now joined the small group of exceptional drivers to have won four or more Cup championships which includes Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. who both have seven titles to their name and Johnson’s mentor, teammate and partial car owner Jeff Gordon who has also won four.

The historical part is in the fact that Johnson has won all four championships in consecutive years. Cale Yarborough held the record for three straight titles and now that belongs to Johnson.

Three races in the Florida sun, three champions making their claim on a piece of NASCAR history. As 2009 fades away, 2010 is already beginning to loom large on the horizon. Who will be on top next year? No one knows for sure but there are a lot of people who are going to try. 

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