AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jimmie Johnson's third consecutive Cup championship was such a foregone conclusion to all his competitors except Carl Edwards that, when Johnson put the final nail in the coffin Sunday night after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, no one mentioned it.

Johnson, who led the most laps and won at Phoenix International Raceway, has dominated down the stretch in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, as he has in his two previous championship runs.

So realistically, coming into Sunday's race, only Edwards, who came into this weekend 106 points behind Johnson and his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle, who was 143 points out, had a realistic chance to remain in contention.

Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick, who came to Phoenix fourth through seventh in the standings and in a range from 212 to 279 points back, were mathematically alive.

But not after Johnson exercised his latest precision dissection. It's now all down to Johnson and Edwards, and with a 141-point lead, all Johnson has to do is finish 36th or better to clinch the title.

The bottom line at Phoenix was that, with the exception of Edwards, who finished fourth, no one stepped up to do what they needed. In the past five races, Johnson has scored 843 points, only 69 better than second place Edwards, but 126 more than third place Biffle in the same stretch -- and considerably more than anyone else.

It's why Harvick, who after scoring his sixth top-10 finish in nine Chase races, only grinned when asked what Edwards -- or anyone else who might have been in a position to race Johnson next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the championship -- could hope for.

"A miracle," Harvick said. "That's about the only chance [Edwards] has got. Those guys [Johnson's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team] are just running so good and they've been so consistent week in and week out. And when they have to step up, they just find another gear.

"I've been telling you guys [Johnson was the title favorite] for months, but you wouldn't listen to me. All you had to do was listen to me but then none of you would have a job -- you wouldn't have anything to write about." (Continued)