Let's talk championships and Jimmie Johnson. It's OK to come out of that skeptical closet and let your flag fly for the No. 48 car.

“I've been trying to ignore this conversation about seven (championships) and now I can't,” Johnson said. “We are locked in.”

Dialed in too. His victory at Martinsville on Sunday assures him a spot in the Final Four in Homestead, Fla. No need to count points and sweat it out going to Texas this week and Phoenix next week, where all the slots will be finalized.

Mr. Six-Time is now playing with house money. You might not want to bet against him as he tries to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as the only seven-time champions in Cup history.

Once considered an afterthought in the championship conversation, Johnson has become the leader of the pack. He has finished no worse than eighth in five of the last six races, with two victories during that stretch.

“The turnaround, I'm way impressed with,” Johnson said. “It's one thing to see progress, but to advance and go back to leading a lot of laps and contending for many wins is very, very impressive.

“We couldn't have done it on our own. It took all four teams, then it took all the departments at Hendrick. Honestly, it took Rick Hendrick showing his commitment. For him to sit in the wind tunnel for a 24-hour shift with all the teams ... his presence there, the message that sent to the organization.”

That would be “Mr. H,” as he is called. Hendrick, the veteran team owner, always mixes in more good love than bad when it comes to his kids on the track. And no doubt it has been a rough-and-tumble year, with concussion issues ending the season for Dale Earnhardt Jr., the uneven progress of Kasey Kahne and the early-season stumbles of Johnson, who looked to be toast just a few months ago.

“Sometimes you're not as good as you look; you're not as bad as you look,” Hendrick said. “I don't think we were as bad. Now, we were pretty terrible back in April, May. We started picking up speed, getting to the front, leading some laps. We could see it coming.”

And now, it is here.

Of course, we must put a big asterisk by everything. Consistency matters, but only if there aren't any bad breaks. A blown tire or someone else's car bumping into you changes the dynamics and puts an end to Johnson's pursuit of No.?7. But at least he won't need to worry about that until Homestead in a few weeks.

“It's so hard,” Hendrick said. “You see guys like Martin Truex that run so good, break an engine at Talladega. It's a heartbreaker. When you get into the playoffs in baseball, the ball doesn't go flat.

“There's a lot of things out of your control that you just can't do anything about. But this is an excellent shot for us, for Jimmie, because he's got that stride.”

gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com