Dover, Del. ? After winning the last two weeks and signing a long-term contract, Jimmie Johnson could write his name in the record book at Dover International Speedway.

With a victory Sunday, Johnson would join teammate and car owner Jeff Gordon, David Pearson and Rusty Wallace as the only drivers to win three straight races on The Monster Mile.

“It’s cool having your name in the record books,” Johnson said. “Winston Cup racing is so competitive now that it’s really hard to imagine having the opportunity to be included with them.”

Sunday night, Johnson became the fifth driver in one season to win both the non-points NASCAR all-star race and Winston Cup’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

He also reached a contract extension that will keep Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus together at Hendrick Motorsports with lucrative backing from Lowe’s through 2007. The deal will further solidify Johnson’s career and give him a chance to become one of the greats of his time.

“It eases your mind about the future,” he said of the contract. “I’ve been very fortunate to be with Hendrick Motorsports and have its resources. To be associated with Mr. Hendrick, Jeff, Chad and everyone there for the next five years is great.”

Still, sponsorship drives the sport, and Johnson feels fortunate Lowe’s was willing to make a major investment in him before his rookie season. But he’s even more appreciative of the new contract.

“That Lowe’s is willing to sign a deal like this when it’s hard to find sponsors is a great feeling,” Johnson said.

Nascar driver Jimmie Johnson celebrates with his crew in victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Johnson won the race Sunday in Concord, N.C.

The record-setting rookie of 2002 is on a roll after a tough start this year. But his fourth career Cup victory has Johnson fifth in the series standings, exactly where he was last spring when he arrived at Dover.

Despite his dominance here last year, he won’t be disappointed with a finish that keeps him viable in the points race.

“One thing we’re trying not to do is to get too caught up in the pressures of repeating the wins and all that,” said Johnson, 247 points behind series leader Matt Kenseth after 12 of 36 races.

The high-banked concrete Dover oval is the treacherous track on which Johnson really established himself. He won both races last year and wound up with three victories overall to tie Tony Stewart’s 1999 record for the most by a rookie.

But his task won’t be easy in the MBNA 400. Gordon, Wallace and Stewart have had considerable success at Dover. Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kenseth also are formidable on the Monster Mile.

Stewart swept the Winston Cup races at Dover in 2000, Martin is a three-time winner on the track, and Labonte and Earnhardt have won here in both Busch and Cup cars.