Avondale, Ariz. – The Nextel Cup title is Jimmie Johnson’s to lose.

For anyone else, it would be a perfect position. But Johnson has been here before.

Johnson lost two of these titles before, and nothing is guaranteed – even after his second-place finish Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway gave him a firm hold atop the Chase for the championship leaderboard.

He needs to only finish 12th or better next week in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the championship.

“I seriously don’t have any clue what to expect,” Johnson said.

Johnson has put together a nearly flawless five-race stretch to rescue his season. After leading the points for all but four of the first 26 weeks, he saw his title hopes crippled in Round 1 of the Chase when he crashed and finished 39th.

That dropped him to ninth in the standings. Unfazed, Johnson has claimed five straight finishes of second or better to move back into the points lead and put a healthy margin on the competition.

He leads Matt Kenseth by 63 points, and only four other drivers are mathematically eligible to even catch him.

“I never felt like we were out of it, but I knew we needed some bad luck,” said Johnson, who was 165 points out of the lead after the third Chase race. “I never conceded, but I also said to myself ‘Let’s just go all-out.'”

That’s what he did Sunday, when he briefly flirted with racing Kevin Harvick for the win before smartly settling for second.

He raced Harvick just hard enough over a final three-lap sprint to the finish to maintain his track position and not jeopardize the big picture.

Harvick, who won for the fifth time this year and swept the season at Phoenix, led 252 of the 312 laps and was out front for a series of late restarts. A short stoppage allowed both drivers to map out their final strategy, which called for Johnson to make a brief run at Harvick over the closing laps.

But Harvick twice held off the charge, and Johnson fell in line behind him as they crossed the finish line.

“Jimmie got a good run on me,” Harvick said. “But I wasn’t going to lose this race.”

Harvick, whose alternator was on the fritz over the final stretch, worried he wouldn’t have enough juice to make it to the end. But he survived.

auto racing

Bourdais wraps up crown

Mexico City – Sebastien Bourdais capped his third straight Champ Car season championship with a victory in the season finale.

Bourdais edged Justin Wilson by 3.528 seconds after passing the British driver in the final lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Will Power finished third, and Bruno Junqueira was fourth.

Bourdais and Wilson traded the lead six times. On the last lap, Bourdais passed Wilson on the inside.

Schumacher top fuel titlist

Pomona, Calif. – Tony Schumacher completed the biggest comeback in NHRA history Sunday, winning his third straight Top Fuel season title with a world-record final-round run in the season finale.

Entering the final round in the Auto Club NHRA Finals needing to win the race with a performance quicker than 4.437 seconds, Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson delivered with a stunning 4.428 at 327.98 mph to edge Doug Kalitta by 14 points.

Schumacher joined Joe Amato as the only Top Fuel drivers to win three consecutive titles.

Montoya to debut in Miami

Avondale, Ariz. – Juan Pablo Montoya will make his Nextel Cup debut next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway if his NASCAR team can work out the logistics. Car owner Chip Ganassi said Sunday he has submitted an entry for the Cup season finale for Montoya, who has so far driven only three lower-tier Busch Series events.

golf

Woods defeated in China

Shanghai, China – Tiger Woods’ streak is over. Woods failed to win a 72-hole tournament for the first time since July 9, finishing two shots behind Yong-eun Yang in the HSBC Champions on Sunday.

Yang, a regular on the Japanese tour who has played infrequently outside Asia, closed with a 3-under 69 Sunday for a 14-under 274 and a two stroke victory over Woods at the HSBC Champions tournament.

The loss ended his streak of stroke-play victories, dating to his runner-up finish to Trevor Immelman on July 9 in the Western Open.

The only streak that remains for Woods is his six straight wins on the PGA Tour.

Kelly, Pampling place first

Naples, Fla. – Jerry Kelly and Rod Pampling won the Merrill Lynch Shootout, beating Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank with a bogey on the first hole of a playoff in the Greg Norman-hosted event.

Pampling, who landed a spot in the event when Peter Jacobsen dropped out after having a hip replaced, and Kelly split $675,000 from the $2.75 million purse.

Both teams closed with 13-under 59s in the scramble format to finish at 31-under 185.

Ochoa rolls to victory

Mobile, Ala. – Lorena Ochoa wrapped up the LPGA Tour’s player-of-the-year award with a record-setting finish in the Tournament of Champions. The 24-year-old shot a 7-under 65 for a 10-stroke victory and a tournament-record 21-under 267 total. She earned $150,000 to push her season total to $2,492,872.

Kanada earns tour card

Richmond, Texas – Craig Kanada played his way onto the PGA Tour, holing dramatic chips on the final two holes for a one-stroke victory in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship. Kanada, 10 positions out of a PGA Tour spot at the start of the week, finished at 13-under 275.

college basketball

Cowboys sign forward

Stillwater, Okla. – Oklahoma State on Sunday signed forward Martavius Adams to a letter of intent. Adams, who is 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, averaged 22 points and 14 points as a junior last season at Baldwin County High School in Georgia.

tennis

Henin-Hardenne prevails

Madrid, Spain – Justine Henin-Hardenne, who will finish the year ranked No. 1, captured her first WTA Championships title Sunday, winning 6-4, 6-3 over Amelie Mauresmo.

Roddick, Federer advance

Shanghai, China – Andy Roddick defeated Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4, 6-7 (9), 6-1, Sunday in the first round of the Tennis Masters Cup.

Earlier, top-ranked Roger Federer hit nine aces and rallied past defending champion David Nalbandian, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, in the round-robin portion of the season-ending event at Qi Zhong Tennis Center. Last year, Federer beat Nalbandian to begin the tournament.