HOMESTEAD, Fla. Here’s a tweet for Brad Keselowski: NASCAR champion.

Roger Penske must like the sound of that, too.

The kid who stole the show at the season-opening Daytona 500 ended the year under the biggest spotlight of them all Sunday, beating five-time champion Jimmie Johnson to deliver the first Sprint Cup championship to Penske Racing.

It’s a trophy that had eluded Penske since he first entered NASCAR in 1972. Although his motorsports organization is considered the gold standard of IndyCar racing – 15 Indianapolis 500 wins – and his empire has made Penske one of the most successful businessmen in America, his NASCAR team operation was always just average.

Then came Keselowski, the blue collar, Twitter-loving, Michigan native who convinced “The Captain” his NASCAR team could be a winner, too.

Three years later, they hoisted the Sprint Cup trophy together at Homestead-Miami Speedway following Keselowski’s 15th-place finish Sunday night.

He started the race up 20 points on Johnson, who blew a tire and crashed last week at Phoenix to give Keselowski a nice cushion and needing only to finish 15th or higher in the finale to wrap up his first championship. But the Penske team took nothing for granted – not after Will Power crashed in the IndyCar finale to blow a 17-point lead and lose the championship.

And this one got tight, too, especially when Keselowski ran out of gas on pit road during green flag pit stops. It put him a lap down with Johnson leading, and Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe frantically trying to figure out how dire the situation had become.

Wolfe crunched the numbers, figuring the No. 2 Dodge would cycle out in the mid-20s, a lap down from the leaders.

“I know the scenario, and it’s not good,” Keselowski said.

But minutes later, Johnson went to pit road for his own stop and pulled away with a missing lug nut. NASCAR flagged the Hendrick Motorsports team and Johnson was forced back to pit road for another stop.

The Penske team was unsure if Keselowski wanted to know what was going on with Johnson.

“I’ve got a big picture story if you want to hear it,” a team member radioed, then informed Keselowski that Johnson had to pit again.

“Ten-four. Thank you for telling me. We’re back in the game. I got it,” he said.

It got worse for Johnson from there. He broke a rear end gear in his Chevrolet and went to the garage with 40 laps to go, essentially clinching the championship for Keselowski.

“It all unraveled pretty quick,” Johnson conceded.

No longer needing to save fuel, and no longer needing to play it conservatively, he waived off Wolfe’s playbook.

“If he’s in the garage, let’s race,” Keselowski said.

That’s been Keselowski’s attitude since he burst onto the NASCAR scene. He first caught attention as a brash driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Series team, and he was unapologetic for his aggressive driving and his refusal to back down in long-running feuds with established stars Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.

But he’s been calmer and focused since teaming with Penske in 2009, and his mission has been to give Penske a title. Still, his fame has been for the tweeting, which drew him worldwide attention when he took to Twitter from the cockpit of his car during the red flag in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Ford EcoBoost 400

Sunday, at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (15) Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 267 laps, $334,161

2. (6) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 267, $263,749

3. (19) Ryan Newman, Chevy, 267, $228,768

4. (8) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267, , $198,318

5. (13) Greg Biffle, Ford, 267, $143,060

6. (7) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267, $131,199

7. (5) Aric Almirola, Ford, 267, $132,446

8. (23) Kevin Harvick, Chevy, 267, $134,121

9. (26) Kurt Busch, Chevy, 267, $107,318

10. (16) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 267, $87,085

11. (18) Paul Menard, Chevy, 267, $84,810

12. (4) Carl Edwards, Ford, 267, $119,176

13. (2) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 267, $103,268

14. (1) Joey Logano, Toyota, 267, $88,810

15. (3) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 266, $108,980

16. (9) Mark Martin, Toyota, 266, $75,385

17. (35) Tony Stewart, Chevy, 266, $128,535

18. (11) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 266, $119,171

19. (33) Jeff Burton, Chevy, 266, $112,160

20. (14) Jamie McMurray, Chevy, 266, $105,668

21. (12) Kasey Kahne, Chevy, 266, $81,135

22. (17) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 266, $113,960

23. (20) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 266, $72,310

24. (41) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 266, $113,976

25. (32) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 265, $96,743

26. (38) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 265, $93,893

27. (30) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 265, $97,780

28. (21) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy, 264, $101,126

29. (28) Casey Mears, Ford, 264, $82,318

30. (24) Regan Smith, Chevy, 264, $89,257

31. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 263, $67,235

32. (31) Dave Blaney, Chevy, 263, $67,010

33. (40) David Gilliland, Ford, 262, $66,810

34. (37) David Reutimann, Chevy, 261, $66,610

35. (39) J.J. Yeley, Chevy, 261, $66,410

36. (10) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, rear gear, 224, $113,396

37. (42) Ken Schrader, Ford, engine, 219, $74,255

38. (22) David Stremme, Toyota, electrical, 183, $65,753

39. (27) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, wreck, 157, $62,850

40. (36) Josh Wise, Ford, vibration, 38, $64,120

41. (25) Michael McDowell, Ford, overheating, 34, $62,405

42. (43) Scott Riggs, Chevy, vibration, 23, $62,110

43. (29) Mike Bliss, Toyota, electrical, 16, $62,429

Race Statistics: Average Speed of Race Winner: 142.245 mph. Time of Race: 2 hours, 48 minutes, 56 seconds. Margin of Victory: 1.028 seconds. Caution Flags: 3 for 17 laps. Lead Changes: 19 among 8 drivers. Lap Leaders: M.Ambrose 1-14; Ky.Busch 15-49; R.Newman 50; Ky.Busch 51-116; M.Truex Jr. 117-127; J.Johnson 128; M.Kenseth 129-130; R.Newman 131-132; Ky.Busch 133-144; J.Johnson 145-157; K.Kahne 158-161; Ky.Busch 162-165; K.Kahne 166; Ky.Busch 167-199; K.Kahne 200-201; J.Johnson 202-212; J.Gordon 213; Ky.Busch 214-254; J.Gordon 255-267. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): Ky.Busch, 6 times for 191 laps; J.Johnson, 3 times for 25 laps; J.Gordon, 2 times for 14 laps; M.Ambrose, 1 time for 14 laps; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 11 laps; K.Kahne, 3 times for 7 laps; R.Newman, 2 times for 3 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 2 laps.