HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson has a sixth NASCAR championship in hand and two legends within reach. Johnson staked his claim as one of the most dominant competitors Sunday by winning his sixth Sprint Cup title in eight years. He needs one more championship -- hes sure to be the early favourite in 2014 -- to tie the NASCAR record held by Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt. Johnson barely got to complete his celebratory burnouts before the debate began: Where does he rank among NASCAR greats? This much is certain: At 38 years and 61 days old, Johnson is the youngest driver to win six NASCAR championships. Petty was 38 years and 144 days old when he won No. 6 in 1975. Earnhardt was 42 when he won his sixth in 1993. "Well see if I can get seven," Johnson said. "Lets wait until I hang up the helmet until we really start thinking about this." Thats not really how it works, so here are a few more worthy comparisons for Johnsons remarkable run. Tennis star Roger Federer won 16 Grand Slam titles from 2003-10. American swimmer Michael Phelps won 18 gold medals over three Olympics, including eight golds in eight events in Beijing in 2008. Professional golfer Tiger Woods won seven majors from 1999-2002, including four straight in 2000 and 2001. And race-car driver Michael Schumacher won five consecutive Formula 1 championships from 2000-04, winning 56 per cent of his races in that span. The only other organizations to pull off six titles in eight years: --The New York Yankees did it twice, winning six of eight World Series titles between 1936 and 1943 and six of seven between 1947 and 1953. --The Montreal Canadiens hoisted the Stanley Cup six times in eight seasons between 1953 and 1960. --The Boston Celtics won eight consecutive NBA championships between 1959 and 1966. --UCLA won seven consecutive NCAA championships between 1967 and 1973. --The Chicago Bulls won six of eight NBA titles between 1991 and 1998. And now Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team, led by Johnson and relentless crew chief Chad Knaus. "Every one of them is special," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "It makes you hungry to continue to try to win more. ... They got this championship mentality. "Well just keep digging and see if we can come back and be competitive. (If) luck will be on our side next year, well be able to win another one." Aside from Johnsons on-track dominance, here are five things to know about NASCARs 2013 season: KENSETH CLOSE: Matt Kenseths first season at Joe Gibbs Racing was his best in seven years, a title-contending run that fell 19 points short of a championship. The 2003 Sprint Cup champion finished with a career-best seven victories this season and led the majority of the 10-race Chase. Maybe its his experience. Maybe its his comfort level in the redesigned cars. Or maybe its the move from Roush Fenway Racing to Gibbs. "I dont know if I feel like Im the best driver Ive ever been in my career, but I really dont feel like Ive deteriorated," Kenseth said. "Its probably the best Ive felt physically and mentally and emotionally in as many years as I can remember. Its probably as confident as Ive ever felt." SEAT SHUFFLE: NASCARs annual seat shuffle has more moves than usual. Kevin Harvick, who finished third in points, is leaving Richard Childress Racing for Stewart-Haas Racing. Hell be joined there by Kurt Busch, who is leaving Furniture Row Racing after one season. With Ryan Newman out at SHR, hes moving to RCR. Martin Truex Jr. is moving from Michael Waltrip Racing to Furniture Row. Confused yet? Well, Jeff Burton also is done at Richard Childress, and although nothing has been officially announced, he appears headed to MWR for a part-time ride. Then theres Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte and Juan Pablo Montoya -- all of whom might be done behind a NASCAR wheel. Martin is stepping away. Labontes future is uncertain. And Montoya is returning to IndyCar, where he will drive for legendary owner Roger Penske. KEY INJURIES: Between Tony Stewarts broken leg and Denny Hamlins broken vertebra, the season had two significant injuries. But those were just a glimpse of what happened across auto racing. Former NASCAR driver Jason Leffler, a two-time winner in the Nationwide Series, died in June after crashing in a sprint car event. Justin Wilson fractured his pelvis and bruised a lung in the IndyCar finale, and four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti abruptly retired Thursday because of injuries sustained in a crash in Houston early last month. Franchitti fractured his spine, broke his right ankle and suffered a concussion. "The one other thing weve learned again and are reminded of in 2013 is that its a dangerous sport," NASCAR President Mike Helton said Friday. "Our drivers are human." CONFLICT, CHAOS & CHANGE: Those bickering disputes between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart and Logano were minor compared to what happened during and after the Richmond race. It might go down as the most memorable moment of 2013. Clint Bowyer intentionally spun and triggered the biggest credibility crisis in NASCAR history. Bowyer was trying to help a teammate earn a valuable spot in NASCARs version of the playoffs, but the situation snowballed and led to a full-blown scandal. When the dust settled, chairman Brian France gathered all the competitors and tersely ordered them to give 100 per cent at all times going forward. DANICAS DUD: The year began with former IndyCar star Danica Patrick on the Daytona 500 pole and making history by leading laps at the Great American Race. Oh yeah, she also announced she was dating fellow rookie of the year candidate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He bested her in the race for the award as she mostly struggled in her first full Sprint Cup season. Patrick finished eighth at Daytona, but failed to crack the top 10 in the next 35 starts. She finished 28th in points. But shes never been happier, personally and professionally, despite her below-average results. John Elway Jersey . - Novak Djokovic beat John Isner 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open, where hell resume his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer. Von Miller Jersey . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Latvia won a four-man World Cup bobsled race Sunday, while the U. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Bronco...us-Ware-Jersey/. Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff. Dalton Risner Broncos Jersey . Weise left the arena with a splint on his wrist and underwent tests to determine whether the tendon is torn. Winger Travis Moen will also miss some time after suffering a concussion in Mondays contest. Peyton Manning Jersey .Murray has played 20 matches in five weeks, winning three titles to climb to fifth in the ATP Race.The two-time Grand Slam champion also seeks to qualify for next months ATP World Tour Finals.Murray said: I always wanted to qualify for it, but also I want to get back into the top 8 players in the world and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events.There is some irony in the fact that Jason Spezza was finally traded on Canada Day. After all, there had been weeks of speculation that the star centre wasnt enamoured with the idea of playing in a Canadian market. But a few hours after the trade, Spezza wanted to make it clear that he wasnt leaving Ottawa because he couldnt stand the pressure and scrutiny that came with playing in the nations capital. “I dont think thats accurate," Spezza told TSN.ca. "My biggest motivator for a trade was to win. It will be portrayed however they want it to be portrayed, but the last thing I was worried about was coming out and doing interviews in front of my stall.” During the past month, it was widely reported that Spezza put the other Canadian teams on his no-trade list and that his desire was to go south of the border, where he would face less scrutiny. However, Spezza said the fact that most Canadian teams are struggling right now was the biggest reason why he put them on his no-trade list. He is never one to shy away from microphones and says he would welcome playing in a Canadian market again down the road if the opportunity arose. “It was more circumstance than anything of why those (Canadian) teams were on my list. I have one year left on my deal and I wanted to go someplace where I could win a Cup,” Spezza said. The troubling trend for Senators fans, however, is that Spezza is the latest superstar to have a somewhat messy departure from their city. In the summer of 2009, Dany Heatley demanded a trade and ultimately forced the clubs hand into trading him to San Jose. Last summer, Daniel Alfredsson and the organization had a sudden and bitter divorce, prompting the long-time captain to sign with Detroit as a free agent. Now that Spezza has been shipped to Dallas, it only adds to the growing perception that superstars have a short shelf life in Ottawa. But Spezza says the fans in Ottawa arent to blame for a number of players wanting to leave in a short window of time. “Its a fine market for stars, but just like any hockey market, its tough when youre not winning. All three situations are unique. I didnt make my decision because of Alfie and Alfie didnt make his decision because of Heater,” Spezza explained. “We all had our own reasons. There were some similarities, but in the end, each was a unique case.” In some ways, this does appear to be different than the Alfredsson saga from last summer, when the captain abruptly ended his tenure with the club. Spezza appeared to have a more calculated, long-term approach – far less emotional than the course Alfredsson seemed to take. But there is a striking similarity between Alfredssons comments last summer and the ones made by Spezza today.dddddddddddd In each case, the captain felt like he had a better chance to win a Stanley Cup with a different organization. “All I can say is my goal is to win a Cup. I think Ottawa has a good chance. They have a good core of young players and a good nucleus. But for me right now, I just felt like Dallas was a great fit,” Spezza added. Spezza said he had discussions with Bryan Murray towards the end of the season and alerted the front office that he likely wasnt going to re-sign a contract extension beyond 2015. And rather than make it awkward for everyone during the 2014-15 season – constantly answering questions about his future – he felt it was best for all parties involved to make a preemptive move this summer. “I didnt have any interest in signing an extension and that kind of hinted to them that maybe it was time to move on. I met with Bryan and had some really good and frank discussions. And I was being honest with them when I said it was best for me and best for them if I moved on,” Spezza explained. Spezza was asked if he knew the regular season finale in Pittsburgh on April 13 would be his last game in a Senators jersey. He scored a brilliant goal in the shootout to secure a Senators 3-2 victory and he admitted, “It wasnt lost on me that it could have been my last goal with Ottawa.” Spezza said he stayed quiet for the past few weeks out of respect for the process, but once Murray told reporters at the NHL GM meetings last month that Spezza had indeed requested a trade, he knew the writing was on the wall. “Once Bryan went public, I knew it was probably done for me there,” he said. (Spezza also went out of his way to point out that he still has a terrific relationship with Murray and holds the Senators general manager in the highest regard). Spezza isnt sure how the crowd at Canadian Tire Centre would react to his appearance when he makes his return to Ottawa on January 29, 2015 in a Dallas Stars jersey, but he does want Senators fans to know that he does not hold a grudge against them – even though he was often seen as a lightning rod for criticism by the fan base. “My time in Ottawa was fond and I know a lot of people are upset," Spezza said. "I would have loved to have the storybook career, where you spend your whole life in one city and play for one team, but thats part of the hard decision we had to make. This didnt just happen overnight and I woke up one morning and said ‘I want to leave. There was a lot of thought put into this.” ' ' '